Supreme Court Closes Safe Harbor in False-Advertising Wars

On June 12, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of POM Wonderful in POM Wonderful v. Coca-Cola. POM, a pomegranate juice brand, sued Coca-Cola under the Lanham Act, claiming that Coke’s use of the words "Pomegranate Blueberry" on its label misleads consumers, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the label. According to legal experts, this win is likely to trigger a wave of lawsuits.

Finnegan partner, B. Brett Heavner said, “There are a lot of other agencies in the federal government that have a say in the advertising in industries they regulate. To the extent someone was going to try to make a similar argument to Coca-Cola's—that their advertising was insulated from these claims because of federal regulations—I think they will have a harder time.”