A Cook County woman is suing the makers of Banana Boat in an effort to compensate consumers who bought a type of sunscreen that was pulled from shelves last October after some consumers complained it caught fire on their skin.

Susan McCullough-Sherwin filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court, on behalf of all consumers who bought Banana Boat UltraMist aerosol spray sunscreen.

Energizer Holdings, parent company of the Banana Boat brand, voluntarily removed 23 different types of the UltraMis brand from stores after five people and the U.S. and Canada said they were burned using the product, the company said in a press release last year.

The container's spray valve dispensed more of the sunscreen than other similar products, which meant the sunscreen took longer to dry, the Oct. 19 release said. If users came into contact with a flame or spark before the sunscreen dried, the product had the potential to ignite.

McCullough-Sherwin says the bottle she bought from a Chicago Walgreen's store had no warning about potential fire hazards, and that she's been unable to obtain a refund, according to the suit. It does not say she was injured using the product.

The suit seeks class-action status and compensation for all consumers who bought more than 20 million bottles of the "worthless products," which were sold between January 2010 and September 2012, the suit claims.

The suit also claims violation of state consumer fraud laws and demands an unspecified amount in compensatory damages, plus attorney's fees.

A spokesperson for Energizer Holdings did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.

--Contact: Atty. Joseph J. Siprut, (312) 236-0000 or jsiprut@siprut.com.
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