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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • January 23, 2020

    Original Class Certification Order Reinstated In Aphrodisiac Labeling Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on Jan. 8 — in a case that made its way all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in an appeal over equitable tolling and the lead plaintiff’s appeal of a class decertification decision — reinstated the original 2014 class certification order in the case challenging the labeling of dietary supplements (Troy Lambert, et al. v. Nutraceutical Corp., No. 13-5942, C.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6391).

  • January 23, 2020

    Split 9th Circuit: No Class List To Find Named Plaintiff Before Certification

    SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court erred when it applied California discovery rules in a case over bedding thread counts and ruled that the lead plaintiff could obtain a list of the proposed class members from the retailer he was suing prior to class certification being granted, a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 13, granting the retailer’s petition for a writ of mandamus and ordering the trial court to vacate its order (In re:  Williams-Sonoma, Inc., No. 19-70522, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1046).

  • January 23, 2020

    Coconut Oil Makers Pay $1.85 Million To Settle Labeling Class Claims

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on Jan. 6 granted final approval of a class settlement between consumers and coconut oil makers that will result in changes to health claims on the labeling and a $1,850,000 payment (Sherry Hunter, et al. v. Nature’s Way Products, LLC, et al., No. 16-532, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1706).

  • January 17, 2020

    Final Approval Sought For $40 Million Settlement Of Facebook Ad Metrics Suit

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Two months after a California federal judge preliminarily approved a $40 million settlement over inflated video advertising metrics on Facebook Inc.’s social network, the two remaining advertiser plaintiffs on Jan. 15 moved for final approval of the settlement of their unfair competition and breach of duty claims (LLE One LLC, et al. v. Facebook Inc., No. 4:16-cv-06232, N.D. Calif.).

  • January 17, 2020

    N.Y. Federal Judge Dismisses UCL, CLRA, FAL Claims For Failing To Identify Speaker

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York on Jan. 13 dismissed with prejudice plaintiffs’ putative class action claims under California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), false advertising law (FAL) and unfair competition law (UCL), finding that the claims are deficient because they fail to identify the speaker (Philip Brady, et al. v. Anker Innovations Limited, et al., No. 18-11396, S.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5672).

  • January 17, 2020

    Judge:  Allegations Over Sale Of Limited Edition Aircraft Fail To State UCL Claim

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Jan. 15 dismissed a lawsuit alleging that an aircraft manufacturer breached an agreement to purchase a limited edition aircraft, finding that the plaintiff's allegations fail to state a California unfair competition law (UCL) claim under a theory of unfairness (Samer Bishay v. ICON Aircraft, Inc., No. 19-00178, E.D, Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7939).

  • January 17, 2020

    Judge Dismisses UCL, Conversion Claims Against BMW Over Extracted Vehicle Data

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Jan. 13 granted BMW of North America LLC’s motion to dismiss unfair competition law (UCL) and conversion claims based on its alleged refusal to provide a plaintiff with the data that one of its dealerships extracted from her vehicle, finding that the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that she can base her UCL claim on her $1,997.52 payment to another dealership to repair her car (Gretchen Key v. BMW of North America, LLC, No. 19-03366, N.D. Calif., 020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5417).

  • January 16, 2020

    Magistrate Refuses To Dismiss UCL, All Claims In Class Action Employment Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California on Jan. 15 denied an oil refinery’s motion to dismiss a wage-and-hour violations class action brought by current and former employees, finding that because the California Labor Code claims survive dismissal, the unfair competition law (UCL) claim based on the oil refinery’s purported “unlawful” conduct also survives (Marco Dimercurio, et al v. Equilon Enterprises LLC, No. 19-04029, N.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7006).

  • January 15, 2020

    Panel: Plaintiff Failed To Assert Required Property Ownership Under HBOR

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals panel on Dec. 16 affirmed a lower court’s judgment of dismissal of a lawsuit alleging wrongful disclosure and claims under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR), finding that the plaintiff failed to assert the property ownership required under the HBOR (Anthony A. Malfatti v. Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC, et al., No. A153821, Calif. App., 1st Dist., Div. 3, 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8429).

  • January 15, 2020

    Federal Judge Stays Claims, Trial Of UCL Dispute After Parties Announce Settlement

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Jan. 6 issued an order staying a lawsuit alleging that a defendant engaged in the “unauthorized practice of law” after the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal announcing that they reached a settlement (LegalForce RAPC Worldwide P.C. v. TTC Bus. Sols., LLC, No. 17-07318, N.D. Calif.).

