Can Pisco Argue That Coorss Advertising Was Deceptive?
Alternatively, Pisco could argue that the advertising by Coors was deceptive. To succeed on this theory, Pisco would not have to show that Coors created an unreasonable and foreseeable risk. Instead, she would simply have to show that Coors’s advertising was false or misleading in some way, and that the false or misleading aspect of the advertisement played a causal role in the plaintiff’s injury. Plaintiffs in cases against “Big Tobacco” have used just this type of consumer fraud claim in a number of contexts. They have alleged, for instance, that advertisements misled youth into thinking that smoking was healthy — and that advertisements misled smokers into believing that “light” cigarettes were less harmful than normal “full flavor” cigarettes. What similar theory could Pisco use? The alleged misrepresentation would have to connected to drinking and driving — the direct cause of Ryan’s death. If Pisco could show that Coors’s advertisements misled Ryan into believing that he could
