Several recent cases arising under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA” or the “Act”), 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., highlight the usefulness of preemption as a defense against putative class actions concerning drugs, cosmetics, dietary supplements, medical devices, and other consumer products subject to the Act. The FDCA provides for exclusive enforcement by the FDA and has no private right of action. Implied preemption also extends to state law claims based on allegations that the defendant violated FDA regulations. Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs’ Legal Comm., 531 U.S. 341 ..read more

False advertising and labeling consumer class actions filed against consumer packaged goods companies have surged in the last few years, with more than 300 new cases filed each year since 2021. More than a quarter of these have been filed in California federal courts. A key question in many of these cases is what information the reasonable consumer would read and rely on from the product packaging. In June 2023, the Ninth Circuit weighed in on this topic, providing helpful guidance to companies. In McGinity v. P&G, the Court was asked to rule on whether shampoo and condition ..read more

The Ninth Circuit recently struck a blow against plaintiffs’ attorneys’ ability to recover handsome attorney’s fee awards in class action settlements when there is little actual benefit to the class. In Lowery v Rhapsody International, Inc., No. 22-15162 (9th Cir. June 7, 2023), a Ninth Circuit panel reversed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s award of $1.7 million in attorney’s fees to plaintiffs’ counsel in a copyright class action, finding that the fee award was not reasonable when compared to the class’ actual recovery of $52,841, without any injunctive relie ..read more

Recent FDA guidance for determining and declaring the protein grams in a serving has helped muscle a class action out of federal court. FDA’s guidance clarifies that protein nutrient content claims under 21 CFR 101.9(c)(7) can be based on either a direct or indirect methodology.  Under the first method, protein content can be determined by calculating the amino acid content of the food item (which directly correlates with the amount of protein in a food).  Under the second method, protein content can be determined by using the nitrogen-content method (which indirectly measures the am ..read more

Continuing the trend of recognizing Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) as a muscular privacy-protective statute, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District has ruled that the most common statutory violations of BIPA are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. BIPA imposes several duties on companies that collect, store or use biometric data—e.g., fingerprints, facial geometry scans—from Illinois residents. Prevailing plaintiffs may recover liquidated damages ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for each BIPA violation (plus attorneys’ fees), and these provisions ince ..read more

The Supreme Court further limited consumer lawsuits in TransUnion, LLC v. Ramirez, siding with credit reporting agency TransUnion in a 5-4 decision holding that thousands of consumers improperly flagged as potential terrorists do not have standing to sue the company for damages. TransUnion expands upon Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 2578 U.S. 330, 340 (2016) in limiting standing under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Article III to plaintiffs who have suffered a concrete harm, not just the violation of a statutory right. As a practical matter, TransUnion significantly narrows plaintiffs’ abil ..read more

In recent years, website operators have increasingly used chatbots to improve customer engagement and provide customer support. In the past several months, however, the plaintiffs’ bar has expressed concerns about the privacy implications of these chatbots, and has brought a wave of litigation challenging their use under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Broadly speaking, CIPA prohibits the use of any device to eavesdrop on or record a conversation without the consent of all parties involved. These lawsuits allege that the chatbot technology “eavesdrops” on and “records ..read more

In Oberstein v. Live Nation Ent. Inc. No. 21-56200 (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2023), the Ninth Circuit addressed the question of whether the arbitration and class action waiver clauses on Ticketmaster’s and Live Nation’s websites effectively prevented plaintiffs from bringing suit. Plaintiffs in the case sought to bring a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation alleging as the basis for antitrust claims that the companies used their market power to charge above-market prices for concert tickets. Ticketmaster and Live Nation sought to compel the named plaintiffs to individual arb ..read more

Among other things, the federal TCPA imposes liability for calling/texting cell phone numbers using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (“ATDS”) without sufficient prior express consent. As defined by the TCPA, ATDS is “equipment which has the capacity—(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to dial such numbers.” The TCPA grants a private right of action and allows a plaintiff to recover statutory penalties of $500 per call/text in violation, or up to $1,500 for a knowing or willful violation. These statutory penalt ..read more

Recent FDA guidance for determining and declaring the protein grams in a serving has helped muscle a class action out of federal court. FDA’s guidance clarifies that protein nutrient content claims under 21 CFR 101.9(c)(7) can be based on either a direct or indirect methodology.  Under the first method, protein content can be determined by calculating the amino acid content of the food item (which directly correlates with the amount of protein in a food).  Under the second method, protein content can be determined by using the nitrogen-content method (which indirectly measures the am ..read more