Tag Archives: false advertising

Reading list: advertising atypical results

Ahmed E. Taha, Selling the Outlier, forthcoming in the Journal of Corporation Law. Via Public Citizen.   Advertisements for products ranging from weight-loss programs to mutual funds regularly feature the results of people who have used the product.  However, these … Continue reading

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False patent marking not actionable under Lanham Act

Leisure Concepts, Inc. v. California Home Spas, Inc., 2015 WL 3658190, No. 14–CV–388 (E.D. Wash. June 12, 2015)   Leisure and CHS compete in spa products, including spa cover lifters.  Leisure’s CoverMate I is protected by a patent, which it … Continue reading

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Court certifies class against JCPenney for allegedly false “sales”

Spann v. J.C. Penney Corp., 2015 WL 3478038, No. CV 12–0215 (C.D. Cal. May 18, 2015)   Spann sued JCP, bringing the usual California claims, for allegedly “falsely advertising ‘original’ prices, ‘sale’ prices and corresponding price discounts for its private … Continue reading

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violation of labeling law is presumptively material and deceptive

Brown v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc., 2015 WL 3398415, No. 11-cv-03082 (N.D. Cal. May 26, 2015) (magistrate judge)   Plaintiffs sued Hain for selling cosmetics whose front labels used the word “organic,” but that did not contain at least 70% … Continue reading

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failure to show damage from accusation of falsity dooms counterclaims

Cascade Yarns, Inc. v. Knitting Fever, Inc., 2015 WL 3407882, No. C10–861 (W.D. Wash. May 27, 2015) This five-year odyssey ends with a whimper.  Cascade and KFI sell luxury yarns; Cascade initially sued KFI for mislabeling the fiber content of … Continue reading

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UK ASA thinks “sponsored by” isn’t sufficient disclosure for pure ad

ASA Adjudication on Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Ltd   A video entitled “Easy Lip Makeup Tutorials for Winter Time” viewed on the “Beauty Recommended” You Tube channel [owned and run by P&G], featured a model vlogger. It … Continue reading

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Close but no cigar: “worked closely” claim is puffery

Springbrook Software, Inc. v. Douglas County, 2015 WL 2248449, No. 13–cv–760 (W.D. Wis. May 13, 2015) (magistrate judge)   Springbrook sued Douglas County and the City of Superior for breach of contract and related claims after they stopped paying fees … Continue reading

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ascertainability defeats class but EULA doesn’t

Perrine v. Sega of America, Inc., No. 13-cv-01962, 2015 WL 2227846 (N.D. Cal. May 12, 2015)   Gearbox developed and Sega produced the game “Aliens: Colonial Marines,” “held out as the canon sequel to James Cameron’s 1986 film ‘Aliens.’”  The … Continue reading

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SDNY allows consumer “organic” claims to proceed

Segedie v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc., 2015 WL 2168374, No. 14–cv–5029 (S.D.N.Y. May 7, 2015)   Plaintiffs bought Earth’s Best food, body care, and home care products, and alleged that they were misleadingly labeled as “organic,” “natural,” or “all natural.”  … Continue reading

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“Handmade” is too vague to be actionable for bourbon

Salters v. Beam Suntory, Inc., 2015 WL 2124939, No. 14cv659 (N.D. Fla. May 1, 2015)   Plaintiffs alleged that Maker’s Mark bourbon was falsely advertised as “handmade.” In a pithy opinion, the court found that they couldn’t state a claim … Continue reading

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