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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • August 20, 2019

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of UCL Claim Against Insurer

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 16 found that an insurer’s purported statements and conduct in denying an insured’s claim were not fraudulent or unfair under California's unfair competition law (UCL), affirming a lower court’s dismissal of an insured’s lawsuit without leave to amend (Deborah Quattrocchi, v. Allstate Indemnity Company, No. 18-15208, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 24514).

  • August 16, 2019

    Federal Judge Rules On UCL, Other Claims In Employment Bias, Wage Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — Ruling on summary adjudication and summary judgment motions in an employment discrimination and wage-and-hour violations dispute, a federal judge in California on Aug. 14 concluded that there is not enough evidence for a reasonable jury to determine that there was an implied contract regarding severance pay for purposes of claims under California Labor Code Sections and 201 and 203 and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) (Ian Iljas v. Ripley Entertainment Inc., No. 18-00136, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137596).

  • August 16, 2019

    Judge Denies Summary Judgment In Suit Alleging Unlawful, Unauthorized Broadcast

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Aug. 14 denied dueling motions for summary judgment in a lawsuit arising from claims that the defendants broadcast a closed-circuit boxing match “unlawfully” and without prior authorization (G&G Closed Circuit Events LLC v. Arturo Flores, et al., No. 18-001248, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137671).

  • August 16, 2019

    Judge: Kellogg Violated UCL’s ‘Unlawful’ Prong With 2 Product Statements

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Granting a plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment, a federal judge in California on Aug. 13 held that Kellogg Sales Co. violated and is liable under the “unlawful prong” of California unfair competition law with respect to two statements on the labels of its  Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch (Stephen Hadley v. Kellogg Sales Company, No. 16-04955, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136791).

  • August 16, 2019

    Health Food Company’s Trademark Infringement Claim Is Plausible, Judge Says

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on Aug. 8 refused to dismiss a health food company’s trademark infringement complaint against its competitor, finding that the claims for federal trademark infringement, federal unfair competition and false designation of origin, violation of California unfair competition law (UCL) and common-law trademark infringement are plausible (Kip's Nut-Free Kitchen, LLC v. Kips Dehydrated Foods, LLC, et al., No. 19-00290, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134654).

  • August 15, 2019

    LGBTQ Content Creators Sue YouTube For Discriminatory Censorship, Restrictions

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a complaint filed Aug. 13 in California federal court, a group of plaintiffs involved in creating LGBTQ-themed content that was posted on YouTube LLC’s online video-sharing platform claim that YouTube and its parent company Google LLC engage in discriminatory viewpoint-based censorship of their content, bringing claims including civil rights violations and unfair competition (Divino Group LLC, et al. v. Google LLC, et al., No. 5:19-cv-04749, N.D. Calif.).

  • August 15, 2019

    Judge Partly Grants Motion To Amend Facebook ‘View As’ Data Breach Complaint

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Aug. 9 granted in part and denied in part the only remaining plaintiff’s motion to amend a consolidated complaint against Facebook Inc. arising from a 2018 data theft via the social network's "view as" feature, finding that he still has not alleged standing under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, et seq., because the value of his personal information has not diminished since the data breach (Stephen Adkins v. Facebook, Inc., No. 18-05982 consolidated with No. 19-00117, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134781).

  • August 15, 2019

    Judge Rules On UCL Claim In Trademark Dispute Between 2 Energy Drink Companies

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Aug. 13 denied Monster Energy Co.’s motion for summary judgment as to its unfair competition claims for the same reasons it denied summary judgment on the Lanham Act claims in its trademark dispute with a competitor (Monster Energy Company v. Beastup LLC, No. 17-01605, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136772).

  • August 14, 2019

    New Balance’s ‘Made In USA’ California Class Settlement Granted Final Approval

    SAN DIEGO — A settlement agreement under which New Balance Athletics Inc. will pay $750,000 into a nonreversionary escrow fund and an additional $650,000 for attorney fees to end a class complaint that the shoe maker overcharged consumers and violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other California laws by advertising certain shoes as “made in USA” when a significant portion of the shoes comprised materials and labor from abroad was granted final approval on July 29 by a federal judge in California (Sheila Dashnaw, et al. v. New Balance Athletics, Inc., No. 17-159, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126183).

  • August 14, 2019

    Federal Judge Dismisses UCL, Fraud, Some Negligence Claims Against Bitcoin Exchange

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Aug. 6 granted a Bitcoin exchange’s motion to dismiss claims for violation of California's unfair competition law (UCL), fraud and negligence by the sellers in a class action complaint challenging how the defendant handled the sale of a new cryptocurrency known as bitcoin cash (Jeffrey Berk v. Coinbase Inc., et al., No. 18-01364, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133939).

  • August 13, 2019

    Panel Affirms Dismissal Of UCL, Negligence, IIED Claims In Loan Modification Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California appeals panel on Aug. 5 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a homeowner’s negligence, intentional inflection of emotional distress and unfair competition law claims against his lender, finding that the lender did not owe the borrower a duty in tort during his mortgage modification negotiations (Kwang K. Sheen v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. B289003, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 8, 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 714).

  • August 8, 2019

    Suit Alleging ‘Interest Taking’ Scheme Against Insurers Is Untimely, Panel Affirms

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 7 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that an insured’s class action complaint alleging that life insurers participated in an “interesting taking” scheme in the 1990s is time-barred (Debe Olson v. Farmers New World Life Insurance Co., et al., No. 18- 20521, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23571).

  • August 8, 2019

    California Woman Sues Apple For Recordings Obtained Via Siri Without Consent

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — An iPhone owner filed a potential class action against Apple Inc. in California federal court on Aug. 7, alleging invasion of privacy and unfair competition for the technology company’s purported unauthorized recording and retaining of users’ communications through its digital assistant, Siri (Fumiko Lopez, et al. v. Apple Inc., No. 5:19-cv-04577, N.D. Calif.).

  • August 6, 2019

    Judge Dismisses UCL Claim In Suit Over Nuclear Imaging Camera Maintenance Agreement

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on July 30 dismissed without prejudice a mobile nuclear imaging service company’s unfair competition law (UCL) claim and other claims in a lawsuit alleging that a maintenance provider breached a maintenance agreement, finding that the plaintiff failed to state a claim “with the requisite particularity” required under the UCL’s unfairness and fraud prongs (Vascular Imaging Professionals, Inc. v. Digirad Corporation, et al., No. 19-486, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127064).

  • August 5, 2019

    UCL Claim In Labor Code Dispute Is Not Subject To Arbitration, Panel Affirms

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California appeals panel on Aug. 1 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied an employer’s motion to compel arbitration of a former employee’s claim for injunctive relief under California's unfair competition law (UCL), concluding that there was a specific exemption in the arbitration agreement for unfair competition claims that was agreed on by the parties (Yalila Lacayo v. Catalina Restaurant Group Inc., et al., No. E069833, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 2, 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 706).

  • July 30, 2019

    Employee’s UCL Claim Against Employer Subject To Arbitration, Panel Says, Reverses

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California appeals court on July 23 held that an employee' claim against his employer under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200 is arbitrable because Cruz v. PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. and Broughton v. Cigna Healthplans do not bar arbitration ofan unfair competition law (UCL) claim for private injunctive relief or restitution, reversing the lower court in part (Daniel Paul Clifford v. Quest Software Inc., No. G055858, Calif. App., 4th Dist., Div. 3, 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4873).

  • July 22, 2019

    Appellant Was Not Improperly Denied Jury Trial In UCL Suit, Panel Affirms

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California appeals panel on July 12 rejected an appellant’s  contention that a lower court erred in bifurcating his trial and adjudicating his equitable claim for violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200 first without a jury, finding that the lower court properly concluded that the appellant’s unfair competition law (UCL) claim disposed of his legal claims because of the “borrowing” aspect of the statute (Evanglin McCain v. A.F. Evans Company, Inc., et al., No. C074902, Calif. App., 3rd Dist., 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4664).

  • July 22, 2019

    9th Circuit Certifies Questions To California Supreme Court In Drugmaker’s Lawsuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Seeking guidance in deciding whether California Business and Professions Code Section 16600 also applies to contracts between two businesses and whether the requirement that a plaintiff must plead an independently wrongful act to allege a claim for intentional interference with an at-will employment contract falls outside of the employment context, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 16 certified two questions to the California Supreme Court (Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., No. 18-15258, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 20997).

  • July 18, 2019

    Panel Reverses Denial Of Anti-SLAPP Motion In Designer’s Suit Against Lawyer

    LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on July 9 reversed a lower court’s ruling that denied an attorney’s motion to strike a fashion designer’s claims against him under California's strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) statute, finding that the designer   failed to provide evidence establishing a likelihood of success because her claims are all barred by California Civil Code Section 47, subdivision (b)’s litigation privilege or “lack any foundation in tort law” (Paula Thomas, v. Richard Peddie, et al., No. B291513, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 2, 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4572).

  • July 17, 2019

    Federal Magistrate Judge Seeks Jurisdictional Statement In Milk Advertising Suit

    HAMMOND, Ind. — A federal magistrate judge in California on July 12 asked two named plaintiffs who filed a putative class complaint bringing multiple claims, including several under California’s unfair competition law (UCL), over the advertising of milk to file a supplemental jurisdictional statement regarding the defendants’ citizenship (Mohammad Sabeehullah, et al. v. Fairlife, LLC, et al., No. 19-222, N.D. Ind., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116150).