  • January 13, 2020

    Federal Judge Dismisses UCL, Conversion Claims In Advertising Pricing Dispute

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Dec. 23 dismissed conversion and unfair competition claims in a clothing distributor’s lawsuit alleging that a dealer advertised certain Italian shoe products below the minimum required price, sold these products on unauthorized websites and refused to pay for $116,000 in product inventory (Lever Your Business, Inc. v. Sacred Hoops & Hardwood, Inc., No. 19-1530, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220090).

  • January 13, 2020

    Panel Affirms Dismissal Of UCL, HBOR Claims In Foreclosure Dispute

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California appeals panel on Dec. 27 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that a loan servicer violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Homeowners Bill of Rights (HBOR), finding that the plaintiffs cannot establish a UCL claim by borrowing statutory violations from both HBOR and the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) (Jeffrey E. Finsand, et al. v. Nationstar Mortgage, LLC, et al., No. H045052, Calif. App., 6th Dist., 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8628).

  • January 08, 2020

    Preliminary Approval Sought For $7.5 Million Google Plus Data Leak Class Action

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Four former users of the now-defunct Google Plus social network filed a motion in California federal court on Jan. 6, seeking preliminary approval of a $7.5 million settlement with Google LLC of unfair competition, privacy and negligence class claims over two 2018 data leaks that exposed users’ personally identifiable information (PII) to third-party app developers (In re Google Plus Profile Litigation, No. 5:18-cv-06164, N.D. Calif.).

  • January 07, 2020

    California Panel: Lawyer’s Demand Letters To Insurer Can Support Fraud Claims

    LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court panel on Dec. 23 affirmed a ruling denying a lawyer and law firm’s motion to strike allegations brought against them by Allstate Insurance Co. over an alleged insurance fraud scheme, finding that demand letters sent by the defendants to the insurer are not protected activity under California law (People of the state of California, ex rel. Allstate Insurance Co. v. Kelly L. Casado, et al., No. B288742, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., 7th Div., 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 8572).

  • January 06, 2020

    Federal Judge:  Tenant Did Not Show Landlord Failed To Accommodate His Disability

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Jan. 2 said that a landlord evicted a tenant for failure to pay rent and not because of his race and that the tenant did not demonstrate that the landlord failed to accommodate his disability, granting the landlord’s motion for summary judgment on all claims, including violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and California's unfair competition law (UCL) (Rodney Green, Sr. v. Mercy Housing, Inc., et al., No. 18-04888, N.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 977).

  • January 02, 2020

    In California Copyright Row, False Advertising Counterclaim Dismissed

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California on Dec. 20 dismissed a declaratory judgment counterclaim of false advertising alleged in a dispute over co-authorship of the documentary “Sign My Name to Freedom” (Focal Point Films LLC, et al. v. Arjot Sandhu, No. 19-2898, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 219314).

  • December 16, 2019

    Magistrate: UCL Claim In Foreclosure Suit May Proceed Under Unfair, Unlawful Prongs

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California on Dec. 10 refused to dismiss claims for violation of California unfair competition law (UCL) and other claims in a foreclosure dispute but noted that the UCL claim may proceed only under the unfair and unlawful prongs (Frederick James Beatty v. PHH Mortgage Corporation, et al., No. 19-05145, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 213794).

  • December 16, 2019

    UCL, Trade Secret Claims Dismissed In Suit Alleging Solicitation Of Elderly Investors

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Dec. 12 granted a limited liability corporation’s motion to dismiss claims for misappropriation of trade secrets, violation of California’s unfair competition law and intentional interference with contractual relations in a lawsuit alleging that it used “aggressive, predatory tactics” to solicit the plaintiffs’ elderly limited partners to sell their limited partnership interest (Moreland Apartments Associates, et al. v. LP Equity LLC, No. 19-00744, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214591).

  • December 13, 2019

    Georgia Couple, Florida Company Sue Hurricane Strap Maker Over Premature Corrosion

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Georgia couple and a company that own homes in Florida filed a class action in federal court in California on Dec. 2 against the maker of hurricane straps that were attached to their homes, alleging that the straps are defective because they prematurely corrode and do not protect homes against damages caused by hurricane-force winds (Cary W. Cooper, et al. v. Simpson Strong-Tie Co. Inc., et al., No. 19-cv-7901, N.D. Calif.).

  • December 09, 2019

    Judge Dismisses All Claims In Product Label Suit Involving Maytag Washing Machines

    TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in California on Dec. 5 granted motions for summary judgment by the manufacturer and retailers of Maytag washing machines in a putative class action alleging that the washers were not energy efficient despite their product labels, dismissing all claims, including ones under California’s unfair competition law, false advertising law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (Charlene Dzielak, et al. v. Whirlpool Corp., et al., No. 12-0089, D. N.J., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210429).