Tag Archives: first amendment

Oklahoma’s Indian arts & crafts consumer protection law preempted by federal law

Posted on April 1, 2019 by

Fontenot v. Hunter, No. CIV-16-1339-G  (W.D. Okla. Mar. 28, 2019) Oklahoma’s American Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act of 1974 was amended in 2016 to exclude from its definition of “American Indian” all persons but citizens or enrolled members of … Continue reading →

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En banc court again strikes down sugar-sweetened beverages warning, with divided and divisive reasoning

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

American Beverage Ass’ v. City & County of San Francisco, No. 16-16072 (9th Cir. Jan. 31, 2019) After the panel opinion striking down SF’s sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) disclosure was reheard by the en banc court in light of National Institute … Continue reading →

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Honey Badger don’t care for different reasons: court fixes artistic relevance but still doubles down on transformativeness

Posted on November 26, 2018 by

Gordon v. Drape Creative, Inc., No. 16-56715 (9th Cir. Nov. 20, 2018) Previous opinion discussed here; amicus brief that may have influenced the court to withdraw that opinion and put out a superseding one here. The court found a triable … Continue reading →

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Cents and sensibility: NY Ct of Appeals weighs in on credit surcharge law

Posted on October 25, 2018 by

Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, — N.E.3d —-, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 07037, 2018 WL 5258853 (Oct. 23, 2018) GBL section 518 states: “No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to use … Continue reading →

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it’s not defamatory to conflate 2 legally distinct entities when unity is what they wanted consumers to perceive

Posted on October 4, 2018 by

RainSoft v. MacFarland, No. 15-432 WES, 2018 WL 4696737 (D.R.I. Sept. 30, 2018) MacFarland runs lazymanandmoney.com, where he blogs about companies who provide consumer products and services. He and his wife “sat through an in-home demonstration of RainSoft’s water-treatment products.” … Continue reading →

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Sony’s claim that Michael Jackson performed songs on album was just its opinion

Posted on August 30, 2018 by

Serova v. Sony Music Entertainment, — Cal.Rptr.3d —- , 2018 WL 4090622, No. B280526 (Ct. App. Aug. 28, 2018) [This case says a bunch of stuff that’s way too broad for the facts; people who are concerned about things like … Continue reading →

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ad for a “true story” states an opinion, not a fact, when applied to an expressive work

Posted on August 7, 2018 by

Incarcerated Entertainment, LLC v. CNBC LLC, No. 18-480, 2018 WL 3677918 (D. Del. Aug., 2, 2018) Ads for TV shows aren’t immune from false advertising law.  However, “[s]ummarizing an argument or opinion offered within the show is different than a … Continue reading →

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