Parsing Promotional Puffery from Actionable Advertising
June 11, 2012
Types : Bylined Articles
Lately, legal periodicals seem to have at least one weekly story on a recently-filed putative class action that targets facially-innocuous product advertising: “all natural” iced tea; “100% pure” orange juice; “nutritious” breakfast foods; “fat free” milk; dental products providing “relief within minutes”; and “classic” flavor ice cream. New Jersey consumers have eagerly grasped onto the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1, et seq. (“NJCFA”), to test whether advertisers’ efforts to persuade the consuming public are legally cognizable. Even under the consumer-friendly NJCFA, are plaintiffs stretching the statute too far?