Mealey's California Section 17200

  • July 17, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Unfair Refund Denial Suit Against Sleep Aid Maker

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit accusing it of signing the plaintiff up for a sleep aid subscription based on a free trial promise and denying his request for a refund, finding that the plaintiff’s claims for violation of California unfair competition law (UCL) and other consumer laws were not sufficiently pleaded but denying the motion as to the plaintiff’s claim for violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA).

  • July 17, 2026

    Apple’s ‘Hide My Email’ Feature Easily Unhidden, Consumer Says In Class Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A consumer says in a putative class action filed in California federal court accusing Apple Inc. of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws that he purchased an iPhone in reliance on Apple’s marketing claims regarding privacy and its offer of a “Hide My Email” feature but later learned that the feature does not fully hide users’ emails.

  • July 16, 2026

    YouTube Premium Subscribers Claim They Are Still Forced To Watch Ads

    SAN FRANCISCO — Premium subscribers of YouTube LLC’s video-streaming website filed a putative class action in California federal court against YouTube and its parent company Google LLC for allegedly violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by falsely advertising premium subscriptions as “ad-free,” when in fact even premium subscribers still have to watch advertisements placed in certain videos by content creators.

  • July 16, 2026

    Judge Partly Dismisses Data-Tracking Class Suit Against Adult Website

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part an adult website’s motion to dismiss a putative class suit accusing it of tracking users’ activities, dismissing with prejudice the plaintiffs’ claims for violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and their claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) but allowing other claims to continue because the plaintiffs did not “consent” to data tracking and the website did not fully disclose its data-tracking practices.

  • July 15, 2026

    IT Staffing Company Pays $610,000 To End Claims Over Breached Network

    SAN DIEGO — An IT staffing company accused of failing to protect the personally identifiable information (PII) of current and former employees will pay $610,000 to end the class claims, according to an order in a federal court in California granting final settlement approval.

  • July 14, 2026

    U.K. Citizens Appeal Dismissal Of Class Suit Over Deceptive Online Discount Finder

    SAN FRANCISCO — A group of U.K. citizens on July 13 filed notice in California federal court that they will appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a ruling dismissing with prejudice their putative class action against two companies that own and operate the “Honey” discount-finding browser extension for false marketing in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.

  • July 14, 2026

    Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Surgeon’s Suit Accusing Insurer Of Retaliation

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on July 13 reversed a judgment dismissing a lawsuit brought by an orthopedic spine surgeon accusing an insurer of interference with prospective economic relations for allegedly retaliating against him after he advocated for his patients to receive coverage for spinal surgeries.

  • July 14, 2026

    Surgery Billing Arbitration Dispute Against Insurers Remanded By Judge

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge, upon reviewing the pleadings in a removed lawsuit accusing several insurers of failing to timely pay a plastic surgery office for out-of-network costs that were approved by an arbitrator, remanded the suit sua sponte after determining that the office’s claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), purportedly based on an alleged violation of the federal No Surprises Act (NSA), does not create federal question jurisdiction.

  • July 10, 2026

    Judge Finds No Evidence Audible Subscriber Was Misled By Free Shipping Offer

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on July 9 granted summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice a putative class action against Amazon.com Inc. and its wholly owned audiobook-focused subsidiary Audible Inc. accusing them of enrolling a consumer in an Audible subscription and charging her renewal fees without consent in violation of California consumer protection laws, finding that following discovery the plaintiff had failed to prove that she was misled into subscribing to Audible.

  • July 10, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Pornhub-Linked Trafficking Conspiracy Claims Against Visa

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on July 9 granted in part and denied in part Visa Inc.’s motion to dismiss certain claims against it arising out of its processing of payments for the pornography website Pornhub brought by a plaintiff who claims that the website monetized child sex abuse material (CSAM) made of her while she was a minor, dismissing a civil conspiracy claim but allowing claims to proceed for conspiracy to violate sex-trafficking laws and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • July 09, 2026

    Judge Won’t Certify Appeal Over Nutrition Claims On Toddler Drinks

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied three food companies’ motion to certify an interlocutory appeal of the court’s denial of their motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing them of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by marketing their products for children under the age of 2 with nutrient content claims, writing that the issue of the adoption into state law of Food and Drug Administration labeling regulations has been addressed before and is not “a live dispute within the Ninth Circuit.”

  • July 09, 2026

    Apple Accused Of Falsely Advertising Safari’s Privacy In Putative Class Suit

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A user of Apple Inc.’s proprietary web browser, Safari, filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing Apple of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively advertising the browser as “a private, secure web browser that does not disclose individuals’ personal information” when it allegedly allows third-party tracking of users’ data.

