In the interest of reopening schools as soon as possible, hundreds of K-12 school districts, private schools, and universities across the US have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in federal relief funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to purchase Needle Point Bipolar Ionizers (NBPIs), supposedly to clean indoor air and kill coronavirus particles. Garner is represented by Timothy N. Mathews of Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP, Dennis C. Reich, Esq. The installation of ionizers also solves another issue for districts, as they are far less costly and have no industry standards compared to proven mitigation strategies for improving indoor air quality, such as updating Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems, using Merv-13 filters, and operating HVAC systems at high efficiency in order to ensure at least five complete air exchanges per hour. Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the Boeing did not test the technologys effectiveness in the air, only on surfaces. But that same claim was one of several called out in the lawsuit as misleading or false, citing information from Boeing which did limited testing of the product and was unable to replicate supplier results.. When Defendants Products have been independently tested in real world conditions, they consistently fail to achieve the results as represented by Defendant.. 3:21-CV-00884- M; Global Plasma Solutions, Inc. v. Marwa Zaatari, D Zine Partners LLC, and enVerid Systems Inc.; in the Northern District of Texas dismissing all claims with prejudice following the resolution reached as a result of continued talks Please download the PDF to view it: Download PDF. GPS and other companies selling these snake oil ionizer devices have profited tremendously off of the COVID-19 pandemic. Garner v. Global Plasma Solutions Inc. 1:2021cv00665 | US District Global Plasma Solutions Inc. Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization Devices They include one California superintendent who cited the lawsuit and switched off that districts more than 400 GPS devices. As such, we eagerly await adjudication of this matter and will keep you informed when we learn more. When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type. The claim alleged that Molekule air purifiers are falsely advertised as able to clean the air of pollutants and viruses such as COVID-19. I dont know how districts can continue to use these products. Education | GPS knew about this study before it was published because GPS obtained emails between Stephens and Marwa Zaatari (a paid advisor for a GPS competitor) in which Zaatari is seen organizing the funding for the second study and helping to direct the testing. At the end of 30 minutes, the overall average decrease in active virus was more than 99 percent. Seiderman also said that Global Plasma Solutions had figured out how to do ionization with no harmful byproducts, another claim challenged by the lawsuit. In November 2020, the Newark Unified School District board heard a presentation from Nicole Seiderman of the San Jose-based Norman S. Wright Corporation, a vendor, touting the advances in technology by Global Plasma Solutions. While we consider all information, we felt it prudent to share more details so our customers can make an informed decision that best supports their needs. They are considered the top in terms of addressing and killing the virus, Triplett said in April about the devices, as the district sought to reassure staff, students, and parents the air in classrooms would be safe for a return to school. GPS is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and has advanced testing chambers in Charlotte and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. More Than 100 Missouri Schools Have Bought 'Often Unproven - STLPR The co. Zaatari, D Zine, and enVerid, the parties make the following statements: The terms of the settlement beyond these statements are confidential. McGuireWoods filed a defamation lawsuit Monday in Georgia Northern District Court on behalf of air purification company Global Plasma Solutions Inc. Education | A review of the CPS IAQ PRO SmartAir meter and the information it provides, Challenges and solutions for ensuring good IAQ in multi-unit buildings, How to reduce indoor air pollutants from common gas- and oil-fueled appliances, An explanation of how source control, ventilation, filtration, and dehumidification work to control harmful levels of particulates in indoor environments. Last summer, Global Plasma Solutions wanted to test whether the company's air-purifying devices could kill covid-19 virus particles but could find only a lab using a chamber the size of a. Citing the study, the lawsuit further claims the defendants GPS-FC48-AC device, while decreasing the levels of some VOCs, actually introduces other harmful compounds, such as acetone, ethanol and toluene, into the air. To resolve GPSs claims against. You can follow him on Twitter at @EnergyVanguard. The article concluded that the device in our testing was ineffective in addressing the air pollutants that its advertised to remove from the space, the claim states. The lawsuit first takes aim at GPSs patented Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) technology, described in the complaint as the backbone of the companys products. According to the lawsuit, independent studies cited in the case documents show that the products are not only ineffective at cleaning the air in real world conditions, but byproducts from the devices include the following harmful toxins: In addition to the above toxins, Dr. Marwa Zaatari, a mechanical engineer, expert on indoor air quality and member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) epidemic task force, also warns that ionizers have been shown to produce