フォーリー法律事務所、ネオラ社を代理しFTCに対する歴史的訴訟で勝訴

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that after a more than seven-year battle, the firm has secured a complete victory for leading direct-selling wellness company Neora and its founder Jeff Olson in a landmark case against the FTC. On September 28, the court denied the FTC’s requested relief on all five of its claims: pyramid, income, product, agency, and means and instrumentalities, ruling that the FTC’s claims were invalid.

This is the first time a direct-selling company has defeated the FTC’s pyramid scheme claims in a court trial. It is also the first victory of its kind since Amway’s 1979 administrative law defeat of the FTC. The win is significant for Neora and the entire direct-selling industry, which consists of over 1,000 companies in the U.S. alone, as it emphasizes the importance of protecting the rights of legitimate direct-selling businesses.

As summarized by the Direct Selling Association in its amicus brief, had the FTC been successful in pursuing its new and vague “overemphasis on recruiting” test, it would have had “a profound impact on the state of the law and negatively impact[ed] operations of a sizeable portion of the United States economy.”

Edward Burbach, chair of Foley’s Government Solutions Practice and co-chair of its State Attorneys General Practice, commented, “We at Foley are very proud of our interdisciplinary team who worked tirelessly together to achieve this victorious result for Neora.” Burbach attributed the win to the excellent testimony of Neora executives Jeff Olson, Deborah Heisz, and Amber Olson, the support of Neora General Counsel Gail Lane, and the top-notch Foley team.

In addition to Burbach, the Foley team representing Neora in this landmark victory was led by litigation partners Craig Florence and Michelle Ku and included of counsel John Sepehri, special counsels Robert Johnson and Kristina Silcocks, and associate Stephanie McPhail.

フォーリー・アンド・ラーダーナー法律事務所について

フォーリー・アンド・ラードナー法律事務所は、エネルギー、ヘルスケア・ライフサイエンス、革新的技術、製造業の各分野の交差点に位置する卓越した法律事務所です。私たちは法律の枠を超えて、クライアントが直面する絶えず変化する要求に焦点を当て、信頼されるビジネスアドバイザーとして創造的かつ実践的で効果的な解決策を提供します。 世界25拠点に展開する1,100名の弁護士が、企業法務から知的財産業務、訴訟支援に至る全業務領域で連携し、クライアントのあらゆるニーズに対しワンチームによるソリューションを提供します。約2世紀にわたり、フォーリーは最高水準の革新的な法務サービスと、人材・事務所・クライアント・そしてサービスを提供する地域社会への責任ある経営への取り組みを堅持してきました。