Author Archives: rtushnet

scientific studies don’t have to be of D’s product exactly for plausibility

Rosenfeld v. AC2T, Inc., 2021 WL 4197176, No. 1:20-cv-04662-FB-PK (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 15, 2021) Rosenfeld alleged that defendants fraudulently marketed a mosquito control product called “Spartan Mosquito Eradicator.” Spartan’s advertising allegedly touted that the product will “significantly decrease[ ] [mosquito] population … Continue reading

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Video game skates away from liability to pro skateboarder

Miller v. Easy Day Studios Pty Ltd, 2021 WL 4209205, No. 20cv02187-LAB-DEB (S.D. Cal. Sept. 16, 2021) Gordon v. Drape did mess things up in the Ninth Circuit, but core Rogers cases are still simple. Defendants paid Zachary Miller, a … Continue reading

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Another reason for statehood: DC law can’t confer organizational standing beyond Article III

Clean Label Project Found. v. Garden Of Life, LLC, 2021 WL 4318099, No. 20-3229 (RC) (D.D.C. Sept. 23, 2021) CLP, a non-profit, sued Garden of Life, a seller of prenatal supplements, for unlawful trade practices in violation of the District … Continue reading

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FB’s “Russian state-controlled media” label wasn’t commercial advertising or promotion

Maffick LLC v. Facebook, Inc., 2021 WL 1893074, No. 20-cv-05222-JD (N.D. Cal. May 11, 2021) Facebook’s application of “Russia state-controlled media” label to a news page on Facebook was not commercial advertising or promotion. Mentioned here mostly to highlight the … Continue reading

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Regulatory safe harbor bars claim over meaning of “gigabyte”

Dinan v. SanDisk LLC, 844 Fed.Appx. 978, No. 20-15287 (9th Cir. 2021) SanDisk allegedly violated the usual California consumer protection statutes by using gigabyte (“GB”) to mean 1,000,000,000 bytes (“the decimal definition”), when plaintiffs assumed gigabyte as used by SanDisk … Continue reading

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Mars and Quaker dodge chocolate/child slavery claims, but Starbucks doesn’t

Myers v. Starbucks Corp., 2021 WL 1921120, No. 5:20-cv-00335-JWH-SHKx (C.D. Cal. May 5, 2021) Myers sued Mars, Quaker Oats, and Starbucks under the CLRA and UCL, alleging claims related to use of child slaves to produce cocoa. Child slavery, which … Continue reading

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Made-in-USA claims over tea survive; “America’s Classic” could be falsifiable in context

Banks v. R.C. Bigelow, Inc., — F.Supp.3d —-, 2021 WL 1734779, No. 20-cv-6208 DDP (RAOx) (C.D. Cal. May 3, 2021) Plaintiffs sued over tea labeled “MANUFACTURED IN THE USA 100% AMERICAN FAMILY OWNED” and “AMERICA’S CLASSIC.” However, the tea leaves … Continue reading

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Disparate impact isn’t “unfair” for consumer protection purposes, court indicates

Schulte v. Conopco, Inc., No. 20-2696 (8h Cir. May 18, 2021) This would make a great student note topic: Is disparate impact “unfair” under state consumer protection laws? The court here implicitly says no, without ever confronting the question directly. … Continue reading

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over dissent, 5th Circuit applies Lanham Act to political speech

Alliance for Good Government v. Coalition for Better Government, No. 20-30233 (5th Cir. May 19, 2021) I sometimes hold out the hope that courts will develop a general treatment of the First Amendment/Lanham Act interaction. This case suggests that that … Continue reading

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competitor plausibly alleged injury by alleging consumers changed behavior upon discovering the truth

3B Medical, Inc. v. SoClean, Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2021 WL 2025153, No. 20-3477-cv (2d Cir. May 21, 2021) The parties compete in the market for medical devices that sanitize continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAPs), which treat sleep apnea … Continue reading

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