{"id":907,"date":"2023-10-20T11:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/?p=907"},"modified":"2023-10-20T11:16:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:21","slug":"the-class-action-weekly-wire-episode-35-pfas-and-consumer-fraud-class-actions-unboxing-mocra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/2023\/10\/20\/the-class-action-weekly-wire-episode-35-pfas-and-consumer-fraud-class-actions-unboxing-mocra\/","title":{"rendered":"The Class Action Weekly Wire \u2013 Episode 35: PFAS and Consumer Fraud Class Actions: Unboxing MoCRA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 11.0pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Beauty\u2019s Biggest Makeover In 85 Years \u2013 MoCRA Delivers Regulatory Overhaul and Class Action Concerns For Cosmetics Companies<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-908\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"527\" height=\"297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/10\/35e.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<b><i><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><i><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Duane Morris Takeaway:<\/span><\/i><\/b><i> <\/i><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">This week&#8217;s episode of the Class Action Weekly Wire features Duane Morris partner Jerry Maatman and associate Kelly Bonner analyzing a new horizon on the consumer fraud landscape with their discussion of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act and its looming impact on class action litigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Check out today\u2019s episode and subscribe to our show from your preferred podcast platform: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2HZP212kEycOPXPY7Qppzr\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Spotify<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/a23249e0-d394-470c-ba27-b4d87dcf4381\/the-class-action-weekly-wire\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Amazon Music<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-class-action-weekly-wire\/id1709589577\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;color: #1f4e79\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5yc3MuY29tL2RtY2xhc3NhY3Rpb24vZmVlZC54bWw%3D\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Google Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;color: #1f4e79\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">the Samsung Podcasts app, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcastindex.org\/podcast\/6626090\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Podcast Index<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/radio\/The-Class-Action-Weekly-Wire-p3882927\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Tune In<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.listennotes.com\/podcasts\/the-class-action-weekly-wire-duane-morris-uQEYrwG7MOU\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Listen Notes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/269-the-class-action-weekly-wi-124460701\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">iHeartRadio<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deezer.com\/us\/show\/1000307221\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Deezer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@DMClassAction\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">YouTube<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rss.com\/podcasts\/dmclassaction\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">our RSS feed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Class Action Weekly Wire \u2013 Episode 35: PFAS and Consumer Fraud Class Actions: Unboxing MoCRA\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZPEJQAUa7Q8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><i><span style=\"font-size: 11.0pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Episode Transcript<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry Maatman:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Hello, loyal blog readers and welcome to our weekly installment of our Friday Podcast series called the Class Action Weekly Wire. Today I&#8217;m joined by my colleague Kelly Bonner, who is going to talk about some new developments in the cosmetics and fashion world. Welcome, Kelly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly Bonner:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Thanks so much, Jerry. It&#8217;s great to be here.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> One of the areas that you&#8217;re a thought leader in is all things cosmetics and fashion. And I understand there&#8217;s a new law and regulation that we should be aware of in this space. What&#8217;s that all about?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Absolutely. Well, thought leader \u2013 I&#8217;m going to have to tell my mom that one. But yes, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, or MoCRA, as it&#8217;s colloquially referred to, was passed at the end of last year in December, and it is the most significant expansion of the FDA&#8217;s authority to regulate cosmetics since the passage of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act in 1938. So take a moment to think about it<span style=\"color: #1f4e79\"> \u2013 t<\/span>hat&#8217;s about 85 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">MoCRA expands the federal government&#8217;s authority over cosmetics and creates significant new obligations for manufacturers, packers, and distributors of cosmetic products intended for sale in the United States. It has been referred to as a sea change, and it is hard to underestimate the impact MoCRA will have on cosmetics sold in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Until now, cosmetics have been regulated at the federal level under the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act, as well as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966. Now with MoCRA, the FDA will be empowered to <i>require<\/i> facility registration, product listing, reporting of serious adverse events \u2013 with an expanded definition of what constitutes a serious adverse event, impose record keeping obligations, enforce mandatory recalls of cosmetic products, and regulations regarding good manufacturing practices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> If you&#8217;re a corporate counsel, I would imagine that this is going to impact what you do on a day-to-day basis in terms of compliance. Do you have any views for our clients with respect to what they can expect on the compliance front?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Yes, Jerry, so since MoCRA&#8217;s passage in December 2022, cosmetics companies and personal care companies have been grappling with how to approach MoCRA. MoCRA introduces significant changes for businesses operating in the cosmetics industry. For example, it requires any facility that manufactures or processes cosmetic products intended for sale in the United States to register with the FDA and to list products that are sold. The FDA anticipates that its portal for registration and product listing will go live sometime this month, and they&#8217;ve released certain guidance on it. But again, FDA is looking at an avalanche of information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">MoCRA also requires new labeling requirements in products, including providing contact information for serious adverse event reporting; it expands the definition of serious adverse event; it imposes greater record keeping obligations regarding product safety documenting and following up on serious adverse events. These are significant obligations that companies will need to comply with. And a lot of these obligations fall on what MoCRA identifies as a \u201cresponsible person.\u201d It&#8217;s important to remember that MoCRA&#8217;s definition of a responsible person is not the same as a responsible person under EU regulations which were previously in existence and really kind of came up with this idea of what we&#8217;re responsible person. So it&#8217;s important to be versed in what the law requires, and how i<span style=\"color: #1f4e79\">t is<\/span> different from what the EU requires.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Sounds to me like in the class action space this is going to create lots of regulations, lots of obligations, lots of duties when it comes to consumer fraud class actions. Do you see this new statute as impacting the class action world?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Jerry, yes, this <span style=\"color: black\">statute is going to impact the class action world. MoCRA, significantly, does not provide federal preemption for state consumer protection or products liability claims. Nor does it alter the existing regulatory framework with the relationship between the FTC \u2013 the Federal Trade Commission \u2013 and the FDA over what kinds of claims personal care products can make. So already, Jerry, what you&#8217;re seeing <\/span>are plaintiffs bringing class <span style=\"color: black\">action lawsuits over companies\u2019 usage of terms like \u201cclean,\u201d \u201cnatural,\u201d \u201cnon-toxic,\u201d under fraud theories, or price premium theories. There may be additional opportunities for plaintiffs to obtain information through MoCRA\u2019s required product ingredient listings and new disclosures that are required under MoCRA. Additionally, the record keeping and adverse event reporting aspect of MoCRA will provide plaintiffs with additional fodder to scrutinize the sufficiency of companies\u2019 safety substantiation data and risk assessment processes to allege that products are not actually \u201csafe\u201d or \u201cnon-toxic\u201d or \u201call natural\u201d or do not contain synthetic ingredients. And so given the continued regulatory ambiguity of what constitutes <i>sufficient <\/i>safety substantiation, as well as what constitutes<i> natural<\/i> or <i>clean<\/i> beauty, companies should expect that their testing and compliance practices and their claims will be scrutinized, particularly in litigation discovery and by plaintiffs\u2019 experts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> I had the privilege last week of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/2023\/10\/11\/report-from-london-what-a-comparative-analysis-of-international-class-action-litigation-may-teach-usa-based-companies\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">attending and presenting at a class action conference in London<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> with European and Asian lawyers and in-house counsel, and the talk of the conference was on the emergence of consumer fraud claims throughout Europe and Asia. Do you see this new legislation is contributing to a resurgence of class actions in the consumer fraud area, and especially when it comes to what is known as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> It&#8217;s so interesting that you should mention this, Jerry. Earlier this year I was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wwd.com\/beauty-industry-news\/beauty-features\/as-beauty-companies-prepare-for-new-incoming-regulations-heres-what-to-know-about-mocra-1235511678\/\"><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">interviewed by WWD<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> because they wanted to talk about what they saw as a surge in consumer class actions bringing claims involving the beauty space, and they wondered what was really driving that. And you know, I think yes \u2013 you are really going to see MoCRA just providing a new ground for plaintiffs to pursue claims like these, particularly when it comes to PFAS. Now, what you refer to as PFAS \u2013 or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances \u2013 a class of chemicals that are sometimes intentionally added in cosmetics and personal care products to make it more spreadable essentially, or sometimes they&#8217;re unintentionally present, due to their presence in water that was used to prepare the cosmetic. So one of the key provisions of MoCRA charges the FDA to issue a report by the end of 2025 on the use of PFAS in cosmetics and potential human health effects. So obviously that report is going to be of great interest to the plaintiffs\u2019 bar. Again, MoCRA also doesn&#8217;t provide any guidance for companies seeking to avoid class action claims for allegedly false or misleading claims and labeling. And so it really does provide new ground for an aggressive plaintiffs\u2019 bar which will seek to use MoCRA&#8217;s obligations, and any perceived non-compliance, as the basis for state law claims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Kelly, thank you so much for your analysis of MoCRA and this new area. I think this is definitely not the last time we&#8217;ll be hearing about this issue, and it&#8217;ll be on the radar of corporate counsel. So thank you so much for lending your thought leadership today <span style=\"color: #1f4e79\">on<\/span> our weekly podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Kelly:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Anytime, Jerry. Thank you so much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"xmsonormal\"><b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\">Jerry:<\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-size: 10.5pt;font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif\"> Have a great day everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beauty\u2019s Biggest Makeover In 85 Years \u2013 MoCRA Delivers Regulatory Overhaul and Class Action Concerns For Cosmetics Companies &nbsp; Duane Morris Takeaway: This week&#8217;s episode of the Class Action Weekly Wire features Duane Morris partner Jerry Maatman and associate Kelly Bonner analyzing a new horizon on the consumer fraud landscape with their discussion of the &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/2023\/10\/20\/the-class-action-weekly-wire-episode-35-pfas-and-consumer-fraud-class-actions-unboxing-mocra\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Class Action Weekly Wire \u2013 Episode 35: PFAS and Consumer Fraud Class Actions: Unboxing MoCRA&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[30],"class_list":["post-907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"authors":[{"term_id":30,"user_id":583,"is_guest":0,"slug":"classactiondefense","display_name":"Class Action Defense","avatar_url":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2020\/10\/dmlogo.jpg","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.duanemorris.com\/classactiondefense\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}