103 Year-Old Supreme Court Precedent Cited to Reduce Damages in Class Action from $91.4 Million to $12.8 Million

* Taylor Lodise is a law clerk in the Litigation practice group.

In one of several related class-action lawsuits against the maker of a drink marketed under the brand name Joint Juice, Chief Judge Richard Seeborg of the United States District Court, Northern District of California, applied case law from 103 years ago to reduce statutory damages in a consumer class action from the $91.4 million seemingly required by a New York statute to just $8.3 million plus pre-judgment interest of $4.5 million. The August ruling was based on Fourteenth Amendment due process protections as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the 1919 case St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. v. Williams (“St. Louis”). Read More ›

Federal Court Dismisses Claims Against Coinbase of Illegal Lottery

Sweepstakes entrants’ lack of knowledge of free method of entry insufficient to constitute violation of California Penal Code.

A Northern District of California case styled Suski v. Marden-Kane, Inc. (decided August 31, 2022) has resulted in a significant ruling in the field of sweepstakes law. A sweepstakes sponsored by Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, and administered by Marden-Kane offered the chance to win valuable prizes to Coinbase users who bought or sold Dogecoin, a well-known “meme” token, on Coinbase for a total of $100 or more. The sweepstakes offered an alternative method of entry that did not require the trading of Dogecoin or incurrence by the entrants of any other expense. However, this free alternative method of entry was not well-publicized. Read More ›

DOJ Issues Guidance on ADA Website Accessibility

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181, et seq., prohibits discrimination against individuals “on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation." Among other things, ADA Title III requires places of public accommodation and other commercial facilities—restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, and other businesses—to be designed, constructed, and altered in a manner that permits broad accessibility to persons with disabilities, and provides individuals with a private right of action for discrimination in violation of its regulations. Remedies for discrimination in violation of ADA Title III include injunctive relief compelling compliance with ADA accessibility standards, as well as reasonable attorney’s fees awarded to a successful plaintiff. Read More ›

California Court Considering Awarding $141.5 Million Over Falsely Marketed Health Drink

Juice Joint facing catastrophic liability after jury decides against it on the merits

Faced with a series of class-action lawsuits over its Joint Juice drink, Premier Nutrition Corp. has lost the first jury trial and is now fighting back against what could be a devastating financial blow if it loses a post-trial motion scheduled to be heard next month in the Northern District of California. The company was found by a jury to have falsely touted the health benefits of the drink, so the issue is no longer whether the claims were defensible, but how much the marketer will have to pay to the class of purchasers. Read More ›

Telemarketing Sales Rule May Be Expanded to Cover B2B Conduct

FTC likely to eliminate the exemption

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is considering a proposed amendment to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”) that would broaden the rule’s scope by prohibiting material misrepresentations and false or misleading statements in business-to-business (“B2B”) transactions. Read More ›

REMINDER: New California Automatic Renewal Law Set To Go Into Effect July 1, 2022

On July 1, 2022, California Assembly Bill 390 will take effect, adding new notice and cancellation requirements to California’s existing Automatic Renewal Law (“ARL”).  Read More ›

41 States Commit To Working With FCC Against Robocalls

Source: NAAG Press Release

The National Association of Attorneys General (“NAAG”) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) on behalf of 41 states’ attorneys general commending the FCC for its leadership in combatting robocalls and sharing their commitment to working collaboratively with the FCC via information-sharing agreements. The lead states in this effort are Colorado, Tennessee and North Carolina. Read More ›

Appellate Court Grants Unanimous Decision on Behalf of Olshan Client

In a 5-0 decision, New York’s First Appellate Department granted a unanimous win to Olshan partner Scott Shaffer who was representing a California construction company.  Read More ›

Andrew Lustigman Speaking at 2022 ACI Food Law Conference

Andrew Lustigman, Chair of the firm's Advertising, Marketing and Promotion's Group and Co-Chair of Brand Management & Protection Group, will speak on the panel “Rethinking the Role of Loyalty Programs: Considerations for Food Manufacturers” as part of ACI’s Food Law Conference. Read More ›

Alleged Creator of Fake Reviews Sued in Federal Court

Facebook joins Amazon in pursuing reviews for sale

Facebook, through its parent company Meta, has filed a federal lawsuit against a company that allegedly produces and sells fake reviews and feedback for ads designed to increase an advertiser’s Facebook Customer Feedback Score. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California against Chad Taylor Cowan of Australia, who does business under the name Customer Feedback Score Solutions. Read More ›