Are “Reasonable Consumers” Free to Ignore Ingredient Lists?
Manufacturers might assume that they can avoid false advertising claims by accurately disclosing a product’s ingredients on the ingredient label. The Ninth Circuit held otherwise in a 2008 case...
View ArticleFood Binge: Big Tobacco Lawyers Set Their Sights on the Food Industry
As the New York Times recently reported a group of former tobacco lawyers looking for a shakedown have gone on a food binge. Over the past four months, class counsel has filed 24 (and counting) nearly...
View ArticleClass Action Settlement Regarding Alleged Mislabeling of “Organic” Milk
A Missouri federal judge has preliminarily approved a class action settlement in a multidistrict litigation involving the alleged mislabeling of organic milk. In re Aurora Dairy Corp. Organic Milk...
View ArticleWorth the Wait? FTC Releases Final Revised “Green Guides”
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has released final revisions to its Environmental Marketing Guides, commonly known as the “Green Guides.” The Green Guides, the FTC’s guidance document on...
View ArticleNationwide Class Certified in Case Against Pom under California’s Consumer Laws
Yes, you read that right. A federal judge in California has certified a nationwide class under California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws. You may have thought that possibility was...
View ArticleQuestion of the Week: Under Prop 37, how long do companies have to bring...
As we’ve previously discussed, Prop 37 has two important labeling components: (1) a requirement that foods made with genetic engineering are labeled as genetically engineered, and (2) a restriction on...
View ArticleStanding 101: Can You Be Injured by a Product You Never Bought?
Common sense tells you that you can’t be injured by something you never bought. This must be covered in Standing 101, right? Believe it or not, this issue is being debated right now in the California...
View ArticleInitiative to Label Genetically Modified Foods Fails in California
Yesterday, California voters rejected Proposition 37, the Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act by 53 percent to 47 percent. The voter initiative would have required labeling of most foods with...
View ArticleGeneral Mills Points to Ingredient List in Defense of “100% Natural” Claims
General Mills recently filed a motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing the company of falsely advertising its popular Nature Valley granola products as “100% natural.” Chin et al. v....
View Article“All Natural” False Advertising Class Certified in Arizona Iced Tea Case
A federal judge in the Northern District of California has certified a California class of Arizona Iced Tea purchasers. What is striking is that the court only certified a class for declaratory and...
View ArticleGMO Laws Spread to Washington and New Mexico
Just months after the November defeat of California’s Proposition 37, the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act,” proponents of labeling genetically modified food have proposed...
View ArticlePfizer’s Motion to Dismiss Successful in Class Action Over Its Probiotic...
It is no surprise to anyone defending against false advertising claims that Rules 8 and 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are powerful tools to force plaintiffs to articulate with...
View ArticleRepeat Customers Drive Denial of Class Certification in False Advertising...
Neutrogena recently defeated class certification in a case alleging violations of California’s false advertising laws and express warranty claims against the company in connection with the...
View ArticlePreemption Still Has Teeth: The FDCA Keeps California False Advertising...
As we have noted in prior posts (FDCA, POM, preemption), the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) can provide a powerful tool to food companies that are hit with claims about their labeling....
View ArticleRepeat Customers Insufficient to Defeat Class Certification in Case Involving...
We reported recently on a decision from the Central District of California in which the court in part denied class certification in a case against Neutrogena because of “repeat customers” of...
View ArticlePreemption: The Cure for the Common Claim?
Although the landscape of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) preemption of private Surgeon General class action claims continues to shift under our feet in California, first with POM and...
View ArticleWelcome to Food Court
The March 4 edition of The Recorder has a front-page story on food misbranding cases and our very own Will Stern is quoted. Read the article here.
View ArticleFDA Will Finally Weigh In on “Gluten-Free” Labeling Requirements
Over the past several years, consumers have no doubt seen an increase in “gluten-free” representations on food labels and restaurant menus. But what does “gluten-free” really mean and why is it...
View ArticleU.S. Supreme Court Issues Standard Fire Insurance Opinion: Stipulations...
The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion today in Standard Fire Insurance Co. v. Knowles, 568 U.S. __ (2013), holding unanimously that a class action plaintiff cannot avoid removal to...
View ArticleAbbott Avoids Shake-Up: False Ad Suit over Ensure Dismissed
Yet another court has tasked plaintiffs at the pleading stage with providing scientific support for false advertising claims that are based on a product’s alleged failure to deliver its promised health...
View Article