ozone and formaldehyde. A recent LinkedIn job ad for the company recruiting salespeople stated, Make Tons of Money with this COVID-killing Technology! COMPANY INFO: Global Plasma Solutions Inc. (Bloomberg Law Subscription) Global Plasma Solutions Inc. misleadingly touts its air ionization technology as capable of removing almost all Covid-19 virus from a room within an hour, a consumer alleges in a proposed nationwide class action. Others have been proven to work. Also, as laid out in the 32-page complaint: The Article has been weaponized by GPSs competitors to help create what they termed bipolar backlash to undermine GPSs technology. Ionizer Company Sues Indoor Air Quality Expert One of the great things about the pandemic is that so many IAQ experts were public in sharing their knowledge. Global Plasma Solutions Inc. Well do our best to post any notable updates on this page, so check back here for more information. Quickly, I must hurry, for there go my people and I am their leader! the prior statements by Dr. Zaatari at issue in this case do not apply to GPS and its technology and were not intended to apply to GPS or its technology, it is my understanding that GPS uses soft ionization in its products and not hard ionization, Dr. This all comes as a proposed class-action lawsuit is accusing Global Plasma Solutions of making "false, misleading, and deceptive" claims, adding that its products "make the air worse for. Schools Spent Millions to Clean Indoor Air, Now Some Fear Technology Some may or may not provide a benefit. Privacy Policy | DALLAS, March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GPS Air ("GPS") filed a stipulation of dismissal in Cause No. Knowing that the first study was flawed and suppressed data, the authors of the second study back away from the conclusion that ionization increases certain compounds and instead try to focus on particle reduction. Some methods for dealing with contaminated air work better than others. The use of this technology is not intended to take the place of reasonable precautions to prevent the transmission of disease. 3:21-CV-00884- M; Global Plasma Solutions, Inc. v. Marwa Zaatari, D Zine Partners LLC, and enVerid Systems Inc.; in the Northern District of Texas dismissing all claims with prejudice following the resolution reached as a result of continued talks following mediation. The articles lead author also admitted under oath in early January 2022 that there was no experimental control to test the ionizer in on and off conditions in the reported field study. MEDIA CONTACT Global Plasma Solutions, Inc.'s lawsuit against Dr. Marwa Zaatari, D Company demands retraction of fatally flawed study that suppressed and mispresented data and failed to disclose funding conflict to arrive at a predetermined and false conclusion. Superintendent Mark Triplett of Newark Unified School District in California recently announced the district will turn off all 556 ionizers it installed from GPS until further notice. As schools spend millions on air purifiers, experts warn of overblown The GPS Air Purifiers Class Action Lawsuit is. Parents cited independent scientific papers, articles and letters from experts in air quality, and in response the district disconnected the devices until further notice. Global Plasma Solutions Inc v. D Zine Partners LLC et al - UniCourt Boeing researchers found another lab result they could not replicate: While the GPS white paper reported a 96.24 percent reduction in Staphylococcus aureus in 30 minutes, Boeing engineers found no reductions in the bacteria in an hourlong test. March 23, 2023 11:32 AM | 2 min read. The study has been used to make false statements and incorrect conclusions about GPSs technology. Some products are outright scams. And then donate to her cause, if you can. THANK YOU FOR ADDING ME. The ARPA Zone/Open Membership Discussion Forums, https://chimicles.com/global-plasma-investigation/. Global Plasma Solutions, Inc. v. Elsevier Inc. et al - UniCourt According to the suit, it was GPSs intent to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by publishing misleading representations about its products, which were then repeated by third-party publications without question, to drum up publicity and construct a veneer of credibility around their falsehoods., As a result, the case says, consumers relied on the defendants representations and purchased the air treatment products believing they were the best systems available when, in reality, they were purchasing systems that produce harmful byproducts and are largely ineffective.. However, a recent peer reviewedstudy led by three universities revealed that NBPIs had an entirely negligible effect on removing the airborne particles of coronavirus and only reduced 20-30 percent of the virus from surfaces. This feature has been temporarily disabled during the beta site preview. Dear Abby: I have a great life, so why have I fallen into this shameful behavior? Docket (#1) COMPLAINT against Elsevier Inc., Elsevier LTD with Jury Demand ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number ANCWDC-5410474), filed by Global Plasma Solutions, Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A-Article and Supplemental Data, #2 Exhibit B-Letter from R. Muckenfuss to Q. Chen, #3 Exhibit C-Deposition Excerpts of Y. Zeng, #4 Exhibit D-GPS Third Party Testing Webpage, #5 Exhibit E-Email String . Per the lawsuit, GPSs purportedly independent studies were actually company funded and failed to reflect real-world situations when it comes to COVID-19 transmission. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, indoor air quality (IAQ) has become a subject of great concern. GPS filed the lawsuit after obtaining emails and deposing the lead author of the study which showed the full scope of the misrepresentations and flawed nature of the study.