What Did You Really Mean? Ambiguity and Class Action Labelling Litigation

Product labels can carry different meanings for consumers. Claims such as “natural,” “clean” and “plant-based” may invite inferences that make ambiguity both useful in marketing and a source of litigation.

Dr. Robin Cantor, Dr. Shireen Meer and Dr. Andreas Groehn examine how consumers interpret ambiguous claims and how US courts assess whether a label could mislead a reasonable consumer. Drawing on recent class action decisions, they explore when information appearing elsewhere on a package may or may not clarify a front-label claim.

The authors review how surveys, conjoint analysis and regression models are used to assess consumer perceptions and estimate alleged price premiums. They also discuss why courts scrutinise whether these methods isolate the challenged claim’s effect and reflect real-world market conditions.

The chapter shows how the distinction between ambiguity and deception depends on the claim, its context and the evidence of consumer impact.

This chapter was published in International Comparative Legal Guides’ Class and Group Actions Laws and Regulations 2027.