Tag Archives: consumer protection

benefit of the bargain damages can be measured by cost of repair in car class action

Posted on August 29, 2019 by rtushnet

Nguyen v. Nissan North America, Inc., 932 F.3d 811 (9th Cir. 2019) Nguyen bought a new 2012 Nissan 370Z with an allegedly potentially catastrophic design defect hidden in the vehicle’s hydraulic clutch system. “After the clutch purportedly malfunctioned—and Plaintiff spent … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Kellogg’s un-FDAMA-approved health claim was “unlawful” under UCL

Posted on August 15, 2019 by rtushnet

Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Co., 2019 WL 3804661, No. 16-CV-04955-LHK (N.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2019) An important reminder that California’s UCL makes “unlawful” conduct a violation even without separate consumer deception (although consumer belief may be important for damages causation).  … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

false advertising trolling, consumer protection, or both

Posted on August 3, 2019 by rtushnet

I wrote about a couple of cases filed by a supplement maker, Outlaw, against retailers that sold allegedly unlawful “male enhancement” supplements that the FDA has issued warnings on—sometimes the “supplements” illegally contain pharmaceuticals like sildenafil (active ingredient in Viagra).  … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Keurig unsuccessfully argues that false advertising law unconstitutionally compels speech

Posted on July 3, 2019 by rtushnet

Smith v. Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., No. 18-cv-06690-HSG, 2019 WL 2716552 (N.D. Cal. Jun. 28, 2019) Smith brought a putative class action against Keurig, alleging that its “recyclable” single-serve plastic coffee pods were mislabeled as such because they are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Court formulates survey question in consumer protection case

Posted on June 27, 2019 by rtushnet

Moorer v. Stemgenex Medical Group, Inc., No. 16-cv-2816-AJB-NLS, 2019 WL 2602536 (S.D. Cal. Jun. 25, 2019) This “complex and troubling case” involves allegedly false advertising of stem cell treatments; the court found it “narrowly” certifiable and—unusually—specified the consumer survey questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Placebo effect is ok by CLRA: Homeopathic remedy wins jury trial on false advertising, still needs to defend against “unfairness”

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rtushnet

Allen v. Hylands, Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2019 WL 2142843, No. 17-56184 (9th Cir. May 15, 2019) Allen, on behalf of a class, appealled following a jury’s verdict in favor of Hyland’s. “The gravamen of [Allen’s] claims is that Hyland’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

hijacking another’s webpage for competing service is bad

Posted on May 1, 2019 by rtushnet

Spy Dialer, Inc. v. Reya LLC, 2019 WL 1873296, No. ED CV 18-1178 FMO (SHKx) (C.D. Cal Mar. 18, 2019) The parties compete in the market for reverse phone lookups.  When a user accessed plaintiff’s Spydialer.com, malicious computer code allegedly … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

antitrust/false advertising claims against Keurig’s K-Cup conduct survive

Posted on April 30, 2019 by rtushnet

In re Keurig Green Mountain Single-Serve Coffee Antitrust Litig., 2019 WL 1789789, No. 14-MD-2542 (VSB) (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 22, 2019) Big antitrust litigation in which many claims survive; I’m only discussing the false advertising-relevant bits, but the basic antitrust claims under … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“prevailing price” regs not unduly vague, but commercial speech doctrine may still defeat them

Posted on April 29, 2019 by rtushnet

People v. Superior Court, — Cal.Rptr.3d —-, 2019 WL 1615288, No. B292416 (Ct. App. Apr. 16, 2019) The Los Angeles City Attorney asserted claims under California consumer protection law against the real parties in interest, including J.C. Penney, alleging that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

class action settlement can’t surrender state agency/CFPB’s rights to recover

Posted on April 29, 2019 by rtushnet

Consumer Protection Division v. Linton, 2019 WL 1770524, No. 2609 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. Apr. 22, 2019) The court explains: The class action settlement at issue here involves vulnerable people who were poisoned by lead in their homes. Before they … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment