Class Dismissed

December 26, 2017 - Appellate & Supreme Court, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Class Action, Retail
California Appellate Court Upholds Denial of Class Certification on Ascertainability Grounds
On December 4, 2017, a panel of the California Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed a trial court’s denial of class certification for alleged violations of California’s unfair competition, consumer protection, and false advertising laws. In so doing, the court upheld the lower court’s conclusions
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December 18, 2017 - Internet of Things, Product Liability, Consumer Products
Is Your Company Ready For Artificial Intelligence?
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
“The rise of powerful AI will be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity. We do not know which.” –Stephen Hawking Artificial Intelligence (AI) and autonomous technology will shape the future, affect how people live and do business, and
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December 11, 2017 - Product Liability, Consumer Products, CPSC
CPSC Issues Final Rule Expanding Phthalate Ban
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
Nearly ten years after the first three phthalates were banned from children’s toys by Congress, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a final rule on October 27 prohibiting five more. The rule bans the manufacture for sale, offer for sale, distribution in commerce,
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November 29, 2017 - Environmental Law, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Retail
Expiring Soon: Temporary BPA Warning Regs Under Prop. 65
With the holidays and end of the year quickly approaching, here is what food and beverage manufacturers and sellers need to know before the temporary Proposition 65 safe harbor warning for Bisphenol A (BPA) exposures expires on December 30, 2017. Read our Law360 article.
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October 19, 2017 - Product Liability, Consumer Products, Retail, CPSC
Fortune Favors the Quick (to Report): Judge Slaps Spectrum Brands with $1.9 Million Penalty in DOJ/CPSC Tag-Team Enforcement Action
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
A federal district court in Wisconsin recently hit Spectrum Brands Inc. (Spectrum) with civil penalties of $1.9 million for violations of the Consumer Products Safety Act (CPSA). [1] The court’s 23-page opinion is a strong reminder of how devastating the impact can be for
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October 11, 2017 - Environmental Law, Product Liability, Consumer Products
Consumer Product Update – California’s Green Chemistry Initiative Looks for New Products to Regulate
Nail polish, household cleaners, carpets, upholstery, lead acid batteries and other products may be targeted for regulation under California’s Safer Consumer Products Program. The Program, also known as the California Green Chemistry Initiative, is an innovative regulatory scheme to evaluate and seek safer substitutes
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October 02, 2017 - Product Liability, Consumer Products, CPSC
CPSC Heating Up Before New Commissioner Appointed: Approves a Petition for Rulemaking to Ban an Entire Class of Flame-Retardants
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
In a split across party lines, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or the “Commission”) recently voted on a largely unprecedented course of action: to ban an entire class of chemicals from popular consumer products. Specifically, CPSC adopted a petition for rulemaking that
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September 29, 2017 - False Advertising, Product Liability, Consumer Products, Retail
Ninth Circuit Nixes San Francisco Soda Warning
Advertisers and purveyors of sugar-sweetened beverages can rest a little easier now. The Ninth Circuit recently ordered a district court to issue a preliminary injunction to enjoin the 2015 San Francisco Ordinance requiring inclusion of a warning on all advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages. [1]
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August 31, 2017 - Product Liability, Consumer Products, CPSC
CPSC Removes Third-Party Testing Requirements for Children’s Products with Certain Plastics
By: Erin M. Bosman, Julie Y. Park and Brittany Scheinok
In a unanimous vote, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) eliminated third-party testing for compliance with CPSC’s phthalates prohibitions for seven plastics. The Commission decided that these plastics with specified additives do not contain concentrations above 0.1% of the phthalates prohibited in children’s
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August 08, 2017 - Drug & Medical Device, Product Liability, Consumer Products
Bristol-Myers Squibb: The Aftermath
By: Erin M. Bosman and Julie Y. Park
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the scope of specific personal jurisdiction in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco Cty., 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017) (“BMS”). Mass tort defendants have wasted little time in moving to dispose of claims from nonresident plaintiffs
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