Category Archives: Consumers & Class Actions
Study Finds Los Angeles Sushi Restaurants Often Serve Mislabeled Fish
A new study from researchers at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University has found that approximately 47 percent of sushi that is served in restaurants across Los Angeles is mislabeled. The study was conducted by testing the DNA of fish at 26 local sushi restaurants. According to the study, the incidence and frequency of mislabeling… Read More »
Consumer Complaints Filed with the FTC Surged 20% in 2015, FTC Reports
Last year, about 500,000 more consumer complaints were filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) than in 2014, bringing the 2015 total to approximately 3 million filings. Over the past five years, the increase has been dramatic, as FTC consumer complaints have reportedly increased nearly 130 percent since 2010.1 While this snowballing trend may… Read More »
What Justice Antonin Scalia’s Death Could Mean for Future of Consumer Class Actions
In the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the fate of class action cases brought before the U.S. Supreme Court has come under serious question. While some are concerned that, most immediately, Scalia’s absence will cause more ties – allowing lower court decisions to stand, many others are hopeful that this could have positive… Read More »
Consumers Can Sue Companies for Falsely Labeling Products as ‘Organic,’ California State Court Rules
California consumers can sue companies they believe have falsely labeled items as ‘organic,’ the California Supreme Court ruled earlier this month in a 7-0 decision (in Quesada vs. Herb Thyme Farms, S216305). This ruling overturns a lower court’s ruling, which interpreted federal organic labeling laws as only allowing the federal government to sue for… Read More »
FDA Takes Action against Two Companies for Illegally Marketing Supplements as Drugs
NaturalDoctor and Biomedic Labs Rx have recently been sent warning letters from regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), claiming that at least some of their advertised claims violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Act). Specifically, federal authorities have taken issue with the fact that NaturalDoctor and Biomedic Labs Rx… Read More »
How Manufacturers’ Misleading Claims about Products Can Cost Them: A Look at the Case of Laughing Giraffe Organics
These days, promoting the health benefits of food products is a common – and often powerful – way that companies market their goods to consumers. From pointing out what products do and/or do not contain, marketing towards consumers’ health consciousness abounds. However,the companies that use these tactics must do so carefully because the claims… Read More »