Legislators in California and New York have proposed bills to ban five food additives that have purportedly been linked to health concerns such as cancer, neurodevelopmental issues, and hormone dysfunction. The five...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of over 4,000 synthetic chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s. These substances are identified by their chains of...more
California has the most comprehensive privacy law in the United States. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, 2020, and regulates any “business” that does business in California. The CCPA...more
5/16/2022
/ Business Litigation ,
California ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
New Legislation ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Settlement ,
State Privacy Laws
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently upheld a lower court’s decision in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc., 994 F.3d 1341 (11th. Cir. 2021). They affirmed that a debt...more
In Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services, Inc., 994 F.3d 1341 (11th. Cir. 2021), the Eleventh Circuit held that a debt collector’s communication of a consumer’s personal information to a third party print...more
The year 2020 was a tumultuous one given the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for the mortgage lending and servicing industry. In response to sudden stay-at-home orders and a sharp drop in employment rates, federal...more
4/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CARES Act ,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ,
Consumer Litigation ,
Government Agencies ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
State Regulators
On March 2, 2020, CLE International held the first day of Food Law: Navigating the Intersection Between Regulation of Litigation. Now in its fifth year, the conference convenes individuals from the plaintiffs’ bar, academia,...more
Perkins Coie is pleased to present its fourth annual Food Litigation Year in Review, summarizing important developments in consumer litigation affecting the food and beverage industry. Filings against the food and beverage...more
2/19/2020
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Cannabis Products ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Settlement ,
Dietary Supplements ,
False Advertising ,
First Amendment ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Recalls ,
Grocery Stores ,
Misrepresentation ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Natural Products ,
Nutritional Supplements ,
OEHHA ,
Pets ,
Preemption ,
Proposition 65 ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retailers ,
Slack-Fill Suits ,
Warning Labels
On the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent declarations regarding the safety of products containing cannabidiol (CBD), several companies have been hit with class action lawsuits alleging that that...more
In an Order issued earlier this week, the D.C. Superior Court entered an important ruling on the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (DCCPPA). While the ruling ultimately found that the plaintiffs in the suit had...more
There were seventeen new cases filed in May, putting total filings for the year at seventy-two. By this time last year, plaintiffs had filed sixty-nine food and beverage cases. Most of the new filings were in California, with...more
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) approved a new regulation exempting coffee from Proposition 65 warnings earlier this month. The rule states that: “[e]xposures to chemicals in coffee,...more
On Monday, June 3rd, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) approved a new regulation exempting coffee from Proposition 65 warnings. The rule states that: “Exposures to chemicals in coffee,...more
With fifteen new cases filed in April, total filings on the year are slightly down from last year—there have been sixty-nine total new filings in 2019 compared with seventy-seven by this time last year. Most new filings were...more
On March 25, 2019, Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the Northern District of New York dismissed a putative class action against CVS and Lang Pharma alleging that the labeling of defendants’ CVS Omega-3 Krill Oil is deceptive and...more
As you all know, the Northern District of California jury found earlier this week that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide product was a “substantial factor” in causing a plaintiff’s non Hodgkin lymphoma. The defendants and industry...more
3/22/2019
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ,
Farm Workers ,
Farms ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Health and Safety ,
Monsanto ,
Pesticides ,
Scientific Research ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
World Health Organization
PERKINS COIE IS PLEASED TO PRESENT ITS THIRD ANNUAL FOOD LITIGATION YEAR IN REVIEW, summarizing important developments in consumer litigation affecting the food and beverage industry. Class action litigation against the food...more
2/21/2019
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
Natural Products ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
OEHHA ,
Preemption ,
Proposition 65 ,
Slack-Fill Suits
On Tuesday, October 23, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important opinion reviving a decade-old Alien Tort Claims Act (ATS) suit based on alleged aiding and abetting slave labor in cocoa farms on the Ivory...more
11/9/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Alien Tort Statute ,
Appeals ,
Buyers ,
Child Labor ,
Claim Amendments ,
Corporate Liability ,
Domestic Corporations ,
Farm Workers ,
Farms ,
Financing ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Human Rights ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Sellers ,
Slavery ,
Supply Chain
Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry. This data is compiled by Perkins Coie based on a review of dockets from courts...more
9/12/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Class Action ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Misrepresentation ,
Organic ,
Proposition 65 ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Warning Labels
Last week, the California Court of Appeal held that a plaintiff’s suit seeking to require Proposition 65 acrylamide based cancer warnings on 59 popular breakfast cereals was preempted by federal nutrition policies aimed at...more
On December 1, 2016, the Supreme Court of California held that the duty of employers and premises owners to exercise ordinary care in their use of asbestos in their businesses includes a duty to take reasonable care to...more
Amnesty International recently released a report alleging that supply chains for production of palm oil—a common ingredient in many consumer products—are tainted by forced and child labor. In the nearly 150-page report titled...more
12/2/2016
/ Amnesty International ,
Child Labor ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Forced Labor ,
Human Rights ,
Internal Controls ,
Manufacturers ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act
On February 18, 2016, the California Supreme Court held that borrowers may bring wrongful foreclosure claims based on challenges to an assignment of the note and deed of trust to a securitized trust. The supreme court’s...more
RECENT SIGNIFICANT FILINGS -
Courts Lift Stays After FDA Stalls in Giving Guidance on ECJ -
Perera v. Pac. Foods of Or., Inc., No. 3:14-cv-2074 (N.D. Cal.): In this putative class action alleging violations of...more
1/28/2016
/ Class Action ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Monster Energy Drinks ,
Natural Products ,
Subway ,
Trader Joes
This newsletter aims to keep those in the food industry up to speed on developments in food labeling and nutritional content litigation.
RECENT SIGNIFICANT RULINGS -
Court Rejects Class Settlement Bid in MSG Case...more