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.

April 27, 2018 - Drug & Medical Device, Product Liability, Consumer Products
Bristol-Myers Squibb: A Dangerous Sword
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that has the potential to reshape the way class actions are litigated in courts throughout the country. In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California,[1] or BMS, the court clarified the scope
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April 25, 2018 - Consumer Products
The 2018 Legal Landscape: Here’s What’s In Store for Consumer Products Companies
Running a successful consumer products company in a rapidly evolving business landscape is no small feat. Consumer trust is central to success, but events like product recalls, contaminations, product defects, privacy violations, and data breaches can undermine that trust. These risks only increase when
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April 25, 2018 - Consumer Products
Legal Risks to Consumer Products Companies
What are the biggest legal risks facing consumer products companies in 2018? What are the 2018 new case activity drivers? What are your legal department’s biggest concerns for 2018? See our infographic below for results from our recent Legal Risks to Consumer Products Companies
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April 24, 2018 - Product Liability, Consumer Products, Retail
Here’s the Recipe: How to Ensure Your Food and Beverage Company Will Be Ready for a Value-Maximizing Sale
By: Spencer D. Klein, Joseph Sulzbach, Domnick Bozzetti and Jennifer Lee Taylor
You’ve created a great product and built a valued brand. You’ve devoted countless hours to building relationships with key distributors and retailers, designing attractive packaging, and forging a social media presence. But are you doing everything to ensure that your business is set up
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April 16, 2018 - Privacy, Class Certification, Product Liability, Retail
Time Is Money: Time Spent Resolving Issues Arising from Data Breaches Enough to Plead Standing and Damages
By: Tiffany Cheung
Another court has allowed individuals to move past the preliminary stages of litigation by finding that “lost time” and the “time value of money” are injuries. Building on its prior rulings allowing data breach cases to jump over standing hurdles, on April 11, 2018, in
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March 30, 2018 - Privacy, Consumer Products
No Injury? No Problem: Mere Risk of Identity Theft Can Establish Standing
Overview Standing requirements have forced many a data breach action to stand down. Can a plaintiff have a claim (and on behalf of a massive class) when plaintiff hasn’t suffered any harm? For those polling the Circuits, the Ninth Circuit votes “yes.” And because
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March 27, 2018 - Internet of Things, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Government Actions, CPSC
CPSC Will Sharpen Its Focus on IoT in Upcoming Public Hearing About Internet-Connected Devices
By: Julie Y. Park
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that on May 16, 2018, it will hold a public hearing on “potential safety issues and hazards associated with internet-connected consumer products.” [1] The Commission will hear testimony from interested stakeholders on potential safety hazards created
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March 23, 2018 - Privacy
The Dark Web—the Next Frontier in Data Breach Standing Analysis Amid a Deepening Circuit Split
By: Purvi G. Patel
A split among U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding what harm should suffice to maintain standing in data breach litigation doesn’t get easier to address as new questions of whether extrinsic evidence from Dark Web searches of breached personal data for sale can be
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March 20, 2018 - TCPA, Class Action
An Autodialer Ain’t What It Used to Be: D.C. Circuit Rejects FCC’s Broad Ruling on the TCPA’s Scope
By: Tiffany Cheung and Julie O'Neill
Late last week, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its much-anticipated ruling in ACA International et al. v. Federal Communications Commission , No. 15-1211 (Mar. 16, 2018).The ruling appears to pare back significantly the scope of activity that may be subject to the Telephone
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March 16, 2018 - Appellate & Supreme Court, Drug & Medical Device, Product Liability
Will High Court Provide Clarity On ‘Clear Evidence’?
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
The U.S. Supreme Court may soon revisit one of its seminal decisions defining products liability law for pharmaceutical manufacturers. That decision — Wyeth v. Levine — addressed whether a branded manufacturer could be held liable for state-law failure-to-warn claims even though federal law regulates
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Welcome to Class Dismissed

Bristol-Myers Squibb: A Dangerous Sword

By: Claudia M. Vetesi

The 2018 Legal Landscape: Here’s What’s In Store for Consumer Products Companies

Legal Risks to Consumer Products Companies

Here’s the Recipe: How to Ensure Your Food and Beverage Company Will Be Ready for a Value-Maximizing Sale

By: Spencer D. Klein, Joseph Sulzbach, Domnick Bozzetti and Jennifer Lee Taylor

Time Is Money: Time Spent Resolving Issues Arising from Data Breaches Enough to Plead Standing and Damages

By: Tiffany Cheung

No Injury? No Problem: Mere Risk of Identity Theft Can Establish Standing

CPSC Will Sharpen Its Focus on IoT in Upcoming Public Hearing About Internet-Connected Devices

By: Julie Y. Park

The Dark Web—the Next Frontier in Data Breach Standing Analysis Amid a Deepening Circuit Split

By: Purvi G. Patel

An Autodialer Ain’t What It Used to Be: D.C. Circuit Rejects FCC’s Broad Ruling on the TCPA’s Scope

By: Tiffany Cheung and Julie O'Neill

Will High Court Provide Clarity On ‘Clear Evidence’?

By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park