Legal Filings

Public Health Advocacy Institute Files Class Action Against DraftKings in Massachusetts

Legal Filings, Predatory Gambling​, Press Release /

For Immediate Release December 8, 2023 | Boston, MA Contact Mark Gottlieb – 617-373-8487 (mark@phai.org) Today, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) and its Center for Public Health Litigation filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Massachusetts citizens who opened DraftKings Sportsbook accounts in response to a $1,000 bonus sign-up promotion that the gambling […]

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PHAI Submits Comment Opposing Proposed School Food Nutrition Rollbacks

Legal Filings, Obesity /

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to issue a rule to weaken the school food nutritional requirements of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2012.  The rule would allow flavored milk with added sugar, waive the requirement to provide whole grains, and delay reductions of sodium levels in school foods. PHAI submitted a comment

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New Lawsuit Alleges Coca-Cola, American Beverage Association Deceiving Public About Soda-Related Health Problems

Center For Public Health Litigation, Food Beverage Marketing, Legal Filings, Marketing Unhealthy Foods As Healthy, Press Release /

Despite the scientifically established link between consuming sugar drinks and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the Coca-Cola Company and its trade association, the American Beverage Association, deceive consumers by denying and obscuring soda’s link to those diseases, according to a lawsuit filed today. Bringing the action filed today in the Superior Court of

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PHAI Joins Center for Science in the Public Interest in Filing Lawsuit Against Coca-Cola for Deceptive Marketing

Center For Public Health Litigation, Food Beverage Marketing, Legal Filings, Obesity, Press Release /

BOSTON – Two non-profits that use litigation as a public health strategy have joined forces in a lawsuit accusing the Coca-Cola Company (“Coke”) along with the American Beverage Association (“ABA”) of misleading the public about the science that links heart disease, obesity, and diabetes to consumption of sugary beverages. For years, the Public Health Advocacy

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PHAI’s Daynard Discusses Tony Gwynn Lawsuit on ESPN and in the New York Times

Legal Filings, Tobacco, Tobacco Litigation /

On May 23, 2016, the widow and children of baseball great Tony Gwynn filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Altria Group alleging that the manufacturers of Skoal smokeless tobacco’s negligence, fraud, defective design, and failure-to-warn caused the death of the Hall of Famer in 2014. Richard Daynard, PHAI’s president and University Distinguished Professor of Law at Northeastern

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PHAI Submits Comments on Proposed Fantasy Sports Regulations in MA

Legal Filings, Predatory Gambling​ /

Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, has proposed regulations to protect consumers from deceptive practices of daily fantasy sports operators in Massachusetts.  These include provisions to prevent youth access, limit monthly betting, and prevent professional players from using special tools to dramatically improve their chances of winning. The Public Health Advocacy Institute previously argued to Ms.

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PHAI Urges HUD to Expand Proposed Smoke-free Public Housing Rule to All HUD-Funded Housing

Ets, Legal Filings, Tobacco /

The Public Health Advocacy Institute submitted comments to a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to make its public housing smoke-free. The proposed rule would affect 1.1 million households, but leave 3.4 million other HUD-funded households unprotected.  These include the agency’s tenant-based and project-based rental assistance. PHAI argues that

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After Settlement, PHAI Continues Commitment to Ending Youth Access to MA Lottery Ticket Vending Machines

Center For Public Health Litigation, Legal Filings, Predatory Gambling​, Press Release /

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact:  Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-2206 Boston, MA As part of its mission to end youth access to lottery ticket vending machines in Massachusetts, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) announced today that it has settled a lawsuit with Star Markets. In March, PHAI, a non-profit organization based at Northeastern University, brought suit against

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Top Boston Firms Join Forces with Public Health Advocacy Institute

Center For Public Health Litigation, Legal Filings, Press Release, Tobacco /

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:  Mark Gottlieb or Andrew Rainer  617-373-2026 “We are so pleased to be working with this outstanding group of lawyers to help some of tobacco’s victims in Massachusetts,” said Andrew Rainer, PHAI’s Litigation Director and Director of the Center for Public Health Litigation.  Working together with PHAI will be: PHAI’s latest suit,

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Stop & Shop Responds to PHAI’s Demands to Prevent Sales of Scratch Tickets to Kids

Legal Filings, News, Predatory Gambling​, Press Release /

n 2014 and 2015, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) conducted testing to determine whether kids could purchase lottery tickets from the vending machines located in a number of area supermarkets.  At markets in Cambridge, Somerville, and Arlington, Massachusetts, a teenage tester was easily able to purchase lottery tickets in every attempt. Massachusetts law expressly

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