Mealey's California Section 17200 : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's California Section 17200

February 02, 2024
Judge Remands Deceptive Marketing Suit Against ‘Kars 4 Kids’ Charity

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge remanded to state court a lawsuit brought against the “Kars 4 Kids” charity and related entities by a plaintiff who claims that he was deceived into making a donation based on his belief the charity was nonsectarian and nationwide when it in fact primarily benefits Orthodox Jewish children in New York and New Jersey, finding that the amount in controversy is below the minimum required amount for diversity jurisdiction.
February 01, 2024
Calif. Federal Judge Grants Partial Summary Judgment In Pipeline Rupture Dispute

LOS ANGELES — Two companies that formerly operated an oil pipeline that ruptured and contaminated residential property in Southern California are entitled to summary judgment on several claims, including breach of written easement contracts brought by the owners of property that the pipeline crosses, a California federal judge found in partly granting the companies’ motion for partial summary judgment.
February 01, 2024
Airline And Insurer Agree To Dismiss UCL, Bad Faith Suit Over Passenger’s Coma

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 31 entered an order of dismissal after an airline and two insurers entered a joint stipulation requesting dismissal of the airline’s suit accusing one insurer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and bad faith based on an allegedly improper denial of coverage for a separate lawsuit brought against the airline by the family of a quadriplegic man who fell into a coma while traveling, which recently settled for $30 million.
January 30, 2024
Judge Denies Summary Judgment In Mislabeling Class Suit Against Rust-Oleum

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge denied Rust-Oleum Corp.’s motion for summary judgment on putative class claims that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling its KRUD KUTTER cleaning products as “non-toxic” and “Earth friendly,” finding that genuine disputes of fact remain as to whether consumers would be deceived by the labels.
January 30, 2024
9th Circuit Stays Mandate Reversing Court’s Dismissal In FCA Drug Pricing Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a 90-day stay of the mandate reversing and remanding a district court’s dismissal of a relator’s qui tam suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) against pharmaceutical companies related to their alleged fraud by artificially inflating drug prices.
January 30, 2024
Amici Tell Justices Coinbase Cannot Enforce Arbitration Provision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A trio of scholars, a voluntary bar association and a consumer advocacy organization filed amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 29 supporting a group of sweepstakes entrants who contend that unlawful lottery and unfair competition class claims against Coinbase Inc. are not barred by an arbitration provision because a subsequent forum selection clause within the sweepstakes’ rules established that they did not consent to the superseded arbitration provision.
January 26, 2024
Consumer Seeks Rehearing In Appeal Alleging Arrowhead Water Labels Are Deceptive

PASADENA, Calif. — A consumer filed a petition in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking rehearing of her appeal challenging the dismissal of her lawsuit accusing a bottled water company and two retailers of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misleading consumers into believing the water is sourced from mountain springs.
January 25, 2024
Judge: Google Waived Right To Compel Arbitration In Digital Assistant Privacy Row

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Conducting a totality of the circumstances review, a California federal judge concluded that Google LLC waived its right to seek arbitration of putative class claims over alleged eavesdropping by the Google Assistant (GA) app, denying the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, which was filed after four years of “substantial motion practice,” discovery and class certification.
January 22, 2024
UCL Suit Over Misleading ‘Characterizing Flavor’ Label Partly Dismissed By Judge

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge largely granted a food company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by deceptively labeling granola products with fruits and other ingredients that have a characterizing flavor, when in fact the products’ flavor comes from alternate ingredients.
January 19, 2024
Minor ‘Apex Legends’ Player Not Required To Arbitrate UCL Claim, Panel Says

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California appellate panel affirmed a trial court’s denial of a video game developer’s motion to compel arbitration of a minor’s putative class action claims that it violated the state’s unfair competition law (UCL) by deceptively inducing minors into paying for digital currency to purchase in-game items, finding the arbitration agreement not applicable after the minor disaffirmed his contract with the developer.
January 18, 2024
Calif. Supreme Court Won’t Review Denial Of Arbitration In Uber, Lyft Wages Suits

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Jan. 17 denied petitions for review filed by Uber Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries and Lyft Inc. seeking to challenge the denial of their attempt to compel arbitration of claims brought against them by the state for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
January 17, 2024
Tax Prep Software Firm Says Competitor Misstates AI Comparison, Pricing

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge on Jan. 16 expedited a motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction in a new lawsuit claiming that misrepresentations about a tax preparation software’s artificial intelligence abilities and pricing violate California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws.
January 17, 2024
Confusion Doesn’t Save Mortgage Claims, Servicer Tells 9th Circuit

