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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Consumer Products / Food & Beverages

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Related Services

  • Dell Inc. Product Liability Litigation: We represent Dell Inc. in a nationwide class action where a plaintiff and a putative class allege that components within Dell computers are potentially defective. After filing a Motion to Dismiss, the Court dismissed one of plaintiff’s four claims entirely, dismissed all claims to the extent they relied on an alleged safety hazard, and held that all of the other claims were time-barred unless plaintiff could prove that his claims could be equitably tolled. We were also awarded a stay of discovery during the pendency of summary judgment briefing, saving our client from significant expense. We also served as lead counsel for Dell Inc. in a consumer fraud and product liability class action in the Eastern District Court of North Carolina in which a web-hosting business was seeking approximately ninety million dollars under North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act for allegedly defective computers and computer components.
  • Trial Counsel, Childproof Lighter Litigation: We served as lead trial counsel for Scripto-Tokai Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of utility lighters, in a lawsuit where a child alleged that a lighter’s defective design caused third degree burns to over 70 percent of her body. The case settled under favorable terms.
  • Alacer: Alston & Bird is currently defending a purported nationwide class action brought under California consumer fraud and false advertising law against the manufacturer of one of the best-selling Vitamin C dietary supplements. The client sought out Alston & Bird to take over the case after the start of discovery because of the firm’s well-known experience in consumer class actions. Beyond the technical class certification and other procedural issues, the case raises numerous scientific issues to which the Alston & Bird team members bring their additional expertise for litigating the science.
  • Preferred Counsel, Electrolux Home Products, Inc., Consumer Appliance Litigation: We are national counsel for Electrolux Home Products, Inc. in product liability litigation nationwide involving catastrophic personal injury and serious property damage allegedly caused by the company's line of consumer and commercial appliances. We are currently handling or recently have handled a number of death and serious injury product liability cases, primarily arising out of fires and explosions, pending in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In addition, we have represented Electrolux in several cases around the country that have involved the drowning deaths of infants in washing machines.
  • National Coordinating Counsel, Verizon Wireless Cell Phone Brain Cancer Litigation: We have represented Verizon in both “no injury” consumer protection actions alleging deceptive sales and marketing practices on behalf of proposed classes of wireless phone users as well as a series of cases alleging that wireless phone use caused the plaintiffs’ brain tumors. We obtained a complete Daubert victory that resulted in the exclusion of six expert witnesses who asserted that wireless phones cause brain cancer. Plaintiff appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Jane Thorpe presented argument to the appellate panel on behalf of the entire wireless industry and, less than one month later, the Fourth Circuit affirmed our earlier victory.
  • National Coordinating Counsel, The Coca-Cola Company: We have represented The Coca-Cola Company in a number of nationwide product-related matters. For example, we represented The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises in putative class actions in multiple states alleging injury from alleged exposure to benzene in soft drinks and asserting claims primarily under consumer protection statutes. We also represent The Coca-Cola Company against claims by an activist group alleging that the company is deceptively marketing a product in violation of state consumer protection law. In addition, we prepared Coca-Cola’s 2007 Report to the FTC on Marketing to Children and Adolescents.
  • National Counsel, Denny’s: Denny’s Corp. retained us to represent it after it was sued in New Jersey in a purported class action brought by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This was the first lawsuit alleging that a restaurant chain engaged in consumer fraud and breach of warranty for failing to disclose the sodium content of its food, and a similar class action suit was filed in the Northern District of Illinois. An aggressive motion practice obtained the early dismissal, one of which was affirmed by the New Jersey Court of Appeals, of both of these restaurant sodium class actions before the need for any discovery, thus limiting the number of “tag-along” suits that typically follow such an action.
  • National Counsel, McDonald’s: Alston & Bird is defending McDonald’s famed Happy Meals in a lawsuit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)seeking to eliminate McDonald’s ability to market Happy Meals featuring toys because of allegations related to childhood obesity. Plaintiffs allege that McDonald’s commits violations of California’s consumer protection statutes by marketing Happy Meals featuring toys to children.
  • National Counsel, Nokia Inc.: We are Nokia’s primary national litigation counsel and have successfully represented Nokia in a variety of complex litigation around the country. For example, we defended Nokia in 20+ consumer product cases in California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, and Kentucky, obtaining favorable results in every case resolved to date. Each case involved allegations that a Nokia product contained a design or manufacturing defect that caused personal injury or property loss and that Nokia failed to adequately warn consumers of the product’s dangerous characteristic.
  • Trial Counsel, Nutritional Supplement Litigation: We represent two national health product retailers and the manufacturers of body building supplements in a class action in the Central District of California. The case arises under California's unfair competition and consumer protection laws and alleges that defendants' products are "adulterated" within the meaning of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA). The case involves principles of Article III standing and whether private plaintiffs can use California statutes to enforce provisions the FDCA, a question of national importance to the dietary supplement industry.