No lawsuit has been filed against Butterfly Express. The Idaho essential oils company has, however, been the subject of two significant federal regulatory actions: a joint FDA and FTC warning letter in 2020 over COVID-19 treatment claims, and a rare unilateral Consumer Product Safety Commission warning in 2022 after the company declined to recall essential oils that failed child-resistant packaging requirements. A separate defamation matter tied to Tara Westover’s memoir Educated was considered by the founders’ attorney but never filed.
FDA and FTC Warning Over COVID-19 Claims
On July 6, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission jointly warned Butterfly Expressions LLC that it was marketing products as unapproved new drugs with claims they could prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Warning Letter to Butterfly Expressions LLC The agencies pointed to material on the company’s websites and YouTube channel promoting several products with explicit coronavirus claims.
The flagged products included:
- LeDeliverance, an essential oil blend described as a “viral fighting” measure and “first line of defense” against COVID-19 exposure.
- A Natural Hand Sanitizer marketed as containing ingredients that “will kill both bacteria and viruses.”
- RC-L, a lomatium-based product called “specific to coronavirus.”
- LCON, recommended for anyone exposed to “strong strains of viruses such as the current coronavirus.”
- A Flu Kit of homeopathic “blessed water” remedies pitched as a first response to “coronavirus pneumonia.”
- CF Formula, described as “perfect for the fight against this most recent pandemic, COVID-19.”
The FDA found the claims rendered the products unapproved new drugs and misbranded products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FTC found the claims lacked “competent and reliable scientific evidence” and violated the FTC Act.2U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Warning Letter to Butterfly Express LC and Butterfly Expressions LLC The company was told to stop selling the products with those claims and respond within 48 hours with a corrective plan. The letter warned that noncompliance could trigger seizure, injunction, or refund orders.
CPSC Safety Warning Over Child-Resistant Packaging
On December 22, 2022, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to stop using several Butterfly Express essential oils because they posed a poisoning risk to young children.3U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC Urges Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Butterfly Express Essential Oils The named products, Wintergreen, Birch, Le Sweet Relief, and Le EZ Traveler, all contain methyl salicylate above five percent by weight.
Under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, liquid preparations with more than five percent methyl salicylate must be sold in child-resistant packaging.4eCFR. 16 CFR Part 1700 – Poison Prevention Packaging The CPSC found that Butterfly Express’s 20 mL, 240 mL, and 480 mL bottles were not child-resistant, and its 10 mL and 50 mL bottles lacked the required certification of compliance. The agency also flagged sample-size bottles and other blends containing wintergreen or birch sold on the company’s site.
What made the action unusual was the company’s refusal to cooperate. The CPSC stated that Butterfly Express “has not agreed to recall the essential oils or offer a remedy to consumers,” which is why the agency issued a unilateral warning rather than announce a voluntary recall.
How the Company Responded
Butterfly Express publicly disputed the CPSC’s account on its own website. The company said it had already begun a replacement program for child-resistant and senior-friendly lids after an initial CPSC notification in August 2019, and that it had contacted purchasers of Wintergreen and Birch oils to offer free replacement caps.5Butterfly Express. Child Caps It also said it had sent product samples to the CPSC and received no feedback identifying a failure. On the larger bottles, the company argued the CPSC lacked jurisdiction because those sizes were “manufactured and sold to commercial users only” and were not consumer products.
No Class Action or Injury Suit Filed
Despite the refusal to recall, no class action or personal-injury litigation against Butterfly Express has been filed over the packaging issue. The regulatory warning stands on its own; there is no pending court case.
The Defamation Suit the Family Considered but Did Not File
Some searches for a Butterfly Express lawsuit lead to Tara Westover’s 2018 memoir Educated. Butterfly Express was co-founded by LaRee Westover, Tara’s mother and the author of Butterfly Miracles with Essential Oils, along with her daughter Valaree Westover (Sharp).6Butterfly Express. Company Story The memoir describes Tara’s upbringing in a Clifton, Idaho survivalist household treated with her mother’s herbal remedies instead of conventional medicine.7BookBrowse. Educated
After publication, Val and LaRee Westover consulted attorney Blake Atkin. Atkin publicly called the book “libelous,” said it “falsely portrays the Westover family,” and stated it contained only “a little germ of truth.”8Herald Journal. Educated Should Be Read With Grain of Salt, Says Family’s Attorney He advised the parents to sue their daughter for defamation.
They refused. According to Atkin, the parents said, “If we do that we will probably lose our daughter permanently,” and instructed him not to say anything negative about Tara in the media, hoping she might “someday come back home.”9Deseret News. What Does Tara Westover’s Family Think About Reconciliation No defamation lawsuit was ever threatened or filed.