State Unfair Competition Laws

As this space has addressed before (see here and here), the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act (Civ. Code section 1714.43), enacted in 2010, requires large retailers and manufacturers (those with worldwide sales in excess of $100 million) doing business in California to disclose on their websites their…

“…Clowns to the right of me, jokers to the left, here I am…”

We recently blogged about a new wave of class action litigation related to California’s Transparency in Supply Chains Act. In December, Nestlé USA won the dismissal of a complaint against it alleging that the company was “obligated to inform consumers that some proportion of its cat food products…

Our colleagues Michael Arnold and Gauri Punjabi recently discussed the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Federal Rule 68 “pick off” strategy on Mintz Levin’s Employment Matters Blog. We previously blogged about this crafty strategy employed by class-action defense counsel back in November 2014. Following the recent Campbell-Ewald…

The first round goes to the industry: on December 9, 2015, the Central District of California dismissed the complaint in Barber v. Nestle USA, a key bellwether case in a new wave of class action litigation related to California’s Transparency in Supply Chains Act. The Barber plaintiffs’ theory…

A courtroom battle concerning a manufacturer’s alleged false marketing of allegedly foreign-produced products as “Made in USA” is potentially nearing a resolution. On November 30, 2015, the lead plaintiff in Paz v. AG Adriano Goldschmied, Inc. et al. asked the court for preliminary approval of a $4 million…

California, the beacon of individualism and often marching to its own set of rules, has joined the rest of the country as Gov. Jerry Brown has signed SB 633 which revises California’s take on what constitutes “Made in USA”.

In our continuing efforts to highlight litigation trends that affect consumer product companies, we often focus on class actions brought in California and, especially, its federal Northern District. The Northern District of California has come to be nicknamed the “Food Court,” and with good reason: the district is…

In recent years, we’ve noticed a new maneuver that class-action defense counsel have increasingly added to their playbooks: The Pick Off. This is how the play is run: Offer the named plaintiff(s) full relief through a Rule 68 offer of judgment and, even if the plaintiff(s) reject the…

California’s District Courts have, of late, become the go-to jurisdictions for plaintiffs bringing ‘natural’ labeling lawsuits against national food manufacturers. This is due, in large part, to California’s consumer-friendly Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumer’s Legal Remedies Act. California District Courts may be sending a different…

Demi Lovato’s hit song “Made in the USA” recounts how her love for her boyfriend is both amazing and patriotic. If they had fallen in love in Paris or Acapulco, however, she may be facing an enforcement action by the FTC or a lawsuit in California under Business…

Proposed legislation has been introduced by 3 members of the House, including Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), senior Democrat on the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee, which would direct the Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) to create a single, standard front-of-package labeling system for all food…

Would “reasonable consumers” have regarded Paul Cezanne as highly had he painted numerous versions of still life with froot?

A question before district courts these days seems to be whether 100% natural molasses move any slower than the FDA. In July, the Food Court in the Northern District of California asked FDA to opine on the proper use and application of “whether and under what circumstances food…

In what may be an indication of things to come, the Food Court (US District Court Northern District of California) has decided to ask FDA for guidance on what it wants on food labels. The Food Court directly addressed the labeling of foods containing GMOs as “natural” in…

It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon, you need a snack – maybe a granola bar, but which one? Does the package that boasts it is “100% Natural” win out over the one that is only “All Natural”? Would you even consider one that is merely “Natural”? Well, don’t…