The Neora lawsuit against the FTC has been dismissed and effectively transferred from New Jersey to Dallas, Texas, where Neora is headquartered. New Jersey was the preferred venue choice of the FTC when the matter’s dueling cases were filed. Neora requested the dismissal in order to file counterclaims in Dallas and combine into a single case.
See the opinion and order PDF below.
U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson
By: David Rauf
Different venues can bring about an array of juror demographics, docket speeds or judicial precedents that can benefit one side.
The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit alleging that Neora is an illegal pyramid scheme will be transferred to a Texas courthouse, a federal judge has decided. The ruling also accuses the direct selling firm of venue shopping to try and get the case moved to a friendlier jurisdiction.
I believe the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been the subject of more ink printed in these pages than any other entity, and for good reason. The agency has had and continues to have a greater impact on the direct selling channel than any other organization.
And so it is that our cover story once again focuses on this regulatory agency. A very interesting battle has been brewing over the FTC’s decades-old practice of ordering companies to pay millions of dollars under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act.
In this article, our journalist David Rauf provides terrific background information as well as the current status of the debate to give you a full picture of this important issue. The entire channel will be impacted by the Court’s decision. Another issue that impacts the entire channel is that of unauthorized sellers on Amazon and other marketplaces who push product without permission from their respective companies.
We’ve explored the topic in our Special Report (see page 20, “Winning the War on Rogue Online Sellers”). This article presents three different ways that companies can fight these rogue sellers and put a stop to the practice.
This month, I got to spend a delightful hour on the phone with Lori Bush, who has decided to leave retirement behind and launch a new company (see page 26, Getting Real). She shares how her recent experience with a cancer diagnosis drove her decision to take on a start-up, during a pandemic, no less! Finally, this month’s The Ranks (see page 15) presents product manufacturing companies for your reference.
Please drop me a line at [email protected] and let us know what you think of Social Selling News and our efforts to keep you informed with the news and information critical to this channel.
We are grateful to you, our readers, along with all of the advertisers that make this adventure possible. Have a great month!
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the Federal Trade Commission can seek to recoup funds unlawfully obtained by individuals and companies resulting from violations of consumer protection laws.
Full article in Compliance Week
The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) and DSA today released new Guidance on Earnings Claims that defines and identifies earnings claims to ensure all representations made by direct-selling companies or members of their salesforce comply with legal and self-regulatory standards. See the Full Document.
As I sit down to write this month’s publisher’s note, I find myself once again grateful to be in a position to bring you news and information important to your decision-making as leaders in this channel.
I’m grateful to bring you excellent reporting on the very bold statements made by several channel executives about the social movements happening around us, as you will read in our cover story this month.
