Judge Cronan

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On Tuesday, Judge Cronan dismissed for the second time plaintiffs’ putative class action alleging that defendant Supergoop’s sunscreen contains a lower SPF than labeled. Both times, the Court found that plaintiffs failed to establish standing by inadequately pleading injury-in-fact.

Rather than pursuing a direct theory of injury based on the products actually purchased, plaintiffs argued a theory of injury “via indirect means by linking the results of their independent testing of the same product line to the Purchased Products.” The named plaintiffs purchased Supergoop sunscreen on four separate occasions throughout 2023 and 2024. However, they did not test the SPF levels of the bottles they bought. Instead, counsel for plaintiffs arranged for the SPF testing of separate bottles of the same type of sunscreen, purchased in a different month in 2023, on the theory that the testing would apply to “all products by the same manufacturer that have the same combination of active ingredients.”

Continue Reading Judge Cronan: Plaintiffs Fail to Allege Injury-in-Fact Against Supergoop Sunscreen, Again

In an opinion Friday, Judge Cronan quashed subpoenas issued by the country of Türkiye to various U.S. banks for information relating to Cevdet Turkyolu, a U.S. resident and member of the faith-based Gülen movement that has fallen into disfavor with the Turkish government. The subpoenas were issued under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which authorizes U.S. courts to issue discovery in aid of foreign proceedings.

Türkiye claimed the information was relevant to criminal cases in Türkiye against Turkyolu, but Judge Cronin found insufficient evidence that the criminal cases would actually go forward or that the requested evidence could be used. In addition, as a matter of discretion, Judge Cronan found that the suspicious circumstances of the subpoenas “weigh[ed] heavily” against enforcement of the subpoenas. In essence, there was reason to think the subpoenas were issued as political retaliation:

Continue Reading Judge Cronan Quashes “Troubling” Turkish Government Subpoenas Seemingly Intended As Political Retaliation

In an opinion yesterday, Judge Cronan refused to dismiss a case under New York’s consumer fraud statute alleging that the “Smokehouse” almonds (depicted below) were marketed in a misleading fashion because allegedly they are not actually prepared via smoking.

The defendant argued that “Smokehouse” refers to the flavoring only, but Judge Cronan concluded that, while a “close call,” the allegations were enough to survive the motion:
Continue Reading In “Close Call,” Judge Cronan Allows Consumer Fraud Claims to Proceed Over “Smokehouse” Branded Almonds that Are Not Actually Smoked

In an opinion Friday, Judge Cronan dismissed with prejudice a suit brought by Sparks Steak House against its insurance company seeking to recover for business interruption losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy covered, as is common in property insurance policies, “direct physical loss of or damage to property” at the premises, and Sparks argued that its inability to use the premises as a steakhouse fell within that language. Judge Cronan disagreed, using illustrations of how the policy language would be used in everyday experience:
Continue Reading Judge Cronan: Sparks Steak House’s Business Interruption Insurance Policy Not Triggered by COVID-19 Because the Pandemic Did Not Cause “Direct Physical Loss” of Property