Morrison Foerster’s Class Dismissed blog provides insights, recommendations, and timely reports on the latest defense news, developments, and trends in the most current class actions lawsuits and product liability issues that affect consumer-facing companies. Through Class Dismissed, attorneys from our nationally recognized Consumer Class Action and Products Liability practices offer a real-time assessment of the developments in matters that are shaping the industry. This blog examines the full spectrum of consumer-related class action and product liability lawsuits ranging from false advertising, privacy, consumer product safety, ADA, food misbranding, TCPA, environment, retail, and government actions as well as nationwide and multidistrict litigation class actions.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Julie Park protects her clients’ products no matter what kind of product issue they face—whether it is planning for new product development, recalling an existing product, or defending clients against product liability or consumer class actions. Drawing on her deep technical and legal expertise, Julie counsels clients on consumer product safety regulation and pharmaceutical and medical device preemption while also managing complex and multijurisdictional litigation both in state and federal court.

Julie Y. Park

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe frameborder="0" class="sticky-video" allowfullscreen="1" title="Meet Penny Preovolos, Litigation Partner" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hv7hYn-Bl7c?rel=0&showinfo=0;vq=hd1080" title="iframe"></iframe></div>Penelope has served as lead counsel in major consumer class actions and antitrust cases for more than 35 years, successfully representing high-profile defendants in antitrust, consumer fraud, and product defect matters. Her clients span a range of industries, including consumer electronics, technology, retail, publishing, food and beverage, cosmetics, and household products. According to Chambers USA, Penelope has a “great reputation for antitrust and product liability work” and is a “superb all-around antitrust lawyer.”Penelope was named the 2019 Antitrust Lawyer of the Year by the Antitrust, UCL, and Privacy Section of the California Lawyers Association. She was co-chair of MoFo’s antitrust practice for 14 years. She has served as chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section of the State Bar of California and as a member of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Committee on Local Rules and Operations. She is an editor of and frequent contributor to Morrison & Foerster’s <a href="https://classdismissed.mofo.com/">Class Dismissed blog</a>, as well as a frequent speaker about class action and antitrust issues.More About PenelopePenelope clerked for the Honorable Charles M. Merrill, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was executive editor of the Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law Review. Penelope was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of California, Berkeley. She was awarded the University Medal, the highest undergraduate honor at the university, as well as the English Departmental Citation (awarded to the outstanding graduate in that department).

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Senior Counsel

Penelope has served as lead counsel in major consumer class actions and antitrust cases for more than 35 years, successfully representing high-profile defendants in antitrust, consumer fraud, and product defect matters. Her clients span a range of industries, including consumer electronics, technology, retail, publishing, food and beverage, cosmetics, and household products.

Penelope A. Preovolos

Claudia focuses her practice on the defense of consumer class actions and on complex commercial litigation, including unfair business competition, false advertising, product liability, and privacy matters. She is currently representing numerous consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in false advertising and mislabeling class action lawsuits. Claudia also regularly counsels clients in the food, cosmetics, retail, and technology industries. She represents companies in false advertising disputes before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.<h5>More about Claudia</h5>Claudia is active in MoFo’s pro bono efforts, and recently traveled to El Paso, Texas, to work with families separated and detained at the border. She is also supervising a pro bono collaboration with Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit fighting for gender justice in work places and schools across the country. The initiative will help students who have been victims of sexual assault, attempted assault, or harassment find support and seek justice. Claudia is also a board member of Bay Area Legal Aid and a former board member of Equal Rights Advocates. Claudia is an editor and frequent contributor to MoFo’s <a href="https://classdismissed.mofo.com/">Class Dismissed</a> blog, which provides reports about the latest defense news, developments, and trends in class action lawsuits and product liability issues that affect consumer-facing companies. Her perspectives are also respected in the larger legal community: Claudia has published articles about class action and false advertising issues, and is a co-author of Chapter 7 — “Unfair Competition in California Business Litigation 2016” — of The Recorder. She also regularly speaks at conferences on class action and advertising trends. Claudia is currently serving as a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California. She received her J.D. degree in 2004 from Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall School of Law), where she was an associate editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

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Claudia focuses her practice on the defense of consumer class actions and on complex commercial litigation, including unfair business competition, false advertising, product liability, and privacy matters. She is currently representing numerous consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in false advertising and mislabeling class actions.

