The continuing questions over the extent of the FTC’s enforcement authority to obtain monetary relief under Section 13(b) did not stop the Commission from filing a lawsuit on November 1 against multi-level marketer Neora, LLC and its CEO Jeffrey Olson for purportedly operating an illegal pyramid scheme that used deceptive marketing to sell supplements, skin creams and other products. Pursuant to Section 13(b), the FTC seeks an injunction to stop Neora’s alleged pyramid scheme and…

The reach of Section 13(b) of the FTC Act – and the extent of the FTC’s enforcement authority — has been a hotly-debated topic following the Third Circuit’s decision in Shire ViroPharma and the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Credit Bureau Center.   In this first installment of what we are calling the “Section 13 (b)log,” we summarize a recent discussion between Bikram Bandy (FTC Chief Litigation Counsel), John Villafranco (Kelley Drye), Berin Szoka (Tech Freedom), and Noah Kaufman (Morgan Lewis) on this issue during an ABA Antitrust Law Section…

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit cannonballed directly into the roiling waters of debate over the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement powers, when it determined in a closely-watched appeal that the agency does not have the right to restitution under the primary provision the Commission uses to attack fraud — Section 13(b) of the FTC Act.  The decision is certain to lead to other challenges to the agency’s authority, and has…

A label contains an accurate net weight of the amount of product inside.  The packaging is clear, allowing consumers to view a pump mechanism common in the cosmetics world.  So, where’s the deception? According to the Southern District of New York – there is none.  In Critcher et al. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., et al., 1:18-cv-05639 (S.D.N.Y.), the Court recently held that reasonable consumers would not be deceived by a cosmetics bottle utilizing a pump…