Consumer Law

In an unpublished opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a defendant?s motion for summary judgment dismissing a false advertising claim for damages because the plaintiff did not provide any evidence that consumers relied on the false ads.  Software manufacturer, Syncsort Inc., filed the lawsuit against its competitor, Innovative Routines International, Inc. (IRI), alleging among other things that IRI falsely claimed that its sorting software was the ?world?s fastest and most widely licensed?of its kind.  Explaining that proof of actual reliance is not required when seeking injunctive relief under the Lanham Act, the Court noted that the plaintiff was seeking damages, which did require evidence of reliance and actual deception. A copy of the opinion is here.