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

Mealey's California Section 17200

April 30, 2025
Judge Mostly Dismisses Consumers’ Class Suit Over Microplastics In Baby Bottles

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on April 29 granted in part and denied in part a baby bottle maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit brought against it by parents who accuse it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling its baby bottles and sippy cups as healthy and safe for children when they in fact can leach microplastics into children’s food and drinks.
April 30, 2025
Claim Handling Suit Against Insurer Untimely Under Insurance Statute, Panel Says

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on April 29 affirmed a grant of summary judgment on insureds’ claims against their insurer for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly mishandling their claim for property damage, writing that the suit was untimely because the one-year statute of limitation for insurance claims applied even though the insureds denied bringing a breach of contract or insurance policy claim.
April 30, 2025
Judge Declines To Certify Interlocutory Appeal On Microplastics Safety Hazard

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a plastic baby products maker’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the pleading requirements for a material omission claim under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other consumer protection laws based on the presence of microplastics in its products.
April 29, 2025
Wedding Planning Website Accused Of Selling Vendors Deceptive ‘Leads’

LOS ANGELES — A group of vendors that provide wedding-related services on April 28 filed a putative class complaint in California federal court against the operator of wedding planning website “The Knot,” accusing it of fraudulent inducement and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for deceiving them into paying thousands of dollars for access to its “lead-generating” service, which either did not produce leads or generated mostly fake leads.
April 29, 2025
Plastic Microwave, Freezer Bags Leach Plastics Into Food, Consumer Says

SAN FRANCISCO — A consumer filed a putative class action in California federal court accusing the manufacturer of “Ziploc” bags of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively marketing its products for use with food heating and storage as safe when they in fact can leach microplastics into the food of users.
April 29, 2025
Class Suit Over Microplastics In Baby Bottles Remanded To California State Court

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge remanded a plaintiff’s putative class lawsuit in which she accuses a baby bottle maker of deceptively labeling its products as “BPA Free” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws when the products in fact contain “harmful microplastics,” finding that the court lacks jurisdiction and the plaintiff lacks standing.
April 28, 2025
9th Circuit Finds No Duty To Disclose Trace Metals In ‘Organic’ Baby Food

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 25 affirmed a judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a baby food maker accused by putative class plaintiffs of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other consumer protection laws by concealing the presence of heavy metals in its “organic” baby food products and denied a request to certify a related issue to the California Supreme Court.
April 25, 2025
Judge Remands False Recycling Claims Suit Against Chicken Chain To State Court

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge remanded a putative class action against the chicken chain restaurant “El Pollo Loco” for allegedly mislabeling nonrecyclable food containers with the “recyclable” symbol in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) to state court after finding that minimum diversity was not met and federal question jurisdiction was not required despite the pleadings invoking federal regulations.
April 24, 2025
Plaintiffs Dismiss Class Suit Over Fluoride Mouth Rinse For Young Kids

SAN DIEGO — Three plaintiffs on April 23 filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of their putative class action against a dental health products maker for allegedly violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting its fluoride mouth rinse product as safe for children under 6, one week after the defendant moved to dismiss on the grounds that its product is labeled with multiple warnings restricting its use to children over 6.
April 24, 2025
Lilly Sues 4 Telehealth Companies For Selling Compounded Weight Loss Drugs

SAN FRANCISCO — Eli Lilly and Co. on April 23 sued four telehealth companies in a federal court alleging that they violated California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws by selling “knockoff compounded tirzepatide drugs,” FDA-approved drugs for diabetes and weight loss.
April 23, 2025
Partial Dismissal Issued In Yelp Antitrust Suit Against Google For ‘Stealing’ Info

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge on April 22 granted Google LLC’s request for consideration of documents incorporated by reference and granted in part and denied in part with leave to amend Google’s motion to dismiss in a California unfair competition law (UCL) and Sherman Act antitrust suit against Google by Yelp Inc. for “numerous anti-competitive practices, including stealing information from Yelp’s website and passing it off as Google’s own,” finding that “Yelp has sufficiently alleged monopoly power” but that tying of local search services to general search services is time-barred.
April 23, 2025
Judge Dismisses E-Cig Buyers’ Monopoly, UCL Claims Against Juul, Altria

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge entered two orders pursuant to stipulations between Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), Altria Group Inc. and indirect plaintiffs bringing antitrust claims related to Altria’s 2018 investment in JLI, thereby dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims for violation of federal monopoly laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
April 22, 2025
Judge Allows Bulk Of Roblox’s Claims Against Third-Party ‘Gambling’ Developer

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a third-party developer’s motion to dismiss cross-claims brought against it by Roblox Corp. in a putative class action filed by parents who say Roblox allowed their minor children to access gambling games through the Roblox platform, finding that the developer consented to Roblox’s terms of use and may have confused consumers by using “Blox” in its game’s name.
April 22, 2025
Homeowners Accuse Insurers Of ‘Nefarious Conspiracy’ In Suit Arising From Wildfires

LOS ANGELES — California homeowners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires sued insurers in a California court for violations of the state’s Cartwright Act and unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the insurers participated in a “nefarious conspiracy to eliminate competition between them, and to intentionally and systematically force Plaintiffs to obtain fire insurance from the state’s insurer of last resort.”
April 22, 2025
En Banc 9th Circuit Finds Jurisdiction Over Shopping App For Cookie Collecting

SAN FRANCISCO — The en banc Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 21 reversed a panel’s ruling and found that personal jurisdiction exists over putative class claims against a payment processing and shopping app accused of violating California privacy and unfair competition laws by concealing that it was using cookies to collect California consumers’ personal data for resale.
April 21, 2025
High Court Won’t Review California Adoption Of Federal Food Laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 21 denied a baby food company’s petition for a writ of certiorari challenging a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s decision allowing the company to be sued by two parents under California consumer protection laws that adopt identical labeling rules to those set forth in federal law, which the company claimed should be preempted by federal law.
April 18, 2025
OnlyFans’ California Profits Create Jurisdiction, Subscribers Tell 9th Circuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Two subscribers of adult website OnlyFans urge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a California federal judge’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of their lawsuit accusing OnlyFans’ foreign owner of unlawful subscription renewals in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the website purposefully avails itself of California and makes $400 million in annual revenue from the state.
April 17, 2025
Groups Say Iron Works Has Polluted Groundwater With Stormwater Discharges

SAN DIEGO — Environmental groups have sued an ironworking company in California federal court arguing that it is liable for contamination of local groundwater because it has discharged, and continues to discharge, polluted stormwater from its facility to downstream waters and groundwater in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
April 17, 2025
$195,000 Class Deal Gets Final OK In Suit Over Allegedly Fraudulent Policies

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Noting the absence of objections and that “the average class member payment will be $467.77, and the highest payment will be $5,204.40,” a California federal judge granted final approval to a $195,000 class settlement that resolves a suit over allegedly counterfeited insurance policies sold through a captive reinsurance arrangement.
April 15, 2025
Harm From Mattress Maker’s Strike-Through Pricing Unclear, Magistrate Judge Says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge recommended granting a mattress manufacturer’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws, writing that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that she was deceived by “strike-through reference pricing” but failed to plead that she suffered damages as a result.
April 15, 2025
Skechers Seeks Coverage For Injury Claims Caused By Shoes’ Lack Of Slip-Resistance

LOS ANGELES — Skechers USA Inc. sued its commercial liability insurer in a California court for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair competition, alleging that the insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying action contending that class members were harmed by actual physical accidents caused by the insured’s shoes’ lack of slip-resistance or by the fact that the shoes were unusable.
April 14, 2025
Dismissal Bid Fought In Dispute Over Disability Policy ‘Age 65’ Language

PHOENIX — Arguing in part that the defendants’ “desired interpretation runs counter to the well-pleaded facts, the parties’ expectations, any reasonable consumer’s expectations, and decisional law,” a plaintiff on April 11 urged an Arizona federal court to deny dismissal of his putative class complaint over whether certain individual long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be paid through eligible insureds’ 65th birthdays.
April 14, 2025
9th Circuit Reverses Denial Of Damages, Fees Against Chinese Air Filter Seller

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 11 reversed and remanded a federal judge’s ruling denying an air purifier seller’s motion request for roughly $2.5 million in default judgment and attorney fees against a Chinese company that harmed its business by selling shoddy replacement filters for its products, writing that a party may still seek damages in default even if the amount of damages is not specified in the pleadings.
April 11, 2025
Judge Keeps UCL Suit Against ‘Social’ Gambling Site In Federal Court

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion filed by a plaintiff with a gambling addiction to remand his “representative” complaint asking the court to shut down an online “social” gambling website he says is operated in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), finding that the amount in controversy for federal jurisdiction is met based on the potential costs of the plaintiff’s sought relief to the website operator.
April 11, 2025
Judge Grants Summary Judgment On ‘Fraud’ Claims For Facebook Ad Removal

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Meta Platforms Inc.’s motion for summary judgment against a content publisher that accused Meta of breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for removing its content from Facebook after the publisher spent more than 53 million Canadian dollars on Facebook advertising, finding that its claims were untimely.