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Fighting to Win: A General Counsel's Perspective on Retaining Outside Counsel

By Joseph Di Salvo
June 02, 2015

The Northern District of California is dubbed the “Food Court” for the hundreds of false-advertising, food-labeling class actions filed there in recent years, now averaging one per week. These lawsuits are brought on behalf of consumers who allege that buyers of various food and beverage products are harmed because they consume products with labels promoting specific attributes or claims such as “better for you” or “all natural.”

Although false advertising can never be condoned, many labeling cases often boil down to frivolous claims by plaintiff lawyers challenging products that actually conform to all applicable FDA rules. These are products that present absolutely no health or safety risk to consumers, and are properly labeled and marketed in accordance with existing governing standards and regulations. In most cases, the real ' and barely veiled ' thrust of these class action filings is to secure a quick windfall settlement for plaintiff's counsel. The cost and expense required for a company to validate and substantiate even the most basic, straightforward, and obviously accurate label or marketing claims through civil litigation is nothing short of outrageous.

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