Lauren Shoor (US)

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California Court of Appeal finally issues guidance to retailers on privacy issue for credit card customers

By Lauren Shoor (US) on May 25, 2015 Posted in Consumer class actions, Recent consumer products case law

California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, Civil Code section 1747.08, prohibits retailers from requesting or requiring “personal identification information” (PII) in connection with consumer credit card transactions and then recording that information. Following a February 2011 California Supreme Court opinion in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., plaintiffs filed hundreds of putative class action complaints against retailers … Continue reading

California’s Made In USA standard survives another test in court

By Lauren Shoor (US) on April 30, 2015 Posted in Consumer class actions, Recent consumer products case law

Another court in the Southern District of California has agreed that California’s Made in USA law is more stringent than the federal standard, holding that the law is not preempted by the Federal Trade Commission Act or the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. But the court also addressed a new claim—that the California law violates … Continue reading

Lack of defendant’s consumer records may not mean a class is unascertainable

By Lauren Shoor (US) on March 24, 2015 Posted in Consumer class actions, Recent consumer products case law

A California Court of Appeal recently held that a class is not unascertainable simply because individual class members cannot be identified from a defendant’s records so long as there is some objective means for identifying class members. In Aguirre v. Amscan Holdings, Inc., plaintiff alleged that defendant Party America violated the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act … Continue reading

Making online terms and conditions stick

By Lauren Shoor (US) on March 2, 2015 Posted in Consumer class actions, General, Recent consumer products case law

Because the interaction between online retailers and their customers is limited, online retailers have little choice but to present terms and conditions of sale on their websites. These online terms and conditions present concepts important to online retailers, including arbitration and choice of law provisions. The way in which online retailers present these terms and … Continue reading

“All natural” claims against Dole nixed; no deception if synthetics expected in food

By Lauren Shoor (US) on December 11, 2014 Posted in Consumer class actions

As we previously posted in “All natural: FDA silence continues to create problems for false advertising defendants”, the Food and Drug Administration’s failure to provide a definition of what a “natural” ingredient is makes it difficult for companies defending against false advertising claims based on allegations that food products are marketed as “natural” when the product allegedly … Continue reading

UPDATE: Recent jeans case confirms harsher “Made In USA” standards exist in California

By Lauren Shoor (US) on October 30, 2014 Posted in Consumer class actions, Federal Trade Commission, Recent consumer products case law

A California federal district court judge recently provided some clarity on the apparent disparity between California’s “Made in the USA” law and the standard set forth by the Federal Trade Commission. The Southern District Court of California’s recent decision in Paz v. AG Adriano Goldschmied confirms that California’s “Made in the USA” standard sets forth … Continue reading

No more rubber stamps: courts critical of class action settlements

By Lauren Shoor (US) on October 29, 2014 Posted in Consumer class actions, Recent consumer products case law

A number of recent cases show courts taking a more active role in approving class action settlements, more closely scrutinizing settlements meant to benefit class members. Just last month in Redman v. RadioShack Corporation the Seventh Circuit rejected a class action settlement providing for dissemination of $10 coupons to class members and $1 million in … Continue reading

California closely scrutinizes “Made in the USA” claims

By Lauren Shoor (US) on September 29, 2014 Posted in Consumer class actions, Federal Trade Commission

Labeling products as “Made in the USA” has seen increased popularity recently, as retailers and manufacturers attempt to capitalize on consumers’ desire to support domestic jobs and US-made goods. Despite the seeming cachet of these statements, they may open companies up to false and misleading advertising claims, particularly in plaintiff-happy California. “Made in the USA” … Continue reading