California Senate Bill 478 (SB 478) will prohibit hidden fees for goods and services beginning July 1, 2024. The amendment to the California Legal Remedies Act (California Civil Code Section 1770(a)(29)) aims to eliminate...more
On October 7, the California governor approved SB 478 (the “Act”), enacting amendments to the Consumers Legal Remedies Act designed to prohibit “drip pricing,” which involves advertising a price that is lower than the actual...more
Last month, a cardholder filed a class action lawsuit in California against a national bank alleging that the bank failed to inform the consumer that his automatic payment enrollment would be canceled after a period of credit...more
A trio of recent cases challenging disparate food and beverage labels offers a few common substantive and procedural lessons for companies. First, the back panels – when considered in light of U.S. Food and Drug...more
When companies make advertising claims (including websites, social media, print, and product labels) that a product is beneficial to or not harmful to the natural environment, California law requires those companies to...more
Key Takeaway: As consumer demand for “sustainable” products grows, so does the risk of litigation challenging sustainability claims on advertising and packaging. As one recent case shows, failure to plead actual reliance can...more
We previously blogged about the dismissal without prejudice of a putative consumer class action alleging that the well-known confectioner Ghirardelli misled consumers into believing its “Premium Baking Chips Classic White...more
The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a consumer fraud class action pursuing restitution under California’s Unfair Competition Law because the plaintiff failed to show she lacked an adequate legal remedy. Sonner v. Premier...more
A California court denied Arizona Canning Company’s motion to dismiss an action challenging the depiction of its canned beans, moving forward a false advertising suit brought by a pair of consumers in the state....more
The plaintiffs brought a class action suit against Extra Space Storage Inc. for false advertising, unfair competition, and violation of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act. After the case was removed to the U.S....more
Time has run out on a deceptive pricing lawsuit against Fossil, with the parties reaching a $4.5 million settlement agreement. Timur Safransky accused the timepiece company of using deceptive comparative price tags on...more
A new class action lawsuit filed in California federal court accuses Panera Bread of false advertising based on a campaign promoting the fast-casual restaurant chain as a place to “eat clean.”...more
To settle a false advertising class action, The Gap will provide class members with 30 percent off coupons and make a $1 million payment to class counsel. Separate suits filed in 2014 against The Gap and Banana Republic...more
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Sonner v. Schwabe N. Am., Inc. et al., resolves a split among district courts evaluating the standard that applies to false labeling claims brought under California’s Unfair Competition...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
In this episode, Neal Marder, who heads Akin Gump’s consumer class action litigation practice from the firm’s Los Angeles office, discusses how false advertising claims are driving consumer class actions. Among the topics...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
The plaintiffs hit a snag in long-running litigation against Monster Beverage Corp. when a California federal court denied their motion to certify a class of nationwide consumers numbering in the hundreds of thousands....more
In the latest deceptive pricing class action resolution, Ann Taylor has agreed to pay more than $6 million to settle a challenge to the sales tags at its outlet stores....more
Has your company developed a corporate social responsibility program that you highlight on marketing materials? If so, you must choose your words carefully. Corporate social responsibility is a broad concept replete with...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
A District Court judge in California has dismissed a complaint against Nestlé USA Inc. and Nestlé Purina Petcare Co. (together “Nestlé”) which argued that the company was obligated to inform consumers that seafood in its...more
On November 2, 2015, Judge Alsup of the Northern District of California dismissed a consumer class action against food manufacturer Plum Organics for failure to state a claim. In Workman et al. v. Plum Inc., D/B/A Plum...more
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Application of VPPA to Free App - The latest decision interpreting the application of the Video Privacy Protection Act in the context of twenty-first century technology provides positive news for...more
Arroyo v. TP-Link USA Corporation (N.D. Cal.) presents a varied opinion on the viability of class claims under California law, particularly as brought by a non-California class representative. Plaintiff, a Florida resident,...more