Meaning, purpose, and cause in the law of deception

Georgetown Law Journal

Volumn 100, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 449-496

  Klass, Gregory ^a  

^a GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER   (United States)

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EID: 79955574465     PISSN: 00168092     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (154)

1. See generally Howard Beales, Richard Craswell & Steven C. Salop, The Efficient Regulation of Consumer Information, 24 J.L. & ECON. 491 (1981);
2. Richard Craswell, "Compared to What?" The Use of Control Ads in Deceptive Advertising Litigation, 65 ANTITRUST L.J. 757 (1997) [hereinafter Craswell, Control Ads];
3. Richard Craswell, Interpreting Deceptive Advertising, 65 B.U. L. REV. 657 (1985);
4. Richard Craswell, Regulating Deceptive Advertising: The Role of Cost-Benefit Analysis, 64 S. CAL. L. REV. 549 (1991);
5. Richard Craswell, Taking Information Seriously: Misrepresentation and Nondisclosure in Contract Law and Elsewhere, 92 VA. L. REV. 565 (2006) [hereinafter Craswell, Taking Information Seriously].
6. Jennifer Roback, Southern Labor Law in the Jim Crow Era: Exploitative or Competitive?, 51 U. CHI. L. REV. 1161, 1166-68 (1984),
7. See generally, e.g., ROBERT COOTER & THOMAS ULEN, LAW AND ECONOMICS 273-74 (3d ed. 2000);
8. Jack Hirshleifer, The Private and Social Value of Information and the Reward to Inventive Activity, 61 AM. ECON. REV. 561 (1971);
9. Anthony T. Kronman, Mistake, Disclosure, Information, and the Law of Contracts, 7 J. LEGAL STUD. 1, 15-16 (1978);
10. Steven Shavell, Acquisition and Disclosure of Information Prior to Sale, 25 RAND J. ECON. 20 (1994). (Pubitemid 24770661)
11. Joseph Raz, The Institutional Nature of Law, 38 MOD. L. REV. 489, 502 (1975),
12. reprinted in JOSEPH RAZ, THE AUTHORITY OF LAW: ESSAYS ON LAW AND MORALITY 103, 119 (1979).
13. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 525 (1977).
14. 24 N.W.2d 161, 167 (Mich. 1946).
15. 12 F.3d 922, 926 (9th Cir. 1993),
16. 228 F.3d 1057, 1063-64 (9th Cir. 2000).
17. 386 B.R. 590, 600 (Bankr.W.D. Pa. 2008).
18. Paul Grice, Meaning, 66 PHIL. REV. 377, 382 (1957),
19. reprinted in PAUL GRICE, STUDIES IN THE WAY OF WORDS 213, 218 (1989).
20. Richard Moran, Getting Told and Being Believed, 5 PHILOSOPHERS' IMPRINT, Aug. 2005, at 1, 1.
21. see generally Eyal Zamir, The Inverted Hierarchy of Contract Interpretation and Supplementation, 97 COLUM. L. REV. 1710 (1997). (Pubitemid 127437470)
22. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS § 159 cmt. a (1981).
23. Haberstick v. Gordon A. Gundaker Real Estate Co., 921 S.W.2d 104, 109 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996)
24. (quoting Toenjes v. L.J. McNeary Constr. Co., 406 S.W.2d 101, 105 (Mo. Ct. App. 1966)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
25. See generally E.T. Tsai, Annotation, Duty of Vendor of Real Estate To Give Purchaser Information as to Termite Infestation, 22 A.L.R.3d 972 (2011).
26. IAN AYRES & GREGORY KLASS, INSINCERE PROMISES: THE LAW OF MISREPRESENTED INTENT 19-45 (2005).
27. See JOHN R. SEARLE, SPEECH ACTS: AN ESSAY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE 54-62 (1969).
28. See Michael Holt & Gregory Klass, Implied Certification Under the False Claims Act, 41 PUB. CONT. L.J. 1 (2011).
29. 15 U.S. (2 Wheat.) 178, 195 (1817).
30. H.P. Grice, Logic and Conversation, in THE LOGIC OF GRAMMAR 64 (Donald Davidson & Gilbert Harman eds., 1975),
31. reprinted in PAUL GRICE, STUDIES IN THEWAY OFWORDS 22, 26 (1989).
32. 757 F.2d 411, 414-15 (1st Cir. 1985).
33. see Donald C. Langevoort, Half-Truths: Protecting Mistaken Inferences by Investors and Others, 52 STAN. L. REV. 87 (1999).
34. V.S.H. Realty, 757 F.2d at 413-14.
35. 157 F.3d 35 (1st Cir. 1998).
36. 896 S.W.2d 156, 163 (Tex. 1995).
