Insights
Client Alert
Limiting Tobacco II? The Ninth Circuit Holds That Plaintiffs Must Identify Specific Advertisements to Allege False Advertising Claims in Federal Court
June 22, 2009
Eric A. Long and Sean D. Unger
In light of the California Supreme Courts recent decision in In re Tobacco II Cases, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in Kearns v. Ford Motor Company, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. June 8, 2009), raises important strategic questions for companies facing consumer class actions in California courts based on advertising campaigns. In Kearns, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed that at least in federal court plaintiffs asserting false advertising claims under Californias UCL and CLRA must specify which sales material they relied upon, the particular circumstances surrounding such representations, and identify what they were specifically told.