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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.

February 13, 2018 - Environmental Law, Product Liability, Consumer Products
California’s Green Chemistry Agency Issues Its Draft 2018-2020 Three-Year Priority Product Work Plan
By: William F. Tarantino
On February 8, 2018, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a Draft Three-Year Priority Product Work Plan (2018-2020) (new Work Plan) under its Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program. The SCP Program is an innovative regulatory scheme to evaluate and require safer
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February 06, 2018 - False Advertising
Amended California Law Expands Requirements for Consumer Subscriptions
By: Julie O'Neill
Subscription and other automatic renewal offers are heavily regulated at both the federal and state levels. A recent amendment to California’s law provides a good opportunity for businesses to review their practices. [1] As of July 1, 2018, the obligations under California law will
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January 29, 2018 - False Advertising, Consumer Products, Retail
Reading the Tea Leaves: Ninth Circuit Further Clarifies Injunctive Standing Issues in Bigelow Tea Cases
On December 20, 2017, the Ninth Circuit refined the injunctive standing requirements in the misbranding context in Victor v. Bigelow and Khasin v. Bigelow (collectively, “ Bigelow ”), finding that injunctive standing is limited and requires a current intent to purchase challenged products in
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January 25, 2018 - Consumer Products, CPSC
Nomination of a New Chairman at the CPSC
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
With the start of the new year, President Trump again nominated Republican Ann Marie Buerkle to chair the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Her expected confirmation will continue to push the CPSC in a more corporate-friendly direction that focuses on consensus building rather
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January 17, 2018 - TCPA, Class Action
TCPA Vicarious Liability Limited by Ninth Circuit in Texting Class Action
By: Tiffany Cheung
In the high-risk Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) arena, the Ninth Circuit recently offered some respite. On January 10, 2018, the Ninth Circuit limited the potential liability that companies may unknowingly face for the communication practices of their upstream vendors. In Kristensen v. Credit
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January 16, 2018 - FDA, Drug & Medical Device, Product Liability
3D Printing Meets Medical Devices: FDA Weighs In On Additive Manufacturing
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance on Technical Considerations for Additive Manufactured Medical Devices. The guidance represents FDA’s efforts to provide regulatory direction about additive manufacturing (AM)—the broad field of 3D printing—of medical devices. Specifically, AM makes objects by
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January 10, 2018 - Internet of Things, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Government Actions, CPSC
Connected Devices Bring New Product Liability Challenges
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
“My Google Home Mini was inadvertently spying on me 24/7 due to a hardware flaw,” wrote a tech blogger who purchased Google Inc.’s latest internet of things (IoT) device. Following the incident, a pact of consumer advocacy groups insisted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
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January 09, 2018 - Class Certification, Class Action
California Class Actions: 2018 Update
In our California Class Actions 2018 Update, we have outlined several key cases and trends that define the current class actions landscape. From “litigation tourism” to new definitions for unfair and fraudulent, we provide a rundown on the most-watched and influential recent cases. Please
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January 03, 2018 - FDA, Consumer Products, Retail
Makeup Shake Up: Potential New Federal Cosmetics Regulations
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
“Make fine lines and wrinkles disappear!” “Reduce the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles!” At first read, these claims sound one in the same. But for decades, a slight difference in phrasing of cosmetics claims—created as a function of current cosmetics regulations—has been responsible
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December 26, 2017 - Product Liability, Aviation & Drones
Old Republic – Personal Jurisdiction Trending Defendant Friendly
In a recent decision regarding the scope of personal jurisdiction, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals extended the recent trend of limiting the reach of personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants. Old Republic Insurance Co. v. Continental Motors , Case No. 16-1408, (10th Cir. Dec.
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