Cary Silverman, a partner in the firm’s Public Policy Group, was published in Albany’s Times Union letters to the editor on a proposed New York consumer protection law. Responding to state representatives arguing that the state’s existing law is “weak,” Silverman asserted that “[w]hen it comes to class action lawsuits targeting food and beverage marketing, New York courts host, by far, the most lawsuits of this type in the country.”

Silverman’s letter argued against the proposed Consumer and Small Business Protection Act, which would “only make matters worse,” he says. “It will entice more lawsuits by increasing minimum payouts and by allowing lawyers to create nonprofits for the purpose of filing lawsuits. If elected officials truly want to help New Yorkers tricked by fraudsters or ripped off in shady deals, they should reject this proposal altogether. The New York attorney general is already empowered to prosecute bad actors. Individuals and small businesses who believe they’ve been duped not only have New York’s consumer law but also other remedies available to them.”

Silverman regularly publishes on public policy issues affecting companies frequently targeted by class action complaints, especially those in the food and beverage sector. In 2021, he authored “Class Action Chaos: The Rise of Consumer Class Action Lawsuits in New York” for the New York Civil Justice Institute and “The Food Court: Developments in Litigation Targeting Food and Beverage Marketing” for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.

Read more food, beverage and agribusiness industry news in the Food & Beverage Litigation and Regulatory Update.