Rick L. Shackelford is Co-Chair of the firm’s Food, Beverage & Agribusiness Practice. Rick’s practice focuses on complex litigation in numerous fields, including consumer class actions, product liability, false advertising and commercial law. He has considerable experience in consumer class action litigation, having been involved in dozens of consumer class actions in federal courts throughout the country. In addition, his practice includes trials and appeals, in many instances involving cases he has handled from their initial pleading stages.
Rick represents food and beverage companies in all variety of claims, but most often in defending consumer class and individual actions alleging deceptive trade practices and false advertising, including challenges to nutrition, ingredient and health claims made in a variety of media. His experience includes defending three clients in federal jury trials for alleged false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act and applying the “safe harbor” laws in two different district courts to bar consumer deception claims leveled against alcoholic beverage labels – the first such rulings ever applied to distilled spirits. Rick also handles claims for makers of dietary supplements, weight loss products, cosmetics and skin care products based upon claims that the products are ineffective or unlawfully marketed as unapproved drugs.
