Category Archives: procedure

The dangers of only arguing one half of 43(a)

Posted on April 29, 2015 by rtushnet

Diodato v. Wells Fargo Ins. Servs., USA, Inc., 44 F. Supp. 3d 541 (M.D. Pa. 2014) Darrell Diodato was employed by Wells Fargo Insurance for thirty-six years as an insurance producer, servicing existing insurance business and originating new insurance business. … Continue reading →

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Ad agency liability for false advertising without scienter

Posted on April 24, 2015 by rtushnet

Nestlé Purina Petcare Co. v. Blue Buffalo Co., No. 4:14 CV 859, 2015 WL 1782661 (E.D. Mo. Apr. 20, 2015)   Purina sued Blue Buffalo for false advertising of its dog food as “grain free” and containing “no chicken by-product.” … Continue reading →

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Fraudulent concealment allegations preserve Lanham Act claim

Posted on April 9, 2015 by rtushnet

In re Honey Transshipping Litigation, No. 13–cv–2905, 2015 WL 1539034 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 31, 2015)   The class plaintiffs sued for violations of the Lanham Act and RICO; I’m just discussing claims against defendant Honey Solutions. The claims came from … Continue reading →

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Allegations of fake independent reviews state false advertising claim

Posted on February 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Swiss America Trading Corp. v. Regal Assets, LLC, 2015 WL 631569, No. CV 14–04960 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 13, 2015)   Swiss competes with Regal to sell precious metals.  The parties promote themselves online and rely on internet reviews and recommendations.  … Continue reading →

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Passing off claim is subject to Rule 9(b) but passes

Posted on January 14, 2015 by rtushnet

Medscript Pharmacy, LLC v.My Script, LLC, LLC, No. 14 C 0469, 2015 WL 149062 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 12, 2015)   The complaint alleged that Medscript was a Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA) certified compounding pharmacy, while defendants are compounding … Continue reading →

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Disparagement to suppliers doesn’t trigger Lanham Act

Posted on December 1, 2014 by rtushnet

Neonatal Product Group, Inc. v. Shields, No. 13–CV–2601, 2014 WL 6685477 (D. Kan. Nov. 26, 2014) This is largely a patent case, in which defendants threatened Neonatal (dba Creche) with a lawsuit for patent infringement.  Creche sought a declaratory judgment … Continue reading →

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bills, applications and manuals can be commercial speech

Posted on November 12, 2014 by rtushnet

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. v. Mercury Payment Systems, LLC, 2014 WL 5812294, No. C 14–0437 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2014) Heartland and Mercury compete to provide electronic payment processing to small and medium-sized merchants through point of sale (POS) systems, … Continue reading →

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Photoshopping competitor’s product as one’s own could be false advertising

Posted on November 5, 2014 by rtushnet

Meggitt (Orange County), Inc. v. Nie, 2014 WL 5528546, No. SACV 13–0239 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 3, 2014) Note: the caption lists the defendant as Nie Yongzhong, and I’m following the rule that Chinese family names go first since he appears … Continue reading →

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Pleading standards for false advertising

Posted on October 14, 2014 by rtushnet

Cocona, Inc. v. Singtex Industrial Co., 2014 WL 5072730, Civil Action 14-cv-01593 (D. Colo. Oct. 9, 2014) Cocona created a process to use coconut particles in fabric, which is used for outdoor gear, to enhance odor control, moisture absorption, and … Continue reading →

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Twiqbal kills consumer class action in 2d Circuit

Posted on July 14, 2014 by rtushnet

DiMuro v. Clinique Laboratories, LLC, — Fed.Appx. —-, 2014 WL 3360586, No. 13–4551 (2d Cir. July 10, 2014) The Second Circuit quickly affirms the dismissal of a putative consumer class action based on Clinique’s marketing of seven different “Repairwear” cosmetics. … Continue reading →

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