37. See W. PAGE KEETON ET AL., PROSSER AND KEETON ON THE LAW OF TORTS § 105, at 728 (5th ed. 1984)
38. SEE RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 552 (1977).
39. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS § 163 (1981).
40. 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1) (2006).
41. Smith v. Harrison, 49 Tenn. (2 Heisk.) 230, 242-43 (1870).
42. Reed v. King, 193 Cal. Rptr. 130, 131 (Cal. Ct. App. 1983).
43. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 550 (1977).
44. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 552 (1977).
45. Samuel W. Buell, Novel Criminal Fraud, 81 N.Y.U. L. REV. 1971, 1971 (2006)
46. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1346 (2000 & Supp. III 2003),
47. See Skilling v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 2896, 2931 (2010).
48. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 552 (1977);
49. RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS § 164 (1981).
50. 1 E. ALLAN FARNSWORTH, FARNSWORTH ON CONTRACTS § 4.12, at 481 (3d ed. 2004).
51. See Wells Fargo, 12 F.3d at 924.
52. See Weitzel v. Jukich, 251 P.2d 542, 544 (Idaho 1952)
53. see also Hogan v. McCombs Bros., 180 N.W. 770, 772-73 (Iowa 1921)
54. Landis v. Rodgers, 249 P. 398, 400 (Okla. 1926)
55. 16 C.F.R. § 238.0 (2010);
56. see also Tashof v. FTC, 437 F.2d 707, 709 n.3 (D.C. Cir. 1970)
57. See N.Y. C.P.L.R. 4544 (MCKINNEY 2007).
58. Promulgation of Trade Regulation Rule and Statement of Its Basis and Purpose, 37 Fed. Reg. 22,934, 22,942 (Oct. 26, 1972).
59. See JAMES M. LACKO & JANIS K. PAPPALARDO, FED. TRADE COMM'N, IMPROVING CONSUMER MORTGAGE DISCLOSURES: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT AND PROTOTYPE DISCLOSURE FORMS ES-5 (2007), http://www.ftc.gov/be/econrpt.shtm.
60. See generally Lisa A. Sutherland et al., Guiding Stars: The Effect of a Nutrition Navigation Program on Consumer Purchases at the Supermarket, 91 AM. J. CLINICAL NUTRITION 1090S (2010).
61. See generally David Hammond et al., Graphic Canadian Cigarette Warning Labels and Adverse Outcomes: Evidence from Canadian Smokers, 94 AM. J. PUB. HEALTH 1442 (2004);
62. David Hammond et al., Text and Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Packages: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Study, 32 AM. J. PREVENTIVE MED. 202 (2007).
63. See generally J. Craig Andrews, The Effectiveness of Alcohol Warning Labels: A Review and Extension, 38 AM. BEHAV. SCIENTIST 622 (1995).
64. See Colin Camerer et al., Regulation for Conservatives: Behavioral Economics and the Case for "Asymmetric Paternalism," 151 U. PA. L. REV. 1211, 1238-47 (2003).
65. See Howard Latin, "Good" Warnings, Bad Products, and Cognitive Limitations, 41 UCLA L. REV. 1193, 1229-41 (1994).
66. Christine Jolls & Cass R. Sunstein, Debiasing Through Law, 35 J. LEGAL STUD. 199, 210 (2006).
67. See generally Oren Bar-Gill, Essay, Bundling and Consumer Misperception, 73 U. CHI. L. REV. 33 (2006) [hereinafter Bar-Gill, Bundling];
68. see also Oren Bar-Gill, Seduction by Plastic, 98 NW. U. L. REV. 1373, 1402-04 (2004)
69. Ian Ayres, Sophie Raseman & Alice Shih, Evidence from Two Large Field Experiments that Peer Comparison Feedback Can Reduce Residential Energy Usage (July 16, 2009) (unpublished manuscript), http://ssrn.com/abstract=1434950.
70. See, e.g., Robert B. Cialdini, Crafting Normative Messages To Protect the Environment, 12 CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOL. SCI. 105 (2003);
71. Robert B. Cialdini, Raymond R. Reno & Carl A. Kallgren, A Focus Theory of Normative Conduct: Recycling the Concept of Norms To Reduce Littering in Public Places, 58 J. PERSONALITY & SOC. PSYCHOL. 1015 (1990).
72. Maureen Morrin and Jacob Jacoby's Trademark Dilution: Empirical Measures for an Elusive Concept, 19 J. PUB. POL'Y&MARKETING 265, 266 (2000).
73. see Rebecca Tushnet, Gone in Sixty Milliseconds: Trademark Law and Cognitive Science, 86 TEX. L. REV. 507, 527-46 (2008).
