While 2020 was an eventful year in the world of advertising law, it feels wrong to begin any type of “year in review” without acknowledging the global events of this year, and the challenges they have brought to every...more
1/13/2021
/ Advertising ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Class Action ,
Counterfeiting ,
Disgorgement ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food Labeling ,
Lanham Act ,
Marketing ,
Product Labels ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a decision granting a motion to dismiss a putative class action challenging the accuracy of “natural” labeling on soap products made by Grisi Mexico, where the lawsuit was filed against the...more
In a putative class action concerning Experian’s marketing of its “Experian Credit Score” service, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a lower court order granting Experian’s motion to compel arbitration based on an...more
12/18/2020
/ Advertising ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Article III ,
AT&T Mobility v Concepcion ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Experian ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion to Compel ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Standing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In a dispositive decision during a bench trial, federal district court Judge Nora Fischer of the Western District of Pennsylvania found that the FTC failed to present any credible expert testimony to support its suit for...more
Last month, in a split decision, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s incentive award to the named plaintiff in a class action alleging willful violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In doing so, it...more
11/24/2020
/ ATDS ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Class Action ,
Class Members ,
Class Representatives ,
Incentive Awards ,
Putative Class Actions ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Willful Violations
It is generally understood that trademark law protects against a third party’s use of your mark or a confusingly similar mark to mislead consumers into thinking goods manufactured by someone else were made by your company....more
A split Ninth Circuit panel recently overturned a $24 million judgment in a class action lawsuit against Kimberly-Clark and its spinoff, Halyard Health. Bahamas Surgery Center v. Kimberly-Clark et al., No. 18-55478 (9th Cir....more
We previously blogged about the dismissal without prejudice of a putative consumer class action alleging that the well-known confectioner Ghirardelli misled consumers into believing its “Premium Baking Chips Classic White...more
9/1/2020
/ Advertising ,
Amended Complaints ,
Consumers Legal Remedies Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Product Labels ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging that defendant Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. (“Dr Pepper”) violated various California consumer fraud laws by using the term “diet” in naming...more
2/8/2020
/ Advertising ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Brand ,
Class Action ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Dismissals ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Health Claims ,
Leave to Amend ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Last month, the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc affirmed, by an 8–3 vote, a nationwide class settlement of a multidistrict litigation against automakers Kia and Hyundai over alleged misrepresentations regarding certain...more
7/19/2019
/ Choice-of-Law ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
En Banc Review ,
Fraudulent Marketing ,
Fuel Standards ,
Hyundai ,
Kia ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Settlement Agreements
Last month, a judge in the Southern District of California partially dismissed a putative class action against beverage company Bai Brands, LLC (“Bai”) and related defendants. Branca v. Bai Brands, LLC, No. 18-00757 (S.D....more
5/2/2019
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Breach of Warranty ,
CLRA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Natural Products ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Statute of Limitations
Unlike a fine wine, a snack bar does not get better with age. Neither, apparently, does litigation. Last month, Judge William H. Pauley III in the Southern District of New York lifted a years-long stay in a lawsuit against...more
On December 17, 2018, Judge Andrew J. Guilford in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted defendant Unilever’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims in a putative class action...more
Our readers may recall that last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff in a putative class action cannot subvert the discretionary nature of Rule 23(f) interlocutory review by voluntarily dismissing his case after...more
In recent years, creative plaintiff-side class action attorneys in New Jersey have attempted to seek relief under the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA”), which allows for $100 in statutory damages...more
Recognizing the growing role of social media and influencers in marketing today, the Federal Trade Commission announced on April 19 that it sent more than 90 letters to social media influencers and marketing executives...more
The Southern District of New York recently dismissed a putative class action against Cytosport, the maker of Muscle Milk protein powder. The plaintiff, Orlando Bautista, alleged that he bought a container of Muscle Milk...more
1/3/2017
/ Advertising ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Dismissals ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
Negligent Misrepresentation ,
Nutritional Supplements ,
Pleading Standards ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unjust Enrichment
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed in part and affirmed in part a Northern District of California ruling concerning the “All Natural Fruit” labeling on Dole’s packaged fruit products. Brazil v. Dole Packaged...more
10/18/2016
/ All Natural ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Dole Food ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Natural Products
For years, food companies have been using the term “evaporated cane juice” in the ingredients list on food products. This has resulted in a number of lawsuits by consumers claiming that the term misled them into thinking...more
The Food and Drug Administration has kindly permitted Kind LLC to use the term “healthy” on its snack bars again, but with the caveat that the term must only be used in text clearly presented as part of Kind’s corporate...more
Hungry to prevent more companies from selling allegedly bogus weight loss products, the FTC has settled yet another false advertising suit against various sellers of diet pills, in a case similar to February’s Sale Slash...more
On February 29, 2016, the Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit decision holding that there was no likelihood of confusion, and therefore no trademark infringement, where Amazon.com responded to consumer searches...more
In 2014, we blogged about a California state appellate court decision invalidating the arbitration clause in DIRECTV’s consumer contracts. We found that California decision to be noteworthy because it seemed to fly in the...more
On November 3, 2015, Judge Alsup of the Northern District of California denied Cricket Wireless’s motion to enforce an arbitration clause against customers who say they never saw or agreed to the clause.
Plaintiffs...more
Clarion Brands, LLC recently received an earful from the National Advertising Division (“NAD”) about its marketing of the dietary supplement Lipo-Flavonoid Plus. Clarion had been marketing Lipo-Flavonoid Plus with advertising...more