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March 17, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on March 16 denied Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class’s claims for fraudulent concealment and other causes of action in a case alleging that its smartwatch bands contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ruling that the plaintiffs demonstrated standing and adequately pleaded an injury. The judge granted Apple’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ fraudulent misrepresentation and implied warranty of merchantability claims, however.
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March 17, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge approved the cy pres distribution of $122,101.51 in remaining funds to a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization from a $27.5 million settlement of a class action over Thomson Reuters Corp.’s online gathering and sale of personally identifiable information (PII) of Californians, holding that the nonprofit has the requisite nexus to the privacy claims asserted on behalf of the class.
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March 16, 2026
PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the grant of summary judgment against a widow bringing a putative class action lawsuit against an insurer for alleged underpayment of a life insurance policy, allegedly in breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the insurer paid the policy in full and was entitled to deduct unpaid premiums.
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March 16, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — Deadlines and a case management conference were set in California federal court for a putative class action against JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. brought by a plaintiff who claims that the bank “enabled” a cryptocurrency “Ponzi scheme” that misled him into liquidating and then losing his retirement account in the scam, allegedly in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.
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March 16, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied Ford Motor Co.’s motion for reconsideration of an order declining to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by concealing an alleged defect with its electronic door handles that could leave the doors locked and unopenable when the vehicles lose power, writing that the plaintiffs need not allege a duty to disclose to plead an unfair prong UCL claim.
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March 13, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a plaintiff’s motion to stay a $623,000 attorney fee sanction against her attorneys for allegedly bringing a frivolous suit against Walmart Inc. pending the outcome of their petition for a writ of mandamus before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on the condition that the plaintiff post a supersedeas bond in the full amount of the sanctions.
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March 12, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — The Judicial Council of California agreed to coordinated proceedings of an initial batch of 10 actions against ChatGPT alleging product liability and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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March 12, 2026
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 11 granted a motion by Home Depot Inc. (HD) to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against it for allegedly violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by mislabeling its Christmas lights in a manner that a consumer says rendered the products defective.
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March 12, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals properly found that a lower court relied on “an unexecuted damages model developed by an experienced economist” in granting certification of a class action, but in a petition for a writ of certiorari, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (J&J) “pivots and seeks review of a different question,” the representative of the class tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a March 11 opposition brief.
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March 11, 2026
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A New York federal magistrate judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement worth $2.9 million against a “naturally sourced” toothpaste maker and its subsidiary company who were accused of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by not informing consumers the toothpaste maker’s facility received a Food and Drug Administration warning letter in 2024 over water contamination.
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March 11, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A woman’s California unfair competition law (UCL) action alleging that interactions with ChatGPT led to a murder-suicide threatens to waste court resources and produce piecemeal litigation duplicative of a recently consolidated state court action, OpenAI entities say in a March 10 motion urging the federal court to dismiss the case or stay it while the state court suit proceeds.
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March 11, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — Crayola LLC on March 10 moved to dismiss a putative class action brought against it in California federal court by consumers who allege that its markers, glue sticks and chalk are falsely labeled as “non-toxic” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the consumers failed to allege the label is deceptive based on their “overbroad and fanciful understanding” of that term.
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March 11, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a motion that was filed by plaintiffs who claim that Apple Inc.’s “AirTag” tracking devices were used to stalk them in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws, in which they sought to certify three nationwide classes of people allegedly “tracked without consent by Apple’s AirTag,” and directed the parties to prepare to discuss whether the cases should be severed.
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March 10, 2026
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 9 granted in part and denied in part a pet food company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action against it for allegedly falsely labeling its pet food products as containing no preservatives in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding that the plaintiff’s claims in general were sufficient but dismissing her omission-based and punitive damages claims.
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March 10, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After the parties filed a joint stipulation to dismiss, the U.S. Supreme Court in a docket only order on March 9 dismissed a petition filed by Google LLC and related entities (collectively, Google) seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling affirming a jury verdict and injunction in an antitrust suit filed against it by Epic Games Inc. over Google’s removal of Epic’s Fortnite game from the Google Play Store.
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March 06, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After filing a motion to modify an injunction in a California federal court, Epic Games Inc. and Google LLC and related entities (collectively, Google) on March 5 filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Google’s petition seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling affirming a lower court’s jury verdict and injunction in an antitrust suit filed against it by Epic Games Inc. over Google’s removal of Epic’s Fortnite game from the Google Play Store.
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March 06, 2026
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on March 5 granted in part and denied in part a motion filed by The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) to dismiss a consumer’s putative class action accusing it of misleadingly marketing a sleep aid product as providing benefits “naturally” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) because it is actually made with “synthesized” artificial ingredients.
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March 05, 2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Google LLC’s Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot sent a man on a mission designed to inflict mass casualties and only after it failed switched tactics and told a man that his suicide wouldn’t be a death but a rebirth into a world where he could be with his AI companion, the man’s father alleges in a March 4 survival and wrongful death complaint filed in California federal court, also alleging violation of the state’s unfair competition law.
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March 04, 2026
PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that a lower court abused its discretion by basing its lodestar calculation in part on the size of the law firm that represented the prevailing parties after a jury found that a manufacturer of eye drops violated state and federal law by providing the drops to large retailers at an impermissibly lower price than