In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016), the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant’s unaccepted offer of complete relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 did not moot a class plaintiff’s...more
On January 3, 2017, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to grant class certification, finding that, at the class certification stage, Rule 23 does not require plaintiffs to demonstrate that there is an...more
1/13/2017
/ Administrative Feasibility ,
All Natural ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
ConAgra ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
FRCP 23 ,
GMO ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Putative Class Actions
On November 2, 2016, a Florida Federal District Court issued a $29 million judgment against the marketer of Pure Green Coffee extract weight-loss pills in a deceptive advertising suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission....more
On September 27, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has begun a public process to redefine the term “healthy” on food labels.
As part of the public process, the FDA is soliciting input...more
District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel recently considered and rejected—for the second time—a proposed class action settlement involving false advertising claims against a defendant jeans manufacturer. Hofmann v. Dutch, LLC,...more
On August 1, 2016, Massachusetts became the first state to pass a law barring employers from asking applicants to disclose their salary history before offering a job. Proponents of Massachusetts’ bipartisan legislation hope...more
On July 29, 2016, President Obama signed into law the federal genetically engineered (GE) food labeling bill (S. 764). The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 14, 2016, 306-117, with broad bipartisan...more
On April 22, 2016, in Alaei v. Kraft Heinz Food Co. (“Heinz”), No. 3:15-cv-02961, Southern District of California Judge Michael M. Anello granted defendant Heinz’s motion to dismiss without prejudice plaintiff Suzanne Alaei’s...more
6/15/2016
/ CLRA ,
Consumers Legal Remedies Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
False Advertising ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Heinz ,
Made in the USA ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleading Standards ,
Standing ,
Unfair Competition
On April 12, 2016, in Chen, et al. v. Allstate Insurance Co., No. 13-16816, the Ninth Circuit considered whether an unaccepted offer of judgment and tender of payment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 to fully...more
A California federal court recently denied a motion to certify a class of Kohl’s customers allegedly misled by false advertising, finding that plaintiff Wendy Chowning’s claim was a copycat of an earlier-filed case, Russell,...more
The Ninth Circuit will not review district court stays, the appeals court recently held, because they are not “final orders” subject to immediate appeal. On January 26, 2015, the Ninth Circuit granted General Mills’ motion to...more
On January 5, 2016, in Torrent v. Yakult U.S.A., Inc., U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney denied the plaintiff’s motion to certify a class of Yakult yogurt consumers who were allegedly misled by Yakult’s packaging and...more
On December 2, 2015, Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice claims that grocery retailer Trader Joe’s violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) by using the term...more