74. See, e.g., Pywell v. Haldane, 186 A.2d 623 (D.C. 1962);
75. Piazzini v. Jessup, 314 P.2d 196 (Cal. Ct. App. 1957);
76. Smith v. Renaut, 564 A.2d 188 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1989).
77. See, e.g., Mikes v. Straus, 274 F.3d 687, 699 (2d Cir. 2001);
78. Ab-Tech Constr., Inc. v. United States, 31 Fed. Cl. 429, 433 (Fed. Cl. 1994),
79. aff'd, 57 F.3d 1084 (Fed. Cir. 1995).
80. JOSEPH RAZ, PRACTICAL REASON AND NORMS 153-54 (1975);
81. Joseph Raz, The Institutional Nature of Law, 38 MOD. L. REV. 489, 502 (1975);
82. Joseph Raz, Voluntary Obligations and Normative Powers II, 46 PROC. ARISTOTELIAN SOC'Y 79, 86-87 (1972).
83. See Richard C. Henke, The Heeding Presumption in Failure To Warn Cases: Opening a Pandora's Box?, 30 SETON HALL L. REV. 174, 185-89 (1999).
84. Omri Ben-Shahar & Carl E. Schneider, The Failure of Mandated Disclosure, 159 U. PA. L. REV. 647, 665-79 (2011).
85. 212 So. 2d 906, 907-08 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1968).
86. 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1) (2006).
87. See FTC v. H.N. Singer, Inc., 668 F.2d 1107, 1113 (9th Cir. 1982);
88. FTC v. Sw. Sunsites, Inc., 665 F.2d 711, 718 (5th Cir. 1982).
89. Clorox Co. P.R. v. Proctor & Gamble Commercial Co., 228 F.3d 24, 33 n.6 (1st Cir. 2000)
90. Vector Prods., Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 397 F.3d 1316, 1319 (11th Cir. 2005);
91. cf. Cashmere & Camel Hair Mfrs. Inst. v. Saks Fifth Ave., 284 F.3d 302, 313-15 (1st Cir. 2002);
92. PPX Enters., Inc. v. Audiofidelity Enters., Inc., 818 F.2d 266, 272 (2d Cir. 1987).
93. See Balance Dynamics Corp. v. Schmitt Indus., Inc., 204 F.3d 683, 693 (6th Cir. 2000)
94. see Richard J. Leighton, Literal Falsity by Necessary Implication: Presuming Deception Without Evidence in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases, 97 TRADEMARK REP. 1286, 1289-91 (2007) [hereinafter Leighton, Literal Falsity by Necessary Implication].
95. See Richard J. Leighton, Materiality and Puffing in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases: The Proofs, Presumptions, and Pretexts, 94 TRADEMARK REP. 585, 596-99 (2004).
96. 788 F. Supp. 800, 804-05 (D. Del. 1992) (internal quotation marks omitted).
97. See, e.g., Scotts Co. v. United Indus. Corp., 315 F.3d 264, 273 (4th Cir. 2002)
98. Blue Dane Simmental Corp. v. Am. Simmental Ass'n, 178 F.3d 1035, 1043 (8th Cir. 1999);
99. Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharm. Co. v. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharm., Inc., 19 F.3d 125, 129-30 (3d Cir. 1994).
100. Johnson & Johnson, 960 F.2d at 297.
101. See CHARLES MCKENNEY & GEORGE F. LONG III, 1 FEDERAL UNFAIR COMPETITION: LANHAM ACT 43(A) § 6:5 (2011).
102. See 140 F.3d 1175, 1178, 1182-83 (8th Cir. 1998).
103. See Am. Italian Pasta Co. v. New World Pasta Co., 371 F.3d 387, 390-91 (8th Cir. 2004);
104. Pizza Hut, Inc. v. Papa John's Int'l, Inc., 227 F.3d 489, 496 (5th Cir. 2000);
105. Lipton v. Nature Co., 71 F.3d 464, 474 (2d Cir. 1995).
106. Pizza Hut, 227 F.3d at 498.
107. Cf. Pizza Hut, 227 F.3d at 498.
108. See, e.g., Time Warner Cable, Inc. v. DIRECTV, Inc., 497 F.3d 144, 148 (2d Cir. 2007)
109. Clorox Co. P.R. v. Proctor & Gamble Commercial Co., 228 F.3d 24, 34-35 (1st Cir. 2000)
110. Time Warner, 497 F.3d at 158.
111. 601 F. Supp. 1140, 1147 (D. Ariz. 1984),
112. aff'd in part, modified in part, rev'd in part, 793 F.2d 1034 (9th Cir. 1986).
