Abby Meyer

Abby Meyer is a partner in the Business Trial Practice Group and leads the firm's Food and Beverage team. A seasoned litigator, she specializes in defending against consumer class actions targeting the consumer products, retail, and food industries and in litigating complex civil business disputes. In addition to her work representing clients in litigation, Abby provides advice and counsel to consumer packaged goods companies on various compliance issues including FTC compliance and unique marketing issues presented under California state law.

Areas of Practice

Consumer Class Action Defense & Related Advice Work

Abby specializes in defending companies against consumer class actions targeting product information found on the labels of packaged goods or associated advertising materials. For instance, she has defended claims such as "natural," "vanilla," "Made in USA," "flushable," and sustainability claims. She has also defended against alleged slack fill, underfill, contamination (heavy metals, PFAS), and health halo class actions.

She has successfully resolved disputes at the demand letter phase, opposed motions for class certification, and brought motions for summary judgment of the purported plaintiffs' claims. Abby’s clients have included food, beverage, cosmetics, and retail/consumer goods brands and services.

Based on her experience litigating numerous of these actions and her authorship on related topics, Abby also advises companies on whether their product labels are compliant with FDA regulations and other law (such as the FTC Green Guides and parallel state laws). Her goal is to help clients avoid litigation in the first instance.

Complex Civil Litigation

Abby has long represented companies facing business disputes, such as in the vendor/supplier, licensor/licensee, and reseller contexts. She also represents companies in real estate related litigation and breach of contract actions. In the complex civil litigation arena, Abby both brings and defends actions on behalf of her clients.

Abby looks to partner with her clients to understand their business, their goals, and to align litigation strategy accordingly. Her goal is to give legal advice that also helps her clients achieve their business objectives.

Abby handles all aspects of litigation, from early resolution, to case filing, to trial, and appellate practice. She handles cases in both state and federal court, and also in the arbitration context. Abby has defended against multi-party, multi-year, and multi-jurisdiction litigation.

In addition to her legal practice, Abby is an advocate for women and parents. She co-chairs the firm’s OC Families group which serves as a resource for the parents in the Orange County office. She previously served as co-chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Mommy Esquire committee and served for several years as a director of the board for the Orange County Women Lawyers Association.

Experience

• In a hard fought consumer class action alleging false labeling and marketing, defeated class certification and achieved partial summary judgment. (Usler v. Vital Farms, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172095 (W.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2024).)

• Substantially prevailed on a motion to dismiss a class action complaint that asserted 25 claims for relief including under the laws of 9 states; court dismissed 17 claims including purported violations of 7 different states’ laws. (Miller v. NextGen Healthcare, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 131254 (N.D. Ga. July 25, 2024).)

• Defeated putative class action alleging that the company misrepresented or omitted information regarding PFAS in clothing products on a motion to dismiss. (Garland v. Child.'s Place, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59395 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 1, 2024).)
• Representing a technology retailer with a false pricing class action.
• Representing a services company with a false advertising class action.
• Represented a beverage manufacturer during a three-day bench trial on whether consumption of the beverage exposed consumers to a Prop 65 chemical. The judge found that the plaintiffs did not establish a prima facie case of exposure.
• Represented beverage retailer in false advertising class action. Prevailed on motion for summary judgment.
• Represented specialty foods manufacturer in false advertising class action. Prevailed on motion to dismiss.
• Following scorched-earth litigation related to an easement and involving seven parties, drafted, argued, and won summary adjudication of all claims against our client, ending our client’s involvement in the matter; argued and affirmed on appeal (Rickley v. Gulf Oil Corp., 2021 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1307).
• Obtained a complete defense verdict for a financial institute following a downtown Los Angeles jury trial in a wrongful foreclosure action.

Honors

Ones to Watch — Construction Law, Best Lawyers, 2021-2025

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2020-2023

Articles

Class Action Defense Strategy Blog Posts

• "Ninth Circuit Issues Long-Awaited Montera Decision Applying New York General Business Law §§ 349 and 350, Confirming “Per Violation” Damages but Striking Prejudgment Interest," August 15, 2024
• "What Must the Consumer Read on Product Packaging? The Answer is Anything but Black-and-White Following the Ninth Circuit’s Whiteside Decision," July 24, 2024
• "The Ninth Circuit Declares that Ambiguity can be Cured with Back Label," July 13, 2023
• "FDA Boosts Protein Preemption Defense," February 16, 2022
• "Are Flavor Cases Fizzling? Two More Courts Grant Motions to Dismiss," November 15, 2021

• "It’s Not Pop Secret, Ninth Circuit Affirms that Plaintiff Didn’t Have a Leg to Stand On," December 10, 2020

• "Avoiding Formation Challenges To Your Arbitration Clause With Consumers," July 20, 2020

• "Questions To Ask When Changing Your Arbitration Clause," June 29, 2020

• "An Arbitration Clause Health Check," June 22, 2020

• "'Happy Cows' False Labeling Theory is Just 'Half Baked': Court Dismisses False Advertising Claims Against Ben & Jerry’s," May 12, 2020
• "CBD Industry Beware: The False Labeling Class Action Has Arrived," September 30, 2019 
• "Spate of Recent False Advertising Class Actions Take On Animal Treatment Label Claims,"  August 19, 2019
• "Lack of Standing Dooms Organizational Plaintiffs’ False Advertising Claims; Such a Challenge Can Be Brought at Any Time," August 5, 2019 
• "Ninth Circuit Confirms Plaintiffs Are Not Required to Undermine Defendant’s Evidence to Withstand Summary Judgment in False Labeling Class Actions," January 14, 2019 
• “'I’ll Be Back;' Ninth Circuit Gives Arnold Schwarzenegger-Branded Supplement Purchasers Another Shot to Pursue UCL, FAL, CLRA and Warranty Claims," October 18, 2018 
• "Are credits coupons? The Ninth Circuit Says Yes in Calculating Total Value of Class Action Settlements," October 17, 2018 
• "Ninth Circuit Confirms that Class Action Plaintiffs Must Plausibly Establish Future Intent To Re-Purchase To Maintain Claims for Injunctive Relief," June 26, 2018 
• "Seventh Circuit Holds Footlong Settlement Falls Short," September 20, 2017 

FDA Law Blog Posts

• "FDA Moves to End Use of Brominated Vegetable Oil in Food," November 9, 2023
• "“Dietary Guidance Statements” in Food Labeling: What You Need to Know About FDA’s Latest Draft Guidance for the Food Industry," April 11, 2023
• "Comment Period for “Healthy” Regulations Extended; But Consumer Class Actions Targeting “Health Halos” May Continue," December 20, 2022 

Healthcare Law Blog Posts

• "HIMSS19 Kicks-Off Addressing Leading Topics in Healthcare Information Technology," February 13, 2019 

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog Posts

• "PFAS and Food Packaging: Regulatory Changes Create Ripple Effects for PFAs-Related Litigation," November 16, 2022

Retail Law Blog Posts

• "New California Bill Seeks to Eliminate Certain Food Additives," April 11, 2023
• "California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act Bans 24 Ingredients From Cosmetic Products," March 21, 2023
• "Sow What Now?: Cal. Hispanic Chambers of Commerce et. al. v. Ross et. al., The U.S. Supreme Court, and California’s Proposition 12," April 18, 2022

Media Mentions

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "Tactical Tools for Class Action Prevention: How Proper Claims Substantiation and Sound Labeling Practices Are Sometimes Your Best Offense," ACI’s Advanced Forum on Defending FDA-Regulated Consumer Products Class Actions, October 16, 2023
• Speaker, "A 'Healthy' Discussion on FDA Guidances and Health-Halo Litigation," Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation Conference, September 27, 2023
• Speaker, "PM Plenary: Nutrition," American Intellectual Property Law Association, February 2, 2023
• Speaker, "Class Action Developments in Flavors, Geographic Origin Claims, and More," Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation Conference: For the Food and Dietary Supplement Industries, September 28, 2021
• Speaker, "The Evolving Reasonable Consumer Standard, Developments in Preemption, and Other Litigation Trends," Food Advertising, Labeling, and Litigation Conference, September 22, 2020
• Speaker, "Plastic and Single-Use Legislation and Litigation," 10th Annual Food, Beverage, and Supplements Virtual Regional CLE Program, May 25, 2021

Events

Memberships

Member, Food & Drug Law Institute California Programs Planning Committee

Member, Orange County Bar Association

Co-Chair, Orange County Bar Association’s Mommy Esquire Committee

Past Member of Board of Directors, Orange County Women Lawyers Association

Digital Media