While it rarely rules on questions of preemption, the Ninth Circuit took an even rarer step on July 1, 2024 when it took up the question of whether private parties can seek to enforce the provisions of California’s Sherman...more
Late last month, San Francisco resident Kirstin Cobbs initiated a class action lawsuit against poppi after purchasing its product, poppi prebiotic soda, believing the product to be “gut healthy.” Poppi sodas are packaged in...more
This month, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the California Food Safety Act—a bill targeted at enhancing food safety within California. The law bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of four food...more
Net zero goals and carbon neutrality have hit the mainstream, propelled over the past decade by consumer and investor demands that businesses curb greenhouse gas emissions to counter the climate crisis. In response, companies...more
On April 13, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent approximately 670 notices of penalty offenses to various companies involved in the marketing of OTC drugs, homeopathic products, dietary supplements, and functional...more
In 2018, when former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb famously commented that “an almond doesn’t lactate,” he was adding perhaps the most colorful volley in a long-simmering debate about how the Food and Drug Administration...more
For decades, health-conscious consumers have argued about what it really means for a food to be “healthy.” Is dark chocolate “healthy”? How about breakfast cereal, coffee, or fruit gummies?...more
Originally published by Law360, Claudia Vetesi, Nicole Ozeran, and Lena Gankin authored an article discussing a wave of protein-labeling lawsuits hitting food manufacturers, alleging that their products’ front-label protein...more
Last week the FDA announced that it would lift regulations controlling what can be called “French dressing.” The regulations—which had been in place since 1950—previously required that a product contain 35% vegetable oil and...more
The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to resolve a question that has sharply divided the Circuits: whether a class may be certified even though it contains uninjured members. See e.g., Tyson Foods, Inc. v....more
4/9/2021
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Consumer Reports ,
Credit Reports ,
Creditors ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Damages ,
Substantial Risk of Harm ,
TransUnion LLC v Ramirez ,
Tyson Foods v Bouaphakeo ,
Uninjured Class Members
The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion holding that district courts usually need not engage in rigorous analysis under the predominance inquiry of Rule 23(b)(3) before certifying a settlement class. In Jabbari v....more
Several months into the widespread business closures and event cancellations resulting from the COVID 19 pandemic, we have seen businesses adopt a range of strategies to respond. Those strategies, in addition to the closures...more
The California Supreme Court has confirmed that claims for civil penalties brought by government entities under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) and False Advertising Law (“FAL”) should be decided by a judge—not a...more
5/4/2020
/ Appeals ,
Bench Trial ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
False Advertising ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Jury Trial ,
Restitution ,
Reversal ,
Right to a Jury ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiffs cannot avail themselves of liberal discovery rules in order to locate class representatives. The court found that Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) steered into a new direction that may accelerate the development of self-driving technologies. The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), in an...more
Earlier this month, a California federal judge certified six classes asserting state consumer protection statute claims in a multidistrict litigation alleging that The Coca-Cola Co. misled consumers about artificial flavors...more
Today’s online celebrities—both verified and aspiring—can now become product sponsors with the help of a social-media account, a picture-perfect aesthetic, and several hundred thousand followers. The influencer marketing...more
On Aug. 2, 2018, two lawsuits were filed against Transnational Foods Inc. and J.M. Smucker Co. alleging that certain extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO, products were misleadingly labeled as EVOO when results from a “leading...more
On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that has the potential to reshape the way class actions are litigated in courts throughout the country. In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California,...more
A few years back, the Northern District of California was dubbed the “food court” based on the influx of food misbranding class actions claiming that alleged FDA regulatory infractions constituted violations of California...more
Introduction. On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Microsoft Corp. v. Baker et al., a closely watched case in the class action world, and one on which we previously reported here. Baker presented the...more
Bruton v. Gerber, No. 15-15174. The district court had dismissed Plaintiff’s unjust enrichment claim, denied class certification for lack of an “ascertainable class,” and granted summary judgment to Gerber because Plaintiff...more
The Big Picture: On Tuesday, Judge Koh granted Kellogg’s Motion to Dismiss in its entirety in Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Company, No. 5:16-cv-04955-LHK (N.D. Cal.). Hadley is one of three cases against well-known cereal makers...more
The House of Representatives has passed legislation that will fundamentally change class actions as we know them. The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017 (the “Act” or “H.R. 985”) leaves no stage of class action...more
On January 19, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s denial of Samsung’s motion to compel arbitration by the named plaintiff in a class action alleging that Samsung made misrepresentations as to...more