Earlier last week, attorneys in the Perkins Coie Food Litigation team joined top in-house counsel, defense attorneys and regulatory experts at the GMA Legal Conference which took place in New Orleans, LA. The conference covered a wide array of important and timely legal issues, with an emphasis on protecting your brands from litigation risks and complying with government regulations. Highlights from the conference included:
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Statistics showing a steady increase in the number of lawsuits being filed in recent years, particularly in hotbed jurisdictions for food litigation including California, New York, Illinois, Missouri and Florida;
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Discussion of key recent decisions and important pending cases, including renewed judicial interest in the “reasonable consumer” standard as a basis for early dismissal in false labeling and “natural” cases;
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Increased Prop 65 activity in California involving a growing list of chemicals and targeted products; and
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A session entitled “What in the World was He Thinking? A Look Inside the Mind of a Plaintiffs’ Attorney, and How to Respond” featured our own David Biderman, where he stressed the importance of a collaborative effort by the industry to fight and ultimately minimize the number of frivolous lawsuits.
Perkins Coie was a proud sponsor of this annual event with many members of its Food Litigation Team attending the conference including David Biderman, Charles Sipos, Julie Hussey and Steven Hwang.