Claudia M. Vetesi

Alexandra Barlow is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s San Diego office.Alexandra litigates product liability matters involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, automobiles, and AI. Alexandra's litigation expertise spans the entire case life cycle in both state and federal courts. She handles all phases of discovery, including fact investigation and expert discovery. Alexandra has taken over twenty-five depositions, including experts, plaintiffs, treating physicians, and third-party witnesses. She drafts and argues motions of all types, including motions for summary judgment, motions to quash, and motions for preliminary injunction.Alexandra has significant trial experience. She has first-chaired a one-week jury trial and second-chaired a five‑week jury trial, both involving multiple claims and witnesses. She also has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, representing clients at mediations, mandatory settlement conferences, and early neutral evaluations.Alexandra enjoys tracking developments and keeping her clients updated on product liability and personal injury claims, frequently writing or presenting on emerging areas such as autonomous vehicles and smart devices. Alexandra’s experience also extends to professional liability, warranty claims, eminent domain, and construction law.Alexandra earned her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. While in law school, the San Diego Law Review published her comment on the recovery of damages by plaintiffs in a persistent vegetative state, and she also served as a comment editor. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Spanish. A San Diego native, she attended a Spanish immersion school through the eighth grade. Alexandra is active in the San Diego community, advising students at a local college. She is also a member of several legal organizations in San Diego, including Lawyer’s Club, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and Wallace Inn of Court.

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Alexandra Barlow is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s San Diego office. Alexandra litigates product liability matters involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, automobiles, and AI. Alexandra’s litigation expertise spans the entire case life cycle in both state and federal courts. She handles all phases of discovery, including fact investigation and expert discovery. Alexandra has taken over twenty-five depositions, including experts, plaintiffs, treating physicians, and third-party witnesses. She drafts and argues motions of all types, including motions for summary judgment, motions to quash, and motions for preliminary injunction.

Alexandra Barlow is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s San Diego office. Alexandra litigates product liability matters involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, AI, and robotics. Alexandra's litigation expertise spans the entire case life cycle in both state and federal courts. She handles all phases of discovery, including fact investigation and expert discovery. Alexandra has taken over twenty-five depositions, including experts, plaintiffs, treating physicians, and third-party witnesses. She drafts and argues motions of all types, including motions for summary judgment, motions to quash, and motions for preliminary injunction.

Alexandra Barlow

Adam J. Hunt is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s New York office. His practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on class action and commercial litigation.Mr. Hunt has extensive experience representing consumer products companies, financial institutions, and technology firms in class action cases and complex commercial disputes before state and federal trial courts, as well as in arbitrations. Clients seek Mr. Hunt’s counsel for his creative, strategic thinking in high-stakes, high-profile matters. He has represented clients facing claims under false advertising, antitrust, and privacy laws throughout the country, securing wins at the pleading stage, summary judgment, and trial, in addition to negotiating favorable settlements, often early in the case. Representative experience includes successfully securing rulings dismissing two putative false advertising class action cases against one of the best-known consumer electronics companies in the world; obtaining a complete win on summary judgment for a major shipping and logistics company in a multimillion-dollar commercial dispute; appearing as counsel at trial for a leading financial institution in a $100 million commercial dispute, winning a bench trial verdict; and prevailing on motions to dismiss false advertising class actions against a leading Greek yogurt company.Mr. Hunt is also an editor of the firm’s <a href="https://classdismissed.mofo.com/" target="_self">Class Dismissed blog</a>, which provides insights, recommendations, and timely reports on the latest defense news, developments, and trends in the most current class action lawsuits that affect consumer-facing companies.Mr. Hunt maintains an active pro bono practice and is the recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s 2017 President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the First Judicial Department, the 2018 Public Service Award from New York University School of Law, and Morrison Foerster’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Services.Mr. Hunt received his B.A. with honors from Swarthmore College and his J.D. cum laude from New York University.

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Adam Hunt is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison Foerster’s New York office. His practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on class action and commercial litigation.

Adam Hunt

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The California Attorney General held the second of four public hearings on the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA) proposed regulations in Los Angeles on D

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California Attorney General Holds Public Hearing in Los Angeles on Draft CCPA Regulations

California Attorney General Holds Public Hearing in Los Angeles on Draft CCPA Regulations | Class Dismissed

