Hunton Retail Law Resource

Mars, Inc. and its M&M’s Minis candy are the latest targets in a wave of “slack-fill” litigation. Slack-fill is empty space in product packaging – i.e., the difference between the maximum capacity of a product’s container and the actual volume of product inside. Slack-fill litigation has increased in recent years as class plaintiffs allege that companies are deliberately including empty space in their packaging to deceive consumers into paying higher prices for lower product quantities.

This past week, several consumer protection actions made headlines:

FTC to Let the Sun Shine on Consumer Protection Issues in Rooftop Solar Panel Businesses

The FTC announced that it will be holding a workshop focused on competition and consumer protection in the growing industry of consumer-oriented rooftop solar panels. The workshop, which will take place in Washington D.C. on June 21, 2016, is meant to expand the FTC’s understanding and approach to the growing consumer solar panel industry. Planned topics of discussion include: (1) how consumers can get needed information when deciding whether to install rooftop solar panels; (2) how utility regulators currently approach compensating consumers for power generated on their solar panels; and (3) competition in the solar power generation industry.

On April 21, 2016, Hunton & Williams LLP announced the launch of a cross-practice 3D printing team to advise clients as they explore this revolutionary technology. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is being adopted by manufacturers in many industries, including consumer products, aviation, energy, medical, prosthetic and transportation, and is becoming integrated into the production process.

As reported in a recent article in New York City real estate journal Bisnow, and in other recent articles in a number of publications, retail condominium units in New York City remain a desirable asset class among all players, including developers, investors and retailers.

Trading in NYC retail condominium units – typically condominium units  located on the ground floor of residential or office condominium buildings – took off over the last decade. Until then, owners and developers tended to hold onto their retail units, but started to sell off these remaining assets to pay down debt during the last downturn. Now, many developers construct the retail units with an eye toward sale or presale.

On April 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published its long-awaited concept release on the reform of Regulation S-K. Regulation S-K is the primary set of rules that establish disclosure requirements for public companies.

For the SEC, a “concept release” is an advance notice of proposed rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. Thus, before taking any further action to amend its rulebook, the SEC will be required to issue a set of proposed rules, elicit further public comment and then adopt final rules in another release.

This past week, the following consumer protection actions made headlines:

FTC Reminds Consumers to Watch for Misleading Sales; Warns Retailers of the Same

In a recent consumer information piece, the FTC sought to warn consumers of misleading “sales.” Of concern to consumers and the FTC are advertisements or in-store tags that suggest a consumer will save on a product, when in reality the consumer will pay full price and the promised discount is applied on a future purchase.

The FTC also published a warning to retailers that offers must be sufficiently transparent for consumers to be able to determine the final price of a product or service.

As reported on the Hunton Insurance Recovery Blog, data breach claims involving customer data can present an ever-increasing risk for many retailers and other companies. A recent case further supports efforts to recover the costs associated with such claims. Specifically, a panel of the Fourth Circuit confirmed that general liability policies can afford coverage for cyber-related liabilities, and ruled that an insurer had to pay attorneys’ fees to defend the policyholder in class action litigation in Travelers Indemnity Company v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, No. 14-1944. Syed Ahmad, a partner in the Hunton & Williams LLP insurance practice, was quoted in a Law360 article concerning the importance of this decision.

We previously reported on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 136 S. Ct. 663 (2016), wherein a 6-3 majority held that “an unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment does not moot a plaintiff’s case.” As part of its decision, however, the Supreme Court expressly left open one critical question: whether a defendant can moot a case by tendering—as opposed to simply offering—complete relief to the plaintiff. The Ninth Circuit has now weighed in on that issue and has answered that question in the negative.

We previously reported on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA’s”) request for public comment concerning the use of the term “natural” on food labels, and we noted that businesses should consider seeking a stay of any pending lawsuits challenging their use of the term “natural” on food labels under the primary jurisdiction doctrine. The Ninth Circuit, home of the infamous “Food Court,” has now invoked that doctrine and has ordered the stay of a pending “natural” mislabeling class action in Kane v. Chobani, LLC, No. 14-15670.

On April 14, 2016, after four years of drafting and negotiations, the long awaited EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) has been adopted at the EU level. Following the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ vote earlier this week and the EU Parliament in plenary session, the GDPR is now officially EU law and will directly apply in all EU countries, replacing EU and national data protection legislation.