Meegan is a seasoned litigator who has been defending and advising retailers, e-commerce companies, and manufacturers for her entire career.
She has defended hundreds of threatened or filed consumer class actions across the country, and has played a key role in numerous industry-shaping decisions, including wins at the Ninth Circuit, California Court of Appeal, and New Jersey Supreme Court. Meegan is especially well-known for her decade-long work defending over 70 actions concerning retailers’ pricing, promotions, and fees, which includes defending the only pricing case to go to trial in the last decade (where her team won), the only pricing case to win on the merits at summary judgment, and the only pricing case to have a dismissal affirmed at the Ninth Circuit. Meegan has also defended retailers against a broad range of other consumer-facing claims—including PFAS, greenwashing, Made in the USA, textile claims, automatic renewals, warranties, and more. Many of these cases have involved products in FDA-regulated industries (cosmetics, food/beverage and drugs/medical devices). Outside of the consumer class action context, Meegan has also represented clients in investigations and subsequent litigation brought by local and state enforcers, including the California Automatic Renewal Taskforce, Greenwashing Taskforce, and more.
Meegan also has a long track record defending retailers, e-commerce companies, and media outlets in privacy actions, and has defended hundreds of matters alleging violations of state wiretapping laws, VPPA, FACTA, the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act, and similar statutes across the country. She routinely helps e-commerce companies navigate the rapidly changing technological and legal landscapes to get ahead of upcoming risks. Meegan was one of the first retail lawyers in the country to become certified as a Certified Information Privacy Professional, United States (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Meegan serves as outside marketing counsel for many dozens of retailers, and frequently prepares sweepstakes rules, pricing policies, loyalty terms, return policies, and endorsement guidelines, reviews advertisements, and advises on customer service issues.
Previously, Meegan served as an extern for the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington. While there, she worked on some of the office’s highest-profile cases, including a terrorism case that reached the United States Supreme Court.
*Matter handled prior to joining Benesch.
Representative Experience
- Persuaded two different courts that California Civil Code section 1670.8 (the “Yelp Law”) does not provide a private right of action where the allegedly unlawful terms were not threatened to be enforced against the plaintiff, in a case where plaintiffs were seeking $2,500-$5,000 per website visitor.
- Filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on behalf of the National Retail Federation and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts to provide the Court with insight into the foundational importance of web analytics and advertising technologies to the modern digital economy, and the implications of this case for retailers. The Court ultimately found for Defendants in the case, a great result for our clients, and the majority opinion notably cited our brief in discussing the ubiquity of web analytics and advertising technology on the Internet, and the role these technologies play in the ecommerce ecosystem.
- Defended more than 80 class actions across the country alleging deceptive pricing practices with an unmatched track record, including in cases where her clients prevailed at trial, summary judgment, class certification, and multiple appeals.*
- Acting as outside marketing counsel for several household names, which routinely involves reviewing and revising pricing policy; advising on online and in-store marketing campaigns; representing the company in government actions for weights and measures violations; advising on changes to return policy; advising on changes to website’s terms and conditions; and advising on influencer negotiations and related agreements.*
- Engaged by largest retailer industry group in the country to prepare comments on updates to the FTC’s Endorsement Guides.*
- In support of a motion to dismiss based on feigned injury, secured prompt voluntary dismissal after introducing video surveillance footage showing Plaintiff taking photographs and videos of in-store price displays at the time she was allegedly duped into making a purchase.*
- Representing multiple retailers with respect to investigations by California’s “Greenwashing Taskforce” into their advertising of biodegradable and plastic-free products.*
- Representing multiple e-commerce companies with respect to investigations by the California Auto Renewal Taskforce (CART) into their subscription programs.*
- Defending fifteen retailers against claims brought under the federal Wiretap Act and California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) concerning the alleged recording of chat conversations, use of session replay technology, and use of the Facebook Pixel.*
- Defended more than 100 retailers in more than 200 filed or threatened lawsuits nationwide alleging violations of federal and state disability laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California’s Unruh Act, and New York’s Human Rights Law. Met with the Department of Justice in Washington, DC to discuss potential legislative solutions to this onslaught of litigation.*
