Category Archives: disclosures

Avis tries harder–to obscure extra fees

Posted on September 4, 2014 by rtushnet

Schwartz v. Avis Rent A Car System, LLC, 2014 WL 4272018, No. 11–4052 (D.N.J. Aug. 28, 2014) I’m blogging this case because of its discussion of the use of consumer perception experts in class actions, which seems to be on … Continue reading →

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COOL story, part 3: dissents

Posted on July 31, 2014 by rtushnet

Judge Henderson dissented, believing the question of Zauderer’s appropriate scope to have been resolved in R.J. Reynolds and unfairly revisited. Judge Brown also dissented, quite vigorously. Under the majority’s reasoning, “a business owner no longer has a constitutionally protected right … Continue reading →

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COOL story, part 1: DC Circuit upholds country of origin labeling rule

Posted on July 31, 2014 by rtushnet

American Meat Institute v. U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture, No. 13-5281 (D.C. Cir. July 29, 2014) The D.C. Circuit here, en banc, upholds country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements for meat, and in the process holds that Zauderer’s standard for compelled … Continue reading →

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Pom Wonderful and other misleading food claims

Posted on May 22, 2014 by rtushnet

Alan Levinovitz has a great article in Slate about scientific claims on food, which he argues are both misleading us and making us dumber.  You should read the whole thing, not least because he (perhaps with tongue in cheek?) calls … Continue reading →

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Slate on GMO labeling

Posted on May 20, 2014 by rtushnet

Slate’s story focuses on the question of the cost of labels.  If it’s just ink, the cost is virtually zero. However, if labeling changes consumer behavior (or retailer behavior), costs may change substantially.  The story, perplexingly, doesn’t discuss the question … Continue reading →

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New article: More than a Feeling: Emotion and the First Amendment

Posted on May 16, 2014 by rtushnet

127 Harv. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2014). Abstract: First Amendment law has generally been leery of government attempts to change the marketplace of emotions—except when it has not been. Scientific evidence indicates that emotion and rationality are not opposed, as the … Continue reading →

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Vermont enacts GMO/natural labeling law

Posted on May 9, 2014 by rtushnet

The law requires foods containing GMO organisms to be labeled and bars the use of “natural” on such foods.  More reason, perhaps, to expect federal action on “natural” sooner rather than later? http://tushnet.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

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mandatory disclosure doesn’t have to correct deception

Posted on April 2, 2014 by rtushnet

American Meat Institute v. United States Department of Agriculture, No. 13-5281 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 28, 2014) The court rejects challenges to meat labeling rules that demonstrate once again that commercial speech regulation and the post-Lochner settlement are inextricably linked. Here, … Continue reading →

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Consumer law and copyright conferences in April

Posted on March 24, 2014 by rtushnet

Making the Fine Print Fair, Georgetown Law symposium, April 4 The Georgetown Consumer Law Society and Citizen Works are hosting a symposium, Making the Fine Print Fair, at Georgetown on April 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  From the … Continue reading →

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pregnancy center isn’t commercial speaker; common sense can’t justify mandated disclosure

Posted on March 14, 2014 by rtushnet

Centro Tepeyac v. Montgomery County, No. DKC 10–1259, 2014 WL 923230 (D. Md. Mar. 7, 2014) The court enjoins Montgomery County’s attempts to make an anti-abortion counseling center conspicuously disclose that they don’t have medical personnel on staff and that … Continue reading →

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