After prevailing in a class action trial regarding allegedly false advertising, plaintiffs sought $91 million in statutory damages under New York’s General Business Law (GBL), plus $49 million in prejudgment interest. In an opinion that will likely serve as an important precedent for future GBL cases – and could influence how aggressively plaintiffs pursue them – a court in the Northern District of California rejected plaintiffs’ request, and instead awarded $8.3 million in statutory damages, plus interest. Montera v. Premier Nutrition Corp., 2022 WL 3348573 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 12, 2022). The plaintiffs’ requested award, the court held, was “so severe and oppressive as to be wholly disproportioned to the offense and obviously unreasonable.”
A Closer Look: Express Federal Preemption for OTC Medications Subject to Monographs
Manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) medications often move to dismiss consumer class actions based on federal preemption. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) contains an express preemption clause that forbids states from enforcing laws relating to OTC drugs that are “different from or in addition to, or that [are] otherwise not identical with, a requirement under” the FDCA. 21 U.S.C. § 379r(a). (Section 379r also contains a savings clause that exempts product liability actions from its preemptive scope. See id. § 379r(e).) Similar preemption provisions exist for food and cosmetics. Id. §§ 343-1(a), 379s(a). Although most courts have interpreted the FDCA’s express preemption provisions broadly, a minority have limited their application. As discussed below, the minority view involves distinguishable circumstances and is inconsistent with the FDCA’s statutory text.
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Plaintiffs Seek $140 Million In Statutory Damages After Trial Win
A rare class action trial that resulted in a jury verdict against a defendant may set a precedent for the amount of statutory damages that can be recovered under New York’s General Business Law (GBL) when a class action proceeds to trial. After a jury found that Joint Juice deceptively labeled its beverages and awarded actual damages to the class, the plaintiffs moved for $140 million in statutory damages.
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Lawsuit Takes Aim At Fintech’s Handling Of PPP Loan Forgiveness Applications
A recent lawsuit seeks to hold a fintech company liable for failing to adequately service loans made as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), marking what may be the first putative class action lawsuit challenging the manner in which PPP lenders process loan forgiveness applications.
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