Finding verified plaintiffs for an 8-figure false advertising settlement

Kronenberger Rosenfeld is a California-based internet law firm with a commitment to providing their clients the best possible chance to achieve their goals.  Kronenberger Rosenfeld litigates in both state and federal courts across the country, but their offices are based closest to the courts most prolific in creating laws about intellectual property, technology, and the internet, including the Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Better known as an internet law firm, our client saw an opportunity to take a strong position on a false advertising campaign and convert it into a class action lawsuit, as the number of victims was likely to be significant. Stakes were also very high for claimants, most likely unfairly losing their job and being falsely accused of drug use.

This is the classic conundrum many lawyers face in the advertising law arena, in a case where someone is making a false advertising claim, are there more plaintiffs out there? And more importantly, is it worth the risk and cost of finding more? 

In this case, people wishing to lose weight drank a tea that specifically stated that it did not contain THC. However, they subsequently failed drug tests and lost their jobs when their employers requested tests as a condition of their employment. There were news stories that ran earlier this year including a local Atlanta television station . Knowing that the number of people consuming weight loss tea is significant as people aim to get back into pre-COVID shape, the likelihood of finding additional victims was high, the only question is how to find them. This where FullFunnel stepped in. 

What made this particularly challenging is that many social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, have advertising policies that do not even allow the use of the word marijuana or THC, even if the purpose of an advertisement is trying to identify victims. However, Google Ads proved to be an effective platform to solicit potential victims, although only text ads could be used to capture new leads. As is always the case with Google Ads, the advertiser pays per click, and not on the successful identification and sign-up of each new victim.  Despite a higher volume of clicks than actual victims, FullFunnel found Google Ads to be an effective medium for collecting potential victims. This was done by focusing on the product name with the use of the words cannabis or hemp.  

This approach was further augmented by a targeted inbox outreach campaign aimed at people who had participated in a forum about the THC allegedly drug free version of the tea, and the use of Reddit ads This bifurcated approach was very effective, as people who received an email were able to confirm its veracity by looking at Google and seeing the ad campaign.