Big food industry, taking over where tobacco left off

Types : Press Releases

Advertising and labeling claims set the stage for uptick in class actions

Kristen E. Polovoy and Michael Hayes, attorneys with Montgomery McCracken, were planners and presenters for the NightOwl Discovery webinar presentation Preparing For and Defending Big Food Lawsuits, a program that addressed recent times’ sharp spike in food labeling consumer fraud class action claims, the reasons for the uptick,  how companies in the consumer product industry can defend against such claims and the e-discovery implications of these lawsuits.

Polovoy serves as of counsel in Montgomery McCracken’s Litigation Department in its Cherry Hill, New Jersey office.  As a member of the firm’s class action defense practice, she has successfully represented several national companies in consumer fraud class actions and was quoted in the August 19, 2012 New York Times and August 20, 2012 Corporate Counsel regarding the product labeling class action trend.  Polovoy chairs the Class Action Practice Committee of the Camden County Bar Association and frequently speaks and writes on the subject of class action defense.

Hayes, co-chair of the firm’s E-Discovery practice group, is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department.  His practice concentrates on commercial litigation and government and corporate investigations with a particular focus on the life sciences.  He represents pharmaceutical manufacturers in connection with internal corporate and government investigations and related suits involving the False Claims Act, alleged off-label promotion and the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, state consumer protection laws and related matters.