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Trade Association Liability

By Howard I. Miller
December 31, 2013

Trade associations represent retailers, distributors, and manufacturers in nearly every industrial sector in America. These associations create a single point of contact for their members ' a conduit through which members can efficiently advocate for their commercial interests, educate their market and their consumers, and cooperate to set safety standards and establish best practices. Indeed, they “serve many laudable purposes in our society.” Meyers v. Donnatacci, 220 N.J. Super. 73, 531 A2d 398, 404 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1987).

As with many good things however, trade associations come with a price. They have attracted the attention of the plaintiffs' bar, and have been named as defendants in a growing variety of cases including antitrust, product liability, and even false advertising.

Naming trade associations as defendants can provide plaintiffs additional sources of settlement funds; it may defeat federal diversity jurisdiction, and it will often provide plaintiffs with a wider scope of discovery that may involve the association's individual members. Not only are plaintiffs willing to pursue trade associations, but they are also challenging association members based on their links to the associations.

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