The California Attorney General held the second of four public hearings on the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA) <a href="https://www.oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/privacy/ccpa-proposed-regs.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proposed regulations</a> in Los Angeles on December 3, 2019. The Los Angeles hearing featured comments from approximately 24 speakers over a two-hour period. The following provides an overview of the Los Angeles hearing and comments made at the hearing.AG’s Opening RemarksSenior Assistant Attorney General Nick Akers opened the hearing by stating that the purpose of the hearing was to receive public comment about the proposed regulations. He specifically noted that the AG’s office did not intend to answer questions or otherwise engage in dialogue regarding the draft regulations. He also noted that the AG is accepting written comments about the proposed regulations, and that the deadline to submit written comments is this coming Friday, December 6, at 5 pm. Mr. Akers stated that the AG would review and consider all relevant comments, and would respond to those comments in the official Statement of Reasons accompanying the final regulations. He did not provide any information as to when the AG expected to finalize the regulations.Comments Made at the HearingThe hearing was well-attended, and about 24 individuals made public comments. Each speaker was given five minutes to make comments. The group of speakers consisted entirely of business and legal representatives, and included individuals from the California Chamber of Commerce, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, multiple law firms, several nonprofits, and numerous credit unions. The speakers provided the following noteworthy comments regarding the draft regulations:<ul><li style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem;">Notice at collection. Multiple speakers expressed concerns about section 999.305(d) of the regulations, which applies to businesses that collect personal information about consumers from sources other than consumers themselves. The regulations state that businesses that wish to sell personal information acquired in this manner must fulfill one of two requirements before selling that information: they must (a) contact the consumer directly to provide notice that the business sells personal information about the consumer, and provide the consumer with a notice of right to opt-out of those sales; or (b) obtain signed attestations from the sources of the personal information, describing how the sources gave the notice at collection and providing an example of the notice. The representatives of several businesses that collect personal information about consumers through indirect means (e.g., through aggregating personal information about a particular individual from several sources) voiced their opinion that the two alternatives the regulations present are unworkable from their perspective. In particular, several speakers pointed out that it would be impossible for them to provide direct notice to consumers, as they generally lacked consumers’ contact information, and that many of the sources they used to collect this information likewise lacked the means to contact consumers directly and provide an attestation to that effect. A few commentators also pointed out that this provision could prompt fraudsters to send unsuspecting consumers notices that appear to be from legitimate companies but actually serve as a means to steal information or entice consumers to click on malicious links. Several speakers requested that the AG revise the draft regulations in order to allow for the notice at collection to be posted on the websites of those businesses that collect consumers’ personal information from other sources.</li><li>Scope of applicability. Several speakers raised issues related to the scope of the CCPA, and suggested that the regulations be revised to clarify the extent of the statute’s scope. <ul><li style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem;margin-top: 1.25rem;">50,000 consumer threshold. At least three speakers pointed out that the CCPA’s definition as to the types of entities that qualify as “businesses” could capture many small businesses that, practically speaking, would struggle to meet the CCPA’s requirements. They noted that, under the CCPA, an entity may qualify as a “business” if it annually buys, receives, sells, or shares the personal information of 50,000, or more, consumers, households, or devices. They also noted that the CCPA’s definition of “personal information” is broad enough to apply to the types of data that a company may collect via cookies when a consumer visits his or her website, such as the consumer’s IP address. They reasoned that, under these definitions, many types of small businesses could be viewed as collecting the personal information of 50,000, or more, consumers, households, or devices through website visits alone, even if they do not have 50,000 customers. As a result, these small businesses potentially could qualify as “businesses” under the CCPA (provided that they meet the other requirements set out in the definition); although many such businesses would not be equipped to fulfill the obligations the CCPA imposes. The speakers requested that the AG consider these implications and revise the draft regulations to lift some of the burden on these entities (e.g., by excluding IP addresses from the definition of “personal information” to the extent an entity’s collection of IP addresses, alone, allows it to meet the 50,000 consumer threshold).</li><li style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem;">Applicability to credit unions. Multiple credit union representatives also voiced their concerns with the CCPA’s definition of “business.” Nonprofits are excluded from the CCPA’s definition of “business,” but entities that are “organized or operated for the profit or financial benefit” of their owners are not. The credit union representatives noted that although they may qualify as nonprofits, they also are organized and operated for the profit of their “owners” (their members), which made it unclear as to whether or not they were “businesses” subject to the CCPA. In addition to seeking clarity as to this point, the credit union representatives also asked for regulatory clarification on the extent of the CCPA’s exceptions related to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the California Financial Information Privacy Act. As currently drafted, the CCPA only exempts from its scope information subject to these laws, not entities subject to these laws. The speakers expressed concern that if they were subject to the CCPA, they would have to provide consumers with the notices required by the CCPA, which could confuse consumers who are already receiving multiple privacy notices from financial institutions in accordance with other laws.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 1.25rem;">Downstream notification of consumer opt-out. Several speakers raised issues with section 999.315(f) of the draft regulations, which requires a business that has received a consumer’s opt-out request to provide notice of that request to all third parties to whom it has sold the consumer’s personal information in the 90 days preceding the request, and instruct those third parties to refrain from further selling the consumer’s personal information. The speakers raised concerns that this requirement could force businesses to breach existing contracts with data resellers (i.e., by instructing the resellers that they cannot exercise rights previously granted to them in their contracts with the business), and asked that this requirement be revised or removed.</li></ul></li></ul>Dates and Locations of Upcoming Public HearingsThe AG will hold two more hearings, and information on the time and location can be found on the AG’s <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a>.<ul><li>San Francisco, Wednesday, December 4, 2019;</li><li>Fresno, Thursday, December 5, 2019</li></ul>Written comments must be submitted by December 6, 2019, at 5:00 pm (PST) via email to <a href="#">PrivacyRegulations@doj.ca.gov</a>, or via postal mail at Privacy Regulations Coordinator, California Office of the Attorney General, 300 South Spring Street, First Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013.