The judge called the company's marketing tactics outrageous. In advertisements for AMP II Pro, E'Ola International claimed the product was "all natural" when in fact it contained synthetic forms of ephedrine. Additionally, the judge cited the company's failure to modify its product after state and federal regulators suggested it do so as an example of outrageous behavior.

The FDA has determined that products which contain ephedra or ephedrine can cause nervousness, insomnia, hypertension, seizure, accelerated heartbeats, heart attacks, strokes, and death. The makers of products containing ephedra and ephedrine deny that the substances are dangerous. However, over the last six years, these same companies have settled over 30 personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits regarding either ephedra or ephedrine. Many more suits are currently pending. Critics cite this settlement record as evidence that the industry is aware of the dangerous nature of its products.

"This is the worst case of corporate misconduct I have ever heard of," said an attorney for the plaintiff. "They have known about [adverse reactions associated with ephedrine] since 1992, and they made no effort to reformulate the product, and have no intention of reformulating it."

Many dietary supplements such as ephedra and ephedrine fall outside of the FDA's regulatory framework, as a result, the safety of these products has not been extensively studied. Critics such as the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen are calling for more government regulation of dietary supplements such as ephedra and ephedrine. "Increased government regulation is in [the industry's] own best interest," said a Public Citizen spokesperson. "A court can never take the place of regulation because compensation comes after the fact, and the person has already been injured."