  • July 07, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Claims For Equitable Relief From Class Suit Against Fitness Company

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a motion for summary judgment filed by the manufacturer of a wearable fitness tracker that is facing class claims for $28.2 million in damages allegedly caused by its automatic renewal of customers’ subscriptions and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that were brought seeking equitable restitution or injunctive relief.

  • July 07, 2026

    Woman Files Class Action Against AbbVie Over Alleged Juvederm Warning Omissions

    CHICAGO — The manufacturer of a hyaluronic acid (HA) filler injection failed to warn consumers of the risk of developing hard masses called granulomas, “hard lumps that appear lighter or darker than the surrounding skin and can be exceedingly painful to touch,” a woman alleges in a putative class action complaint filed in an Illinois federal court.

  • July 06, 2026

    Insurer Has No Duty To Defend UCL Suit Over Fake Sex Solicitation Ads

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Following a bench trial, a California federal judge ruled in favor of an insurer who sought reimbursement of legal costs that an insured obtained in defending against a suit accusing him of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by posting fake Craigslist ads under a business competitor’s name purportedly seeking sexual encounters, finding that the insured’s conduct was excluded from coverage because it was willful and intentional.

  • July 06, 2026

    Judge Dismisses False Advertising Claims In Car Seat Suit, Allows Omission Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part a car seat maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of falsely advertising the safety of its products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding that the manufacturer’s recall and redesign of defective seats do not support claims that it affirmatively misrepresented its products’ safety but allowing omission-based claims to proceed.

  • July 02, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Suit Over ‘Healthy Grains’ Claims On Snack Containing Lead

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a snack-maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by representing its “dark chocolate clusters” snack product as healthy and failing to disclose it contains lead, opining that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege affirmative deceptions or material omissions by the defendant.

  • July 01, 2026

    9th Circuit Revives Unfair Renewals Suit Against OnlyFans Operators

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 30 issued an unpublished memorandum disposition reversing a lower court’s dismissal of a putative class action brought by plaintiffs accusing the operators of a subscription-based adult website of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by charging them automatic renewal fees allegedly without warning, remanding the case for further examination of the court’s jurisdiction.

  • June 30, 2026

    High Court Limits Review In Epic, Apple Antitrust Row To Civil Contempt Holding

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 granted certiorari but limited its review to one question in the petition in which Apple Inc. argued that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals incorrectly affirmed a lower court’s injunctive relief ruling and finding of contempt against Apple over anticompetitive practices on its app store in an antitrust dispute with Epic Games Inc.

  • June 30, 2026

    Auto-Renewal Settlement Objector Asks High Court To Review Representative Payments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California attorney and class member who objected to the settlement of a lawsuit that accused The New York Times Co. of engaging in an illegal “automatic renewal” scheme petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of class representative payments.

  • June 26, 2026

    Judge Dismisses Class Suit Against Spotify Over Alleged Bot Streams

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted music-streaming service Spotify USA Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by a rapper who accused the company of negligence and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for failing to prevent artificial streaming of artists’ music, which the plaintiff said included billions of streams by bots of music by musician Drake and allegedly reduced the revenue pool open to competing musicians such as himself.

  • June 25, 2026

    9th Circuit Issues Mandate After Denying Stay Pending Carmaker’s Petition For Cert

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued its mandate affirming the denial of a car manufacturer’s motion to compel arbitration of putative class claims for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) based on an alleged defect with its vehicles’ headrests after denying the manufacturer’s motion to stay the mandate pending the filing of its petition for a writ of certiorari.

  • June 24, 2026

    Judge Refuses To Dismiss Class Suit Accusing PayPal Of ‘Stealing’ Commissions

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge denied PayPal Inc.’s motion to dismiss an amended putative class action brought against it by YouTubers and other online content creators after finding that they plausibly accuse it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by using a discount-finding browser extension, “Honey,” to redirect profits from their affiliate links and coupons to itself.

  • June 24, 2026

    California Drivers: Gas Stations Coordinate Pricing With AI

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians face higher gas prices as a result of aggressive pricing that forgoes the usual competitive street-corner pricing model for a coordinated and automated artificial intelligence pricing system, plaintiffs in a proposed class action allege in a California unfair competition law (UCL) and Cartwright Act lawsuit filed in California federal court.

  • June 22, 2026

    Federal Judge Consolidates 2 Tariffs Class Suits In Oregon Against Nike

    PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon granted a joint unopposed motion to consolidate two putative class complaints by consumers who accuse Nike Inc. of unjust enrichment by passing to customers the costs for tariffs that have since been ruled unlawful.