113. U-Haul Int'l, Inc. v. Jartran, Inc., 793 F.2d 1034, 1041 (9th Cir. 1986).
114. See, e.g., Cashmere & Camel Hair Mfrs. Inst. v. Saks Fifth Ave., 284 F.3d 302, 316 (1st Cir. 2002)
115. Balance Dynamics Corp. v. Schmitt Indus., Inc., 204 F.3d 683, 694-95 (6th Cir. 2000
116. Porous Media Corp. v. Pall Corp., 110 F.3d 1329, 1336 (8th Cir. 1997));
117. Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Ltd. v. Walt Disney Co., 145 F.3d 481, 493 (2d Cir. 1998)
118. (quoting George Basch Co. v. Blue Coral, Inc., 968 F.2d 1532, 1537 (2d Cir. 1992)
119. Porous Media, 110 F.3d at 1336
120. Kraft, Inc., 114 F.T.C. 40, 1991
121. WL 11008502, at 31-32 (1991)
122. 970 F.2d 311 (7th Cir. 1992);
123. FTC v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 778 F.2d 35, 42 (D.C. Cir. 1985)
124. See 15 U.S.C. § 45 (2006);
125. see also FTC Policy Statement Regarding Advertising Substantiation, in Thompson Med. Co., 104 F.T.C. 648, 1984 WL 565377, at app. (1984).
126. See, e.g., Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharm. Co. v. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharm., Inc., 19 F.3d 125, 130 (3d Cir. 1994)
127. (quoting Sandoz Pharm. Corp. v. Richardson-Vicks, Inc., 902 F.2d 222, 228-29 (3d Cir. 1990)));
128. Sandoz, 902 F.2d at 229
129. See Procter & Gamble Co. v. Chesebrough-Pond's Inc., 747 F.2d 114, 119 (2d Cir. 1984);
130. see also Nat'l Council Against Health Fraud, Inc. v. King Bio Pharm., Inc., 133 Cal. Rptr. 2d 207, 216-18 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003)
131. See Kraft, Inc. v. FTC, 970 F.2d 311, 320 (7th Cir. 1992).
132. Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. v. Johnson & Johnson-Merck Consumer Pharm. Co., 290 F.3d 578, 590 (3d Cir. 2002).
133. See, for example, Mead Johnson & Co. v. Abbott Labs., 201 F.3d 883, 886 (7th Cir. 2000),
134. See, e.g., Lacoste Alligator, S.A. v. Bluestein's Men's Wear, Inc., 569 F. Supp. 491, 498 (D.S.C. 1983)
135. Invicta Plastics, 523 F. Supp. at 623
136. See, e.g., Samson Crane Co. v. Union Nat'l Sales, Inc., 87 F. Supp. 218, 221-22 (D. Mass. 1949),
137. aff'd, 180 F.2d 896 (1st Cir. 1950).
138. See CBS Inc. v. Springboard Int'l Records, 429 F. Supp. 563, 566 (S.D.N.Y. 1976);
139. see also Allen v. Nat'l Video, Inc., 610 F. Supp. 612, 625 (S.D.N.Y. 1985)
140. see, for example, 20th Century Wear, Inc. v. Sanmark-Stardust Inc., 747 F.2d 81, 91 (2d Cir. 1984)
141. WSM, Inc. v. Hilton, Inc., 724 F.2d 1320, 1331 (8th Cir. 1984)
142. Invicta Plastics, 523 F. Supp. at 623
143. Metric & Multistandard Components Corp. v. Metric's, Inc., 635 F.2d 710, 713 (8th Cir. 1980)
144. See U-Haul Int'l, Inc. v. Jartran, Inc., 793 F.2d 1034, 1041 (9th Cir. 1986).
145. See Pizza Hut, Inc. v. Papa John's Int'l, Inc., 227 F.3d 489, 498 (5th Cir. 2000).
146. See WAYNE A. DAVIS, IMPLICATURE: INTENTION, CONVENTION, AND PRINCIPLE IN THE FAILURE OF GRICEAN THEORY 8-9, 157 (1998);
147. see also Kent Bach, The Top 10 Misconceptions About Implicature, in DRAWING THE BOUNDARIES OF MEANING: NEO-GRICEAN STUDIES IN PRAGMATICS AND SEMANTICS IN HONOR OF LAURENCE R. HORN 21, 23, 29 (Betty J. Birner & GregoryWard eds., 2006).
148. See, e.g., Nat'l Dynamics Corp., 82 F.T.C. 488, 549-50, 553 (1973)
149. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 81 F.T.C. 398, 463 (1972)
150. Pfizer, Inc., 81 F.T.C. 23, 62-64 (1972)
151. see also 2 FED. TRADE COMM'N § 22:7 (2009);
152. MARY DEE PRIDGEN, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND THE LAW § 9:16 (2009).
153. Lauren E. Willis, Against Financial-Literacy Education, 94 IOWA L. REV. 197, 197-98 (2008);
154. Lauren E. Willis, Evidence and Ideology in Assessing the Effectiveness of Financial Literacy Education, 46 SAN DIEGO L. REV. 415, 419-20 (2009).