Principals Dr. Lisa Cameron and Dr. Steve Herscovici and Senior Consultant Dr. Paroma Sanyal will join the “Surveys in False Advertising Cases” session. They will review the types of surveys that are most common in false advertising cases and describe how surveys are used in claim substantiation and as evidence in Lanham Act matters, consumer class actions, and trademark disputes, with illustrations from a greenwashing hypothetical.

Brattle is a proud sponsor of the ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference.

Register or learn more

The post Surveys in False Advertising Cases: Brattle Consultants to Discuss at ANA Conference appeared first on Brattle.

A recent Social Selling News (SSN) article summarizes the case and findings from Principal Dr. Branko Jovanovic. Dr. Jovanovic authored a declaration on behalf of FES opining on the allegations regarding FES’s product offerings and the FTC’s charge that FES was operating as an illegal pyramid scheme.

The full article can be found below.

View the Article (subscription required)

The post Dr. Branko Jovanovic Reviews FTC Complaint Against Financial Education Services Inc. appeared first on Brattle.

Senior Associate Dr. Pablo Robles will join a panel reviewing automotive product defect class action litigation and discuss the economics of potential damages.

Register or learn more

View recording

The post Product Liability in Automotive Defect Class Actions: Dr. Pablo Robles to Discuss at ABA TIPS Webinar appeared first on Brattle.

In a recent article for Law360, Senior Consultant Paroma Sanyal and Principal Coleman Bazelon discuss whether the lack of a uniform label – one that includes information on price, performance, and more – for broadband service packages makes it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions about broadband products. They explore the pros and cons of using consumer broadband labels and detail their history, including the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) 2022 notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to have broadband internet service providers display detailed labels.

The full article, “Assessing the Pros and Cons of Broadband Product Labels,” is available below.

The post Brattle Consultants Discuss Pros and Cons of Broadband Product Labels in <i>Law360</i> Article appeared first on Brattle.

Recent consumer class actions have featured allegations that buyers were owed damages due to a company’s misrepresentation of its product’s attributes. These damages, often called “benefit-of-the-bargain” damages, can arise when buyers would have been unwilling to pay the old price for a product revealed to have attributes different from those previously represented or inferred. In many of these cases, experts have attempted to substitute for or supplement observed real-world data with data obtained from conjoint surveys, in which consumers are asked to state their choices among sets of hypothetical product profiles. The authors explore issues with these surveys and market simulation models based on their data, explaining that the surveys and models often fall short of the academic rigor required to obtain valid damages estimates.

The full article, “Price Premium Damages in Product Market Litigation: Issues in Survey-Based Market Simulations,” is available below.

View Article

The post Issues with Survey-Based Market Simulation Models Used to Estimate Price Premium Damages: Brattle Consultants Publish Article in <i>Product Liability 2022</i> appeared first on Brattle.

Brattle supported Professor Howard Beales of George Washington University, who provided expert testimony on behalf of LifeVantage. Under Professor Beales’s direction, the Brattle team analyzed LifeVantage’s business intelligence data and showed that any calculation of purported harm for individual distributors would require individualized inquiry, contrary to the plaintiffs’ expert’s theory of harm. He also demonstrated that there was substantial consumer demand for LifeVantage’s products and that distributor compensation was tied to sales to ultimate consumers, contradicting the plaintiffs’ claims that the company operated as a pyramid scheme.

Professor Beales was supported by Brattle Principal Dr. Branko Jovanovic and a Brattle team that also included Senior Associate Dr. Pablo Robles and Research Analyst Lia Bozzone.

The post Class Action Certification Attempt Defeated in a Case against LifeVantage Corporation Following Testimony Supported by a Brattle Team appeared first on Brattle.

For most direct sales companies, income disclosure statements (IDSs) are their most prominent – and public – presentation of the earnings opportunity available to prospective and current distributors. In late 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters to more than 1,100 companies, including virtually every major direct selling company and various other types of “gig economy” businesses, warning of the possible penalties for IDS misrepresentations – which could amount to significant costs. Ensuring that IDSs reliably and accurately reflect the actual experience of a typical distributor, as confirmed in the company’s business intelligence data, should be a top priority for every direct seller.

The full article, “Prioritize Your Income Statement: Here Are the Best Practices to Ensure Yours Is Effective, Accurate, and Truthful,” coauthored with a team from Winston Strawn, is available below.

The post Best Practices for Developing Accurate Income Disclosure Statements: Dr. Branko Jovanovic Discusses in a Recent Article appeared first on Brattle.

“Branko is an asset to our firm’s securities and finance team,” said Brattle President & Principal David L. Sunding. “His deep expertise in issues related to multi-level marketing compensation models, securities fraud investigations, and regulatory actions, will further enhance our ability to provide the clear, independent insights needed to support clients in the ever-changing marketplace.”

Dr. Jovanovic applies his sophisticated econometric expertise to address liability and damages issues in securities class actions and market manipulation matters. He has helped clients respond to formal investigations and requests from regulatory entities like the US Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, as well as testified on a broad range of matters before federal and state courts, regulators, and arbitral tribunals. In his MLM experience, Dr. Jovanovic has provided analyses on matters related to regulatory investigations, consumer class actions, internal investigations, and compensation model restructuring.

“I’m thrilled to be back at Brattle, where I can continue to provide top-notch consulting and testifying services for my clients,” Dr. Jovanovic said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues, mentoring junior team members, and promoting our firm’s diversity, equity & inclusion efforts.”

To learn more about Dr. Jovanovic, please see his full bio.

The post Securities and Finance Expert Dr. Branko Jovanovic Rejoins The Brattle Group as a Principal appeared first on Brattle.

Brattle Principal and Intellectual Property practice Co-Leader Dr. Coleman Bazelon will join an expert panel to illuminate data sales on the dark web and examine how cybercriminals’ dealings can affect privacy litigation.

Learn more or register

The post Data Sales on the Dark Web and Privacy Valuation: Dr. Coleman Bazelon to Discuss at ABA Webinar appeared first on Brattle.