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

Mealey's California Section 17200

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.
January 09, 2024
23andMe Faces Potential MDL After Breach Of 6.9M Customers’ Data

SAN FRANCISCO — Two consumers filed a complaint in California federal court accusing 23andMe Inc. of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after the genetic testing company revealed that ancestral records for roughly 6.9 million customers were hacked and being sold online. The breach is the subject of more than 30 lawsuits that the company is asking the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) to consolidate.
January 08, 2024
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing, Files Amended Opinion In FCA Drug Pricing Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 5 denied a petition for a panel rehearing and a rehearing en banc, issuing an amended opinion of its decision reversing a district court’s dismissal of a relator’s qui tam suit alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) against pharmaceutical companies related to their alleged fraud by artificially inflating drug prices, finding “that the qualifying public disclosures here do not collectively disclose a combination of facts sufficient to permit a reasonable inference of fraud.”
January 08, 2024
Pet Brush Maker May Subpoena Meta To Obtain Online Counterfeiters’ Identities

SAN FRANCISCO — A group of website operators accused of selling and advertising counterfeit goods lost their bid to quash a discovery subpoena on Meta Platforms Inc., with a California federal judge finding that the plaintiff demonstrated that good cause exists to obtain the defendants’ identifying information for the purpose of serving them with its complaint for intellectual property infringement and unfair competition.
January 05, 2024
Bedsheet Maker Inflated Thread Counts By 500% On False Labels, Plaintiffs Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — Three consumers on Jan. 4 filed a putative class action in California federal court against the manufacturer of “Beautyrest” and “Madison Park” brand bedsheets, accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling and advertisings its products as having high thread counts when the products are in fact made with 20% or less of the advertised thread count.
January 04, 2024
Apple, Epic Defend Their Certiorari Bids Over UCL Antitrust, National Injunction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that on Jan. 12 it will consider related petitions for certiorari filed by Epic Games Inc. and Apple Inc. that both sprung from the companies’ disputes over Apple’s alleged antitrust violations under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and a trial court’s imposition of a nationwide injunction barring some of the purported anti-competitive practices.
January 03, 2024
Judge Denies PetSmart Worker’s Motion To Certify Appeal Of Arbitration Order

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 2 denied a PetSmart LLC employee’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal of the court’s prior order compelling arbitration of her claims that the pet store violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by advertising pet groomer training as free in its job listings, writing that her claims are not exempt from a binding arbitration agreement because she does not seek public injunctive relief.
January 03, 2024
Domino’s Truck Drivers Urge High Court Denial Of FAA Exemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Domino’s Pizza LLC truck drivers (D&S drivers), found by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in their class case alleging unreimbursed business expenses and violation of California’s unfair competition law, filed a response brief, after initially waiving their right and then being asked to file one, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Domino’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
January 03, 2024
Judge Won’t Dismiss UCL Suit Against Fish Oil Seller Over Misleading ‘2X’ Label

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 2 granted in part and denied in part a dietary supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misleadingly labeling its fish oil supplement product as “2X” even though it does not contain twice the ingredients of its similar product that is not labeled 2X.
January 03, 2024
Amici Ask Supreme Court To Uphold Delegation Clause In Arbitration Agreement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce headed up a diverse coalition of organizations on the third of three amicus curiae briefs filed in support of Coinbase Inc. as the U.S. Supreme Court decides the priority and enforceability of a delegation clause when deciding the arbitrability of claims against the cryptocurrency firm.
January 03, 2024
Google Browsing History Data Suit Stayed While Settlement Is Finalized

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two days after Google LLC and the plaintiffs suing it for the surreptitious interception and collection of their internet browsing history jointly filed notice of a preliminary settlement of privacy and unfair competition claims, a California federal judge granted the parties’ request to stay the case and vacate a pending trial date while they finalize the agreement.