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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California’s Green Chemistry Initiative has taken another step forward with the issuance of guidance on the heart of the law, the analysis of safer substitutes 

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Consumer Products “Either/Or”:  California Issues Guidance on Alternatives Analysis for Safer Products

Consumer Products “Either/Or”:  California Issues Guidance on Alternatives Analysis for Safer Products | Class Dismissed

William F. Tarantino

California’s Green Chemistry Initiative has taken another step forward with the issuance of guidance on the heart of the law, the analysis of safer substitutes for chemicals in consumer products.  On September 24, 2015, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its Draft Stage 1 Alternatives Analysis Guide (Guide) under its Safer Consumer Products (SCP) Program.  This is the first of two stages of the alternative analysis process released in draft for public comment.  The second stage is scheduled to be released during the first quarter of 2016.  The DTSC also added three new chemicals to its candidate list.The Guide is not issued as a regulation and does not have the force of law.  Rather, it is designed to provide more details from the DTSC about the general process for conducting an alternative analysis for a variety of responsible entities and a diverse set of product types.  The Guide also does not provide a single, specific approach for that analysis.  Instead, the responsible entity must decide which approaches, assumptions, tools, methodologies, data, and decision frameworks will best suit its particular situation.In broad overview, the framework for the alternatives analysis is set forth in the statute and previously adopted regulations:FIRST STAGE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:<ul><li>Step 1: Identify product requirements and functions of Chemical of Concern.</li><li>Step 2: Identify alternatives.</li><li>Step 3: Identify factors relevant for comparing alternatives.</li><li>Step 4: Perform initial evaluation and screening of alternative replacement chemicals.</li><li>Step 5: Consider additional information.</li><li>Step 6: Complete preliminary alternatives analysis report.</li></ul>The Guide identifies “Other Compliance Options” in cases where a responsible entity has already completed an alternatives analysis or a similar comparative analysis.  The options include (1) an abridged analysis, (2) an alternate process analysis, or (3) a previously completed analysis.  Upon demonstration to the DTSC that the “information and analysis for a different approach are adequate for evaluating the Priority Product and the alternatives” and the information and analysis are sufficiently equivalent to the alternatives analysis process as set forth in the SCP regulations, the responsible entity may commence work under one of these options.Some of the key subjects discussed in the Guide include:Product Requirements and Alternatives<ul><li>Product function and performance – A responsible entity must describe a product’s functions and its specific applications to evaluate whether potential alternatives achieve the same or similar functions.” The function may include product characteristics and qualities.  The functions of the product and the product’s Chemical of Concern must be considered in the alternatives analysis.</li><li>Legal requirements – The specific requirements, performance standards and labeling requirements that a chemical, product or product packaging is required to meet under California or federal law must be evaluated.</li><li>Identifying Alternatives – <ul><li>Removing a Chemical of Concern from a Priority Product.</li><li>Reformulating or redesigning a Priority Product to eliminate or reduce the concentration of a Chemical of Concern in a Priority Product.</li><li>Redesigning a Priority Product to reduce or restrict potential exposures to a Chemical of Concern in a Priority Product.</li><li>Making any other change to a Priority Product that reduces the potential adverse impacts or potential exposures associated with the Chemical of Concern in a Priority Product.</li></ul></li></ul>Relevant Factors<ul><li>A potential factor becomes relevant if both of these requirements are met: <ul><li>The factor makes a material contribution to adverse public health impacts, adverse environmental impacts, adverse waste and end-of-life impacts, or material and resource consumption. This relates to a factor that is both meaningful and consequential to an observed outcome or impact.</li><li>There is a material difference in the factor’s contribution to the impacts between the Priority Product and one or more of the alternatives under consideration. This relates to a factor’s contribution to an observed impact that is both meaningful and consequential to the comparison of alternatives.</li></ul></li><li>Identifying relevant factors is an iterative process, part of the scoping process during both stages of the alternatives analysis process.</li><li>The responsible entity uses relevant factors throughout the alternatives analysis process to characterize, evaluate and compare impacts of the Priority Product and its alternatives.</li></ul>Impact Assessments<ul><li>Impact assessments can include the approaches, tools and information sources that a responsible entity may use to conduct its analysis.</li></ul>Screening Alternatives<ul><li>Approaches a responsible entity may use to narrow the list of alternatives will be evaluated in the second stage of the alternatives analysis.</li><li>Alternatives that would be an improvement over the Priority Product should be retained.</li></ul>DTSC is accepting comments on the Guide until October 23, 2015, and it will hold two webinars on October 7 and 21, 2015.SCP Regulations – Proposed CANDIDATE CHEMICAL LIST AMENDMENTAlso on October 2, 2015, the DTSC proposed to add three additional chemicals:  (1) 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenol, ethoxylated, (2) 4-nonylphenol, branched and linear, and 3) 4-nonylphenol, branched and linear, ethoxylated to its Candidate Chemical List.  The DTSC will hold a public hearing on November 16, 2015, and it will accept comments until then.