Welcome to Class Dismissed

Morrison Foerster’s Class Dismissed blog provides insights and reports on the latest news, developments, and trends that affect consumer-facing companies. Subscribe to receive the latest updates by attorneys from our nationally recognized Consumer Class Action and Product Liability practices.

March 27, 2020 - Coronavirus (COVID-19), FDA, Consumer Products, Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)
FDA Warns Against At-Home COVID-19 Testing Kits
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
A number of startups announced they would begin selling at-home COVID-19 testing kits this week. These startups included: Carbon Health, a tech-enabled healthcare network that combines virtual and in-person care, Everlywell, a company that offers food sensitivity and various other home health tests, and
... ›
March 26, 2020 - Coronavirus (COVID-19), TCPA
Text Messaging in a Time of COVID-19: FCC Guidance on “Emergency Messages” and Restrictions on Telemarketing in New York
By: Tiffany Cheung and Adam J. Hunt
With nearly half of the United States population being either urged or ordered to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel in light of the COVID-19 crisis, modern forms of communication such as telephone calls, video chat, and, of course, text messaging, are
... ›
March 25, 2020 - Autonomous Vehicles & Robotics
Steering Ahead: NHTSA Looks to Modernize Rules for Automated Driving Systems
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) steered into a new direction that may accelerate the development of self-driving technologies. The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), in an effort to modernize Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (“FMVSS”), issued a notice of
... ›
March 24, 2020 - Coronavirus (COVID-19), FDA, Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices
FDA Calls “All Hands on Deck” to Keep Hand Sanitizer Stocked
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took yet another step to encourage production of basic medical supplies in the battle against COVID-19. On Friday, March 20, FDA published two new guidance documents communicating its policy on the manufacture of certain alcohol-based
... ›
March 23, 2020 - Coronavirus (COVID-19), FDA, Product Liability, Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices
PREP Act Declaration Emboldens Drug and Device Industry to Innovate in the Face of a Growing Crisis
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
COVID-19 is, quite literally, putting the medical supply industry to the test. Manufacturers are being pushed to develop novel products like therapies and vaccines to combat the disease as quickly as possible. The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act encourages drug and medical
... ›
March 17, 2020 - Coronavirus (COVID-19), FDA, Consumer Products
FDA and FTC Send Warning Letters to Companies Marketing Products to Treat Coronavirus; State Attorneys General Follow Suit
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
The rapid spread of coronavirus has spawned prolific marketing claims that any number of products can treat or prevent coronavirus. It comes as no surprise then that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued their first round of
... ›
March 10, 2020 - Class Action
Ninth Circuit Weighs In on Standing Requirements for Privacy Claims and Approval of Injunctive Relief-Only Class Settlements
Courts scrutinize class action settlements to ensure they result from arms-length negotiations and are fair and reasonable to absent class members. Applying that standard to a nationwide settlement of a privacy lawsuit against Facebook, on March 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit provided a helpful
... ›
March 05, 2020 - CPSC
Is This Seat Open? Nancy Beck Tapped to Chair CPSC
By: Erin M. Bosman, Julie Y. Park and Erin P. Lupfer
This week, President Trump announced that he intends to nominate Nancy Beck as Chair and Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The five-person CPSC has been short a member since the end of September 2019, when former Acting Chair Ann Marie Buerkle stepped
... ›
February 26, 2020 - False Advertising, Food Misbranding, MDL, Consumer Products
Is the Coke Half Full or Half Empty?
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
Earlier this month, a California federal judge certified six classes asserting state consumer protection statute claims in a multidistrict litigation alleging that The Coca-Cola Co. misled consumers about artificial flavors and added preservatives in its Coke products. See In re: Coca‑Cola Products Marketing and
... ›
January 30, 2020 - Appellate & Supreme Court, TCPA
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Review Fourth Circuit's TCPA Decision
By: Tiffany Cheung
On January 10, 2020, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision to strike the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) “government-debt exemption.” See Am. Ass’n of Political Consultants, Inc. v. FCC , 923 F.3d 159 (4th Cir. 2019). Because this federal
... ›

Welcome to Class Dismissed

FDA Warns Against At-Home COVID-19 Testing Kits

By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park

Text Messaging in a Time of COVID-19: FCC Guidance on “Emergency Messages” and Restrictions on Telemarketing in New York

By: Tiffany Cheung and Adam J. Hunt

Steering Ahead: NHTSA Looks to Modernize Rules for Automated Driving Systems

By: Claudia M. Vetesi

FDA Calls “All Hands on Deck” to Keep Hand Sanitizer Stocked

By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park

PREP Act Declaration Emboldens Drug and Device Industry to Innovate in the Face of a Growing Crisis

By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park

FDA and FTC Send Warning Letters to Companies Marketing Products to Treat Coronavirus; State Attorneys General Follow Suit

By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park

Ninth Circuit Weighs In on Standing Requirements for Privacy Claims and Approval of Injunctive Relief-Only Class Settlements

Is This Seat Open? Nancy Beck Tapped to Chair CPSC

By: Erin M. Bosman, Julie Y. Park and Erin P. Lupfer

Is the Coke Half Full or Half Empty?

By: Claudia M. Vetesi

Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Review Fourth Circuit's TCPA Decision

By: Tiffany Cheung