Recently, in a split decision, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s incentive award to the named plaintiff in a class action alleging willful violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In doing so, it may have rung the death knell on class action incentive awards in that Circuit. Dickenson v. NPAS Solutions, No. 18-12344 … Continue Reading
On December 4, 2018, the Eleventh Circuit partially reversed the dismissal of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals’ suit against HBS International Corp. for alleged violations of the Lanham Act and Georgia’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. HBS International Corp., No. 17-13884 (11th Cir. 2018). Hi-Tech alleged that the label of HBS’s protein-powder supplement – … Continue Reading
Be careful not to skim over potential First Amendment challenges to commercial speech regulations in labeling cases. By ‘whey’ of example, the Eleventh Circuit recently found that the actions of the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and the Chief of the Florida Bureau of Dairy Industry violated Ocheesee Creamery LLC’s First Amendment rights related to the … Continue Reading
By Alexander Kaplan and Evelyn Pang on Posted in Lanham Act
In an interesting recent opinion, the Eleventh Circuit held that a doctor’s blog post criticizing another doctor and his clinical practice could not form the basis of a Lanham Act claim because the blog posts were not commercial advertising or promotion. This case thus involves a rare circumstance in which a communication did not qualify … Continue Reading