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Borrowers’ contract claims are time-barred where they knew that a problem existed with their loan but failed to further investigate, and confusion over who serviced the product cannot form the basis of statutory or implied covenant claims, a mortgage services company tells the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
January 16, 2024
Epic, Apple Denied Certiorari In UCL Antitrust Dispute Over App Store, Fortnite

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Epic Games Inc. and Apple Inc. saw their competing petitions for certiorari denied by the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 16, with the high court declining to consider questions about the Sherman Act and injunctive relief in the companies’ respective claims for monopolistic behavior, contractual duties and unfair competition in the sale of apps and related items for mobile devices using Apple’s operating system (iOS).
January 16, 2024
Judge Says PFAS Cases Related To Tampon Products Fail To State A Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Jan. 12 dismissed two related cases that had been combined, ruling that the plaintiffs did not plausibly allege that the defendants’ tampon products contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and that the allegations were “insufficient to state a plausible claim for relief.”
January 16, 2024
Per Jack Daniel’s Ruling, 9th Circuit Reverses In ‘Punchbowl’ Trademark Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC “altered the law that governed” when it previously found that an online news service’s use of the “Punchbowl” mark did not dilute a party-planning firm’s trademark, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 12, leading it to, after rehearing, issue a revised opinion reversing a trial court’s dismissal and remanding for further consideration under the traditional likelihood of confusion test.
January 12, 2024
Judge Dismisses With Prejudice UCL Suit Against Apple For ICloud Storage Fees

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 11 granted Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a third amended putative class complaint brought by plaintiffs who claim that Apple “addicted” them to its free iCloud data storage service and then required them to pay once the data they stored exceeded its free tier, finding that they failed to plead any misrepresentations or fraudulent conduct.
January 12, 2024
Arbitration Denied In Class Suit Against Walgreens Over Lidocaine Labeling

CHICAGO — Walgreen Co., doing business as Walgreens, waived its right to arbitration in a putative class complaint alleging that the labels on certain lidocaine products are misleading when it did not assert an arbitrability defense until after its motion to dismiss was ruled on, a federal judge in Illinois ruled, denying the pharmacy chain’s motion to compel arbitration and stay.
January 12, 2024
Borrower Seeks Preliminary Approval Of Junk Fees Pact In Nearly Decade-Old Case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A mortgagor who filed a class complaint alleging unlawfully marked-up fees against Ocwen Financial Corp. and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC (together, Ocwen) in 2014, in part under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL), filed a motion in a federal court in California seeking preliminary approval of a class settlement that will provide fee reimbursements to nationwide settlement class members and fee reversals or credits to members of a California settlement subclass.
January 11, 2024
Judge Dismisses UCL Suit Over Hand Sanitizer’s ‘Kills 99% Of Germs’ Label

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Jan. 10 granted CVS Pharmacy Inc. and its affiliate’s motion to dismiss two consumers’ putative class action claims accusing them of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and New York law, finding that under binding precedent the claims on a hand sanitizer product’s label that it “kills 99% of germs” are not misleading in light of information on the product’s back label.
January 12, 2024
Citing Supplemental Notice Filing, Movants Press Opt-Out Issue Again In COI Hike Row

PHILADELPHIA — Citing a motion pending in Pennsylvania federal court, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals stayed consolidated appeals challenging denial of a request to extend the opt-out deadline in the class settlement of two similar cases over universal life insurance policy cost of insurance (COI) increases.
January 10, 2024
Judge Compels Arbitration Of UCL Suit Accusing App Of Illegal Sportsbook Services

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Jan. 9 granted a motion to compel arbitration of putative class claims against an app company accused of offering illegal sports gambling services in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
January 10, 2024
California Federal Judge Dismisses Amended Foreclosure Suit, This Time With Prejudice

CONCORD, Calif. — A federal judge in California has dismissed without leave to amend a lawsuit by homeowners alleging that their mortgage servicer violated federal and state statutes when it foreclosed on their property, finding that the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) claim in the second amended complaint remains time-barred and that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim for their various state law claims.
January 10, 2024
Plaintiffs Amend Claims Accusing Google Of Data ‘Theft’ To Train AI Chatbot

SAN FRANCISCO — A group of previously anonymous putative class action plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in California federal court identifying themselves as a New York Times bestselling author and several users of Google LLC services, all now accusing Google of “data theft” and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), copyright laws and other statutes by using their data to train its artificial intelligence chatbot known as “Bard.”
January 09, 2024
Panel Affirms $7,000 Costs Award To Manufacturer For Depositions That Didn’t Happen

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California appellate court panel on Jan. 8 affirmed a trial court’s post-dismissal award to a mattress manufacturer of more than $7,000 in costs incurred seeking depositions from doctors to defend against claims that it sold a sagging mattress that worsened a consumer’s injuries, even though some depositions never occurred and the costs included service to a dead doctor.