March 2015

NYAG, GNC Sign Landmark Herbal Supplement Agreement

March 31, 2015 This Monday, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman called off an investigation involving herbal supplements manufactured, marketed and sold by health and nutrition retailer GNC Corporation (“GNC”). The parties’ groundbreaking agreement requires GNC to implement a series of novel quality control standards for its store-brand herbal supplements. Will GNC’s agreement have […]

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FTC’s “Operation Ruse Control” Revs Up Against Auto Dealers, Deceptive Advertising

March 30, 2015 The Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” or “Commission”) and various law enforcement agencies are racing forward with their latest campaign against deceptive advertising, code-named “Operation Ruse Control.” The initiative is a coast-to-coast and cross-border effort by the FTC and state, federal and international law enforcers aimed at deceptive automobile advertisements, adds-ons, financing and

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Guess? Who is Headed Toward Discovery in a TCPA Class Action

March 27, 2015 On March 24, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California denied Guess?, Inc.’s (“Guess”) motion to dismiss a telephone consumer protection act (“TCPA”) class action pending against it.  Guess argued that the plaintiff’s complaint failed to demonstrate that Guess had used an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”)

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FTC Drops the Hammer on Jerk.com for Deceptive Trade Practices

March 26, 2015 This week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued an order against Jerk, LLC and Napster co-founder John Fanning, respectively, for deceptive trade practices in connection with the operation of Jerk.com, a social media site that invited users to create profiles of other individuals and rate those individuals as a “jerk” or “not

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Mary Kay Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Internet Coupon Giant RetailMeNot

March 24, 2015 Earlier this month, the cosmetics multi-level marketer Mary Kay Inc. (“Mary Kay”) sued Internet coupon company RetailMeNot, Inc. (“RetailMeNot”) in a federal court in Dallas for alleged trademark violations.  Specifically, Mary Kay’s trademark lawsuit takes issue with the Mary Kay coupon codes that RetailMeNot purportedly provides to online consumers. Should the RetailMeNot

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Herbalife Class Action Lawsuit, Pyramid Scheme Allegations Dismissed

March 23, 2015 Last week, Judge Dale S. Fischer dismissed a federal class action lawsuit against Herbalife, Ltd. (“Herbalife”) and three of its corporate officers, who were accused by Herbalife shareholders of operating the company as an illegal pyramid scheme.  The lawsuit alleged that Herbalife artificially inflated its stock price by misrepresenting that the company

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Disney Rumored To Give Unicorn Valuation to Fantasy Sports Venture

March 19, 2015 Reports have surfaced this week that DraftKings is in talks with the Walt Disney Co. (“Disney”) about an investment opportunity that would reportedly value DraftKings at $1 billion.  DraftKings is currently locked in a costly battle with industry leader FanDuel for new customer acquisition, and it is anticipated that any funds raised

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