The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) recently issued an advisory clarifying that existing Massachusetts law applies to artificial intelligence (AI) to the same extent as any other product in the stream of...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed, without prejudice, a proposed class action complaint against Tom’s of Maine, Inc, (“Tom’s”) and its majority shareholder Colgate-Palmolive...more
Our weekly roundup aims to keep our readers up to date on recent notable rulings in the food & consumer packaged goods space. - Felix Bermudez et al. v. Colgate-Palmolive Company, No. 1:21-cv-10988-JLR (S.D.N.Y. – March...more
Over the past several years, federal courts have rarely allowed slack-fill class actions to survive beyond the motion to dismiss phase. Whether the plaintiffs allege that the packaging is misleading or that the slack-fill is...more
As we discussed in a previous post, the Northern District of California recently dismissed a plaintiff’s claim that the term “vanilla” was misleading on the label of a soymilk product. The Southern District of New York has...more
In Huskey v. Colgate-Palmolive Company, No. 4:19-cv-02710-JAR (E.D. Mo.), plaintiffs Drew Huskey and Jamie Richard (Plaintiffs) claimed that Colgate-Palmolive Company (Colgate) falsely advertised that its Speed Stick...more
On May 29, the Second Circuit held that an orange juice company’s use of the word “Natural” in its brand name was not deceptive as a matter of law, notwithstanding the presence of trace amounts of an artificial herbicide in...more
We have previously written about decisions addressing food product labels, and the messages that these labels convey about the products’ ingredients. In Jessani v. Monini, the Second Circuit found that a product label for...more
A magistrate judge in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a putative class action alleging that Trader Joe’s misled its consumers about the purity of its manuka honey. Moore v. Trader Joe’s Co., No....more
California has long been considered a hospitable place to bring a class action, and accordingly it’s also been a popular one. But some class action plaintiffs in the Golden State have encountered an unlikely hurdle: the...more
A dog food company served its customers a mixed bag of puffery and actionable claims, a New Jersey federal court determined when dismissing parts of a false advertising class while letting others move forward....more
Labor and Employment - Jimmy John's Avoids Joint-Employer Finding in Worker Overtime Litigation - In In re: Jimmy John's Overtime Litigation, 2018 WL 3231273 (N.D. Ill. June 14, 2018), a federal district court ruled that...more
In a recent decision, the California Court of Appeal reaffirmed and clarified how the “reasonable consumer” standard must be applied at the pleadings stage to mislabeling claims. In simplest terms, if the packaging makes a...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - ASA Upholds Complaints Against Ads Targeting Children - The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld the Obesity Health Alliance’s complaints against advertisements...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - FDA Commissioner Questions Milk Standards Enforcement - At a speaking engagement, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb reportedly expressed that the...more
Proposal Would Move Food Regulation to USDA - As part of a proposal to reorganize several federal agencies, the Trump administration has recommended that food-safety regulatory oversight be shifted to the U.S. Department...more
Community Science Institute v. Target Corp, et al., No. RG18-887565 (Cal. Super. Ct. – Alameda Cnty.): Proposition 65 action alleging Defendant fails to warn consumers that its Up & Up Toddler Beginnings Infant Formula with...more
Subway Sweepstakes Ads Lacked Adequate Disclosures, CARU Finds - After reviewing an ad for Subway’s “Fresh Fit for Kid’s Meal” featuring premium toys and offering a sweepstakes for a tablet, the Children’s Advertising...more
Each year, food, beverage and agribusiness companies pay millions of dollars in settlements, penalties and judgments to consumers allegedly harmed through the sale, advertisement and manufacture of their products. The legal...more
The use of beauty products is “an understudied source of environmental chemical exposures” with a disparate effect on women of color, George Washington University and Occidental College researchers argue. Ami R. Zota, et al.,...more
Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Class Action Involving Healthfulness of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil - Traction v. Viva Labs, Inc., No. 3:16-cv-02772 (S.D. Cal.): The Court issued an order denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss...more
On August 1, 2017, plaintiff Raymond Alvandi filed a putative class action in California federal court against Annie’s, Inc., seeking damages and injunctive and declaratory relief. Alvandi alleges that Annie’s misrepresented...more
Truffles are renowned as one of the rarest delicacies in the world. Perhaps not quite as rare, but still fairly uncommon, is the dismissal with prejudice of a false advertising class action without the plaintiffs being...more
On January 3, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to adopt “administrative feasibility” as an independent requirement for class certification. It held that Rule 23 does not require class counsel to show at the...more
On September 12, 2016, Southern District of California Judge Barry Moskowitz granted defendants’ motion to dismiss several of plaintiffs’ claims in the putative class action Hammock v. Nutramarks, Case No. 15cv2056 BTM (NLS)....more