Product Liability -- active



Earth Island Institute v. The Coca-Cola Company   (D.C. Court of Appeals)

Protecting against the limitless reach of consumer protection statutes

On May 22, 2023, the NAM filed an amicus brief urging the D.C. Court of Appeals to affirm the dismissal of an environmental group’s claim that Coca-Cola's vocal support for recycling and environmental sustainability are misleading in violation of D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). In this case, Earth Island Institute v. The Coca Cola Company, the trial court correctly found that the challenged statements were aspirational in nature and not actionable—the instant appeal filed. Our brief argues that to be subject to the CPPA, statements must be (1) made in connection with a “consumer transaction” or advertisement about “goods and services” directed to D.C. residents to facilitate a consumer transaction; and (2) be material to a reasonable consumer’s decision as to whether they would receive fair value in purchasing the product or service. The statements at issue here plainly do not satisfy these requirements because they were cherry-picked from global communications having no direct tie with any product or service. Affirmance of the lower court’s decision is required to avoid special interest groups using the CPPA to push their political agenda in an effort to silence corporations with different views on public policy issues. All manufacturers have an interest in limiting the reach of sweeping consumer protection statutes and receiving fair notice of prohibited conduct.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (May 22, 2023)