The unprecedented disruption caused by the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created challenges for brands. Temporary and perhaps permanent changes to advertising and marketing strategies and executions have occurred and will continue to impact brands. On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, Douglas Wood and Keri Bruce, partners at Reed Smith LLP, the ANA’s General Counsel and … Continue Reading
Jillian Petrera and Bretta Oluyede will be speaking on Tuesday, March 12th to the Association of National Advertisers. The free one-hour webinar, titled “What You Need to Know About Auto-Renewal Provisions in 2019” will explore the legal requirements for utilizing automatic renewals under the patchwork of federal and state laws and provide you with tools to mitigate … Continue Reading
A California federal court granted Trader Joe’s motion to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit with regards to Trader Joe’s alkaline water, finding that all but one of plaintiff’s claims were non-actionable puffery, and granting plaintiff leave to amend the single remaining claim. Plaintiff alleged that Trader Joe’s alkaline water product labelling, which included numerous plus … Continue Reading
A Kansas federal court granted Angie’s List’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging false advertising, finding that most of plaintiff’s claims were time-barred and the rest were not properly pled. The owner of a tree trimming business spent over $200,000 in advertising on Angie’s List from 2005 and 2013. According to the plaintiff, … Continue Reading
Plaintiff Kevin McCann launched a putative class action against The UCAN Company (“UCAN”), which markets and distributes a line of sports performance products including “Generation UCAN SuperStarch Drink Mix,” “Generation UCAN Protein Drink Mix,” and “UCAN Snack Bars powered by SuperStarch.” The products all contain “SuperStarch,” which UCAN claims to be an easily digestible carbohydrate … Continue Reading
In January of this year, the FTC announced its complaint against the Bollman Hat Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, SaveAnAmericanJob, LLC, for allegedly violating its policy on “Made in the USA” claims. Bollman and its subsidiary, which sells hats under the Bollman, Bailey Western, Betmar, Country Gentleman, Eddy Bros., Helen Kaminski, Jacaru, Kaminski XY, Kangol, … Continue Reading
Trader Joe’s “Ts & Js Lemon Grapefruit Lime Tangerine Sour Gummies” have soured the palate of at least one consumer, according to a recently-removed Southern District of California lawsuit. Plaintiff Serena Wong, who filed her complaint against the grocery giant earlier this year, claims that the candies contain an undisclosed artificial ingredient, d-l malic acid, … Continue Reading
A Florida federal judge chided putative class action lead plaintiff Michael Fox for what she described as “a quintessential shotgun pleading” last month and dismissed two defendants to Fox’s consumer protection lawsuit. Fox alleged violations of Florida’s consumer protection and gratuity notice laws against Loews Corp., Loews Hotels Holding Corp., MB Redevelopment LLC, and Loews … Continue Reading
Puffed quinoa snacks presumably would contain mostly quinoa right? Not according to the putative class action lawsuit filed in a New York federal court earlier this year. Lead plaintiff Russell Ransom alleges that defendant I Heart Foods Corp.’s line of “I Heart Keenwah” puffed quinoa snacks are not, as the name implies, primarily quinoa. Rather, … Continue Reading
Briefing closed last month on Post Holdings Inc.’s attempt to dismiss a putative class action false labeling suit over Post’s prepackaged mashed potatoes, which Post claims are “made with real butter.” The plaintiffs allege that although the product does contain real butter, Post misrepresented that in fact it also contains margarine. The plaintiffs initiated suit … Continue Reading
An Illinois federal court recently rejected packaged food company Pinnacle Foods Group LLC’s attempt to dismiss a putative class action suit against it over its line of “Wishbone E.V.O.O. Dressing- Made With Extra Virgin Olive Oil” salad dressings. The lead plaintiff allegedly purchased a bottle of the dressing in Illinois and took it across state … Continue Reading
Putative class representative Andrea Nathan renewed her efforts to hold Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. liable under California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and breaches of express and implied warranties over Vitamin Shoppe’s “Garcinia Cambogia” dietary supplements after a California district court judge tossed the suit in February of this year. Vitamin … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently reached an agreement with New York-based Telomerase Activation Sciences, Inc. and its CEO Noel Patton (collectively, “TA Sciences”), barring TA Sciences from making false or unsubstantiated claims regarding the efficacy and health benefits of two of TA Sciences’ products. According to the FTC’s administrative complaint, TA Sciences falsely advertised … Continue Reading
In 2011, plaintiffs launched a putative class action with class members from California, New York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin in a New Jersey district court against Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of PepsiCo, Inc. over Tropicana’s claim that its not-from-concentrate orange juice is “100% pure and natural.” The plaintiffs asserted that Tropicana’s processing methods—which allegedly … Continue Reading
In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Chemical Free Solutions LLC (“CFS”) reached a settlement barring CFS from making scientifically unsupported claims regarding the efficacy of its cedar oil-based bed bug eradication product Cedarcide Original. CFS made various false claims about its “BEST Yet!” bed bug and head lice products, including that it was … Continue Reading
A New York District Court dismissed the complaint of Anna Wurtzburger against fast food staple KFC over the size of KFC’s $20 “fill up” bucket. Wurtzburger alleged she purchased KFC’s “fill up” bucket meal advertised as consisting of “an eight piece bucket of chicken,” relying on the advertisement’s depiction of a bucket that may have … Continue Reading
Kirkland, Inc. will face a putative class action for allegedly violating the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”). The plaintiffs filed their complaint against Kirkland in April 2017 for displaying the first six and the last four digits of their credit card or debit card numbers on their purchase receipts. According to the plaintiffs, … Continue Reading
Popular indoor cycling company SoulCycle Inc. recently settled a nationwide putative class action in an agreement valued between $6.9 million and $9.2 million. The suit alleged that SoulCycle defrauded customers by selling gift certificates with expiration dates (and keeping the expiring, unused balances), in violation of state and Federal law. According to the complaint, SoulCycle … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (“ICPEN”)—an international network of more than 60 consumer protection agencies—updated its website. Although seemingly minor, this update represents ICPEN’s continued efforts to coordinate resolution of international consumer protection issues. For consumers, the ICPEN website is both informative … Continue Reading
By Leah Garner and Kimberly Chow on Posted in In the Courts
A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Darden Restaurants, Inc. (“Darden”), alleging that Darden violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”). Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that Darden, which includes Olive Garden among its restaurant chains, violated FACTA by printing the full expiration date on credit card receipts, allowing potential identity thieves to … Continue Reading
A class action lawsuit against the developer of Candy Crush will continue in Illinois federal court. According to the complaint, Candy Crush, a popular mobile game, entices users into sharing the game with Facebook friends in exchange for free “lives” (or plays) only to have those lives promptly deleted. The plaintiffs allege that the lives … Continue Reading
A class action lawsuit recently settled with KT Health LLC and KT Health Holdings LLC (“KT Health”). The plaintiffs alleged that certain advertising claims regarding KT Health’s KT Tape (kinesiology tape) was false and deceptive. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that KT Health claimed that its KT Tape “can be used for hundreds of common injuries” … Continue Reading
Subway scored a recent victory when a federal court dismissed a putative class action brought by two customers over a free sandwich promotion alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) after allegedly receiving a text message offering a free 6” Oven Roasted Chicken sub. Subway moved to compel arbitration, seeking to enforce the … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, President Obama approved two pieces of consumer protection legislation aimed at curbing the use of automatic programs to purchase tickets through online sellers and limiting the ability of companies to use contacts to prevent customers from posting online product reviews. Both bills passed through Congress with bipartisan support, as we reported in … Continue Reading
