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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.

April 14, 2022 - Food Misbranding, Consumer Products
Till the Cows Come Home: Tenth Circuit’s Affirmation of Federal Preemption Is a Win for Defendants in Food Labeling Cases
By: Julie Y. Park and Lydia Davenport
The Tenth Circuit recently held that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) gets the final word on what “Product of the U.S.A.” means for labels of beef products. Thornton v. Tyson Foods, Inc. , No. 20-2124, 2022 WL 727628 (10th Cir. Mar. 11, 2022).
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April 13, 2022 - False Advertising, FDA, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Retail
Rulings, FDA Guidance May Help Food Cos. In Protein Suits
By: Claudia M. Vetesi and Lena Gankin
Originally published by Law360 , Claudia Vetesi, Nicole Ozeran, and Lena Gankin authored an article discussing a wave of protein-labeling lawsuits hitting food manufacturers, alleging that their products’ front-label protein content statements violate U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, and mislead consumers by overstating the amount
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March 22, 2022 - Privacy, FTC, Class Action
Deleting the Data: A Future Trend in Data Privacy Settlements?
By: Jessica Kaufman, Adam J. Hunt and Sophie Barnett
Meta recently agreed to settle one of the longest-running data privacy lawsuits in the United States. [1] The lawsuit challenged the company’s use of cookies to track users, including after they have logged out of their Facebook accounts. The significance of In re Facebook
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March 22, 2022 - Privacy
California AG Issues First CCPA Opinion: Consumers’ “Right to Know” Includes Businesses’ Internally Generated Inferences
The California Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recently concluded that the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) generally requires a covered business to disclose, upon request, its inferences about a consumer— whether generated internally or obtained from another source —unless the business can demonstrate
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February 01, 2022 - Privacy, Trials
California AG Issues Notices of Violations: Will We Soon Have Guidance on Loyalty Programs Under the CCPA
By: Julie O'Neill and Nathan Reilly
In an action that may eventually lead to clarification around what constitutes a “financial incentive” for purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on January 28, 2022 that his office (the AG) was beginning an “investigative sweep” pursuant
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January 20, 2022 - FDA, Food Misbranding, Consumer Products
FDA Ends Regulation of "French Dressing"
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
Last week the FDA announced that it would lift regulations controlling what can be called “French dressing.” The regulations—which had been in place since 1950—previously required that a product contain 35% vegetable oil and vinegar, lemon, or lime juice to be marketed as “French
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January 18, 2022 - Privacy
Privacy Litigation 2021 Year in Review: CCPA Litigation
By: Mark David McPherson, Purvi G. Patel and Michael Burshteyn
The California Consumer Privacy Act has been operative for two full years now, and plaintiffs continue to file CCPA claims at a brisk clip. 2021 saw nearly 100 new complaints with CCPA claims with many of the same types of claims we saw in
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January 14, 2022 - Arbitration
This Week at the Ninth: Arbitration Two Ways
The Ninth Circuit addressed the ability of non-parties to invoke arbitration agreements, and refreshed its law on the applicability of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity in the arbitration context. Read more from Lena Hughes in MoFo’s Left Coast Appeals blog. KIM NGO V. BMW OF
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January 13, 2022 - Privacy, Consumer Products, FTC
Forgot to Cancel? Pay Attention to Recent Auto-Renewal Law Changes
By: Julie O'Neill
As subscription models have gained exponential traction, legislatures are clamoring to ensure that their auto-renewal laws keep up with novel consumer protection issues. Several states have introduced or revised their auto-renewal laws, and the Federal Trade Commission has affirmed its commitment to enforce against
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January 12, 2022 - Appellate & Supreme Court, Class Action
High Court Orders Rethink Of $9.7M Award After TransUnion
By: Adam J. Hunt
The Supreme Court on Monday signaled to the lower courts that they need to seriously consider the impact of TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez , 594 U.S. ___ (2021) when addressing claims for statutory violations that do not result in any injury to the plaintiffs.
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