We have been following California’s “Made in the USA” standard and recent cases interpreting it. While courts so far have been reluctant to dismiss claims at the pleading stage, last week a federal judge dismissed a class action claiming Lands’
Consumer class actions
Supreme Court will determine whether class action plaintiffs can be bought off
The Supreme Court has granted cert to decide whether or not class action defendants can make the claims of named plaintiffs invalid by offering early settlements.
This practice, known as “mooting” an action or the “pick-off” strategy, occurs when, prior…
California Court of Appeal finally issues guidance to retailers on privacy issue for credit card customers
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…
UPDATE: Court approves Red Bull settlement
Bourbon need not be “made by hand” to be advertised as “handmade”
Proving that a false advertising claim can be thrown out on a motion to dismiss (despite recent cases in California indicating the contrary), a Florida federal judge tossed false advertising claims brought against Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc., determining that consumers…
Plaintiffs’ attorneys told to “get real” with fee award request
Although false advertising class action law in California is generally (and accurately) perceived as bending over backwards to advantage plaintiffs, recent fee award decisions may make plaintiffs’ lawyers more wary about bringing lawsuits that are not slam dunk victories.
This…
California’s Made In USA standard survives another test in court
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…
Ninth Circuit says “not so fast” for Hain Celestial dismissal
Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit reversed a holding by the District Court for Southern District of California dismissing “All Natural” false advertising claims against Hain Celestial cosmetics because they were barred by the primary jurisdiction doctrine. The Court stated that…
Ninth Circuit says manifestation of a defect does not matter at the pleading stage
Last month, the Ninth Circuit held that a district court in the Western District of Washington erred by striking class allegations from a complaint because a product defect did not manifest in the vast majority of products purchased.
District Court
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Lack of defendant’s consumer records may not mean a class is unascertainable
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. …