New Jersey State Court Successfully Dismisses Consumer Fraud Act Class Action Suit on Behalf of Olshan Client

As reported in The New Jersey Law Journal (subscription required), Olshan partner Scott Shaffer achieved a full dismissal with prejudice of a class-action lawsuit filed under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act. The court granted the summary judgment motion filed by Scott on the basis that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the suit and did not suffer any ascertainable loss. Plaintiff Harold Hoffman claimed that he purchased a nutritional supplement that was falsely advertised, but Scott cited Hoffman’s failure to use the supplement meant that Hoffman lacked legal standing to bring the suit. Scott also successfully pointed out that Hoffman filed his class action before he even received delivery of the product, and he failed to conduct any tests or analysis of it to determine whether he received what he paid for. Hoffman sought reconsideration of the decision but the Court denied the request, ruling that the lawsuit lacked all of the required elements of a Consumer Fraud Act claim. Scott told the New Jersey Law Journal that the ruling has broader relevance beyond just this lawsuit “because a clear line of precedent in Consumer Fraud Act rulings is emerging.”