Tag Archives: false advertising

“most experienced” is puffery, but misrepresenting degree of responsibility for projects could be false

Posted on January 2, 2020 by rtushnet

Cypress Advisors, Inc. v. Davis, 2019 WL 7290948, No. 17-cv-01219-MSK-KLM (D. Colo. Aug. 28, 2019) Cypress provides financial advice to clients in the franchise restaurant industry. Defendant Kent Davis used to work there, but he left and started a competing … Continue reading →

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“diet” isn’t misleading for soda even if surveys say it is

Posted on January 1, 2020 by rtushnet

Becerra v. Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., 2019 WL 7287554, No. 18-16721 (9th Cir. Dec. 30, 2019) Becerra alleged that Dr Pepper violated the usual California consumer-fraud laws by branding Diet Dr Pepper using the word “diet.” She cited dictionary definitions … Continue reading →

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Competitor’s Google review accusing P of “scam” was nondefamatory opinion

Posted on January 1, 2020 by rtushnet

Creditors Relief LLC v. United Debt Settlement LLC, 2019 WL 7288978, No. 17-7474 (D.N.J. Dec. 30, 2019) Plaintiff CR is a New Jersey-based debt settlement company that has allegedly “received significant publicity and an A+ rating from the Better Business … Continue reading →

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e-cigarette sellers must substantiate greater population-level safety to make “safer” claims

Posted on December 30, 2019 by rtushnet

Nicopure Labs, LLC v. Food & Drug Admin., No. 17-5196 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 10, 2019) In the Tobacco Control Act, Congress gave the FDA additional authority to regulate tobacco because previous measures “failed adequately to curb tobacco use by adolescents.” … Continue reading →

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you can’t plead false advertising to get around Dastar

Posted on December 27, 2019 by rtushnet

Focal Point Films, LLC v. Sandhu, 2019 WL 7020209, No. 19-cv-02898-JCS (N.D. Cal. Dec. 20, 2019) (magistrate, by consent) Focal Point/Gibel sought a declaratory judgment that Gibel was the sole author of a documentary film called Sign My Name to … Continue reading →

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don’t bring a chef to a food class action

Posted on December 16, 2019 by rtushnet

Marotto v. Kellogg Co., No. 18 Civ. 3545 (AKH), 2019 WL 6798290, — F.Supp.3d —- (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2019) Here, the plaintiff’s status as a highly trained chef makes his class claims against Pringles dubious, but the class certification ultimately … Continue reading →

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court enjoins bar on “fake meat” labels; implications for FDA standards of identity?

Posted on December 16, 2019 by rtushnet

Turtle Island Foods SPC v. Soman, No. 4:19-cv-00514-KGB (E.D. Ark. Dec. 11, 2019) Unsurprisingly, the court here enjoins provisions of Arkansas law that tried to restrict the use of “meat” terms for meatless alternatives. The worrying part is that the … Continue reading →

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Touting a paid-for report as if it were independent could be false advertising; public webpage was “advertising”

Posted on December 9, 2019 by rtushnet

Pegasystems, Inc. v. Appian Corp., — F.Supp.3d —-, 2019 WL 6560120, No. 19-11461-PBS (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 3019) Undisclosed sponsorship of a critical report from an apparently neutral source leads to a Lanham Act/state false advertising claim, which the court … Continue reading →

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A press release about a lawsuit against a supplier wasn’t commercial speech

Posted on December 5, 2019 by rtushnet

Townsend Farms, Inc. v. United Juice Corp., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2019 WL 6358780, No. 18-55067, No. 18-55068 (9th Cir. Nov. 27, 2019) Townsend included pomegranate arils supplied by Göknur in its Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend; some of those arils … Continue reading →

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false advertising claims against competing media nonprofit can continue under broad theory of commercial speech

Posted on November 22, 2019 by rtushnet

Tang v. Guo, 2019 WL 6169940, No. 17 Civ. 9031 (JFK) (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 20, 2019) The previous complaint was dismissed for failure to sufficiently allege commercial speech; the court now finds it sufficiently alleged because the media defendant had a … Continue reading →

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