Shape-ups Wearer Sues Skechers

Manhattan Beach-based shoemaker Skechers USA was sued today by a woman who alleges the company's Shape-up shoes caused her to fall and be injured while running.

Sandra McDonald filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Her allegations include negligence, breach of warranty and failure to warn of defect. Her husband, William McDonald, also is a plaintiff and alleges loss of consortium. They seek unspecified damages.

The suit comes a month after the Federal Trade Commission announced that Skechers USA, which touted its toning shoes with rounded soles as being better made to strengthen muscles than regular sneakers, would pay $40 million to settle consumer claims.

The FTC maintained that the company deceived consumers by making unfounded assertions that Shape-ups would help people lose weight and strengthen and tone their buttocks, legs and abdominal muscles.

Kim Kardashian signed a deal endorsing Skechers Shape-ups.

A Skechers representative did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the suit.

According to the complaint, Sandra McDonald, who lives with her husband in Alameda County, was given a pair of Shape-ups by her daughter in February 2010.

Relying on Skechers ads she saw touting the shoe's benefits, she began wearing them at least once a week for 25 to 45 minutes, then increased her use of them as time went on, the suit states.

In June 2010, while running on a road to her bus stop, her shoes "rolled up and caused her to fall," according to the suit. She suffered a fractured left ankle, was treated by an orthopedist and had to wear a medical boot, the suit states.

"Unbeknownst to Sandra McDonald, she purchased shoes that provided no additional benefit to her health," the suit states. "Instead, she was lulled into purchasing a dangerous product that the defendants knew produced a substantial risk of causing chronic injuries ... because of Skechers' elevated and unstable rocker-bottom sole," the suit states.