Consumer Fraud/Product Class Actions

Sidley has a national practice defending clients in a broad range of consumer class actions arising out of allegations of fraud, deceptive practices, and false advertising.

We have defended consumer product fraud class actions in state and federal courts and in arbitrations throughout the country, at trial, and before numerous appellate courts.

We have adopted an integrated approach to helping clients manage litigation risks that includes pre-litigation counseling, and a team approach to litigation engagements that combines regulatory lawyers who provide ongoing compliance and technical advice with litigators who have specific experience in state unfair and deceptive trade practice statutes, class action defense, and defense of complex litigation. Our lawyers have broad experience defending class action claims for unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices and false advertising (including those brought under state consumer protection statutes, e.g., the California Business and Professions Code 17200) as well as consumer actions brought by States’ Attorney Generals, district attorneys, and other governmental agencies.

We have successfully resisted class certification in consumer litigation through aggressive discovery practice, negotiation, and innovative legal arguments. In addition, our lawyers have extensive experience in addressing procedural issues, including choice of law issues, that frequently arise in consumer class actions. We are also experienced in defending duplicative, overlapping class actions that are filed in multiple jurisdictions, often in both state and federal courts.

Today, consumer actions and mass tort problems may involve not only civil litigation, but also state and federal regulatory considerations involving the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), among others. Many of the lawyers in our group have extensive knowledge and experience working with these agencies. Indeed, several lawyers in our group have held significant posts inside these agencies. Our reputation and good working relationships with governmental agencies have also allowed us to resolve several governmental investigations without the filing of formal actions against our clients and, when that was not possible, to negotiate settlements and consent decrees on favorable terms with minimal adverse publicity to our clients.

Representative Consumer Fraud Matters

Challenges to marketing and sale of prescription drugs by various major pharmaceutical companies, including claims brought by personal injury plaintiffs and health funds
Allegations of unfair and deceptive practices and fraud arising from treatment of unpaid calling card balances, alleged billing of non-customers, billing of fractions of minutes, directory assistance prompts, and alleged diversion of Internet traffic to remote countries
Challenges to marketing of cellulite-reducing products
Challenges to labeling and marketing of food products
Litigation involving carbon monoxide detectors
Allegations that foreign exchange practices violated the federal RICO statute and state unfair trade practices statutes, and constituted breach of contract, fraud and various other torts
Allegations that laptop batteries did not provide the usage and lifecycle represented in advertising and product literature and alleged claims for breach of warranty and deceptive practices under the California Unfair Competition Law (Section 17200)
Challenges to advertising and marketing of pet food as safe and healthy for dogs
Claims that the manufacturers of lawnmowers and lawnmower engines conspired to overstate horsepower across all makes and models for a period of years
Claims that motorcycles are defective due to a claimed front end “wobble”
Claims based on an allegedly defective condenser unit of air conditioning systems in certain vehicles
Challenges to the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold drugs for use in young children
Challenges to the manufacture and sale of baby health care products
Litigation involving the safety of home/water heating products
Challenges to marketing and labeling of nutritional supplements
Claims that pest control treatment methods and advertising violated the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Business and Professions Code (Sec. 17500)
Challenges to the manufacture, design, sale, and marketing of 18 types of roofing shingles during the past 25 years, alleging that the shingles prematurely fail and that the company has refused to honor its warranty obligations
Allegations that cell phones are unsafe due to emissions of radio frequency radiation and should be accompanied by warnings and instructions to use with headsets
Challenges to handling of fast food coupon promotion