Balough
March 10, 2022
(March 9, 2022) The box uses the word “strawberry” with a picture of half a strawberry and a Pop-Tart oozing red filing. However, no reasonable consumer could conclude that the filling contains a certain amount of strawberries, a U.S. District Court judge ruled. As a result, the package is not deceptive. A consumer filed […]
Balough
December 11, 2020
(December 11, 2020) Whether customers are deceived by a label that says the product is “100% Grated Parmesan Cheese” is a fact issue that cannot be decided on a motion to dismiss, the Seventh Circuit found. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the case when the lower court ruled as a matter […]
Balough
November 11, 2020
(November 11, 2020) The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) confirmed what Zoom users who have been Zoombombed already know—the videoconferencing provider’s security was less than as hyped. The FTC alleged in a five-count complaint that Zoom Video Communications, Inc. mislead users about the security surrounding the use of its software that provides video online meetings either […]
Balough
October 28, 2019
(October 28, 2019) Make sure the tactics used by your social media influencers and product reviewers are not deceptive and the posts are accurate, or the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) may come knocking. Two recent cases by the FTC emphasize this point. In the first, the FTC found Devumi, LLC and its owner engaged in […]
Balough
April 8, 2019
(April 8, 2019) If you want to expand your business by giving away product and asking customers to post favorable reviews, don’t follow the UrthBox, Inc. marketing plan, or you will pay a hefty fine to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). UrthBox sells snack products via the web. Starting in 2016, the company offered a […]
Balough
March 29, 2019
(March 29, 2019) Just check one of four boxes on the Office Depot/OfficeMax PC Health Check Program and it will find malware on your computer, even though the result is not linked to any scan. Confused? The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) found this practice deceptive, too. To settle the case, the company and the program […]
Balough
March 23, 2019
(March 22, 2019) An oversized Junior Mints box half full may be a disappointment, but that’s not enough for a claim of actual damages in federal court. Paige Stemm bought a box of Junior Mints for about a dollar in a Walgreens store in Belleville, Illinois. When she opened the box, only slightly over half […]
Balough
December 26, 2017
(December 26, 2017) A hotel reseller booking site has agreed to stop practices that led customers to believe they were booking rooms on the actual hotel site when in fact the customers were not. When booking with the reseller, customers had their credit cards charged in advance, could not avail themselves of the hotel’s cancellation […]
Balough
August 25, 2017
(August 25, 2017) A settlement giving the class attorneys $525,000 without giving customers any meaningful benefits was thrown out by the Seventh Circuit, which found class never should have been certified because the case sought only worthless benefits to class members. The opinion aptly described this case by comparing it to another, finding, “A class […]
Balough
August 24, 2017
(August 24, 2017) A lawsuit to enjoin Zillow.com from publishing “Zestimates” on home values has been dismissed because the price estimate is not an official appraisal, does not invade the homeowner’s privacy rights, and is not deceptive. The plaintiffs filed a class action against Zillow, Inc. after the company’s “Zestimates” reported values that plaintiffs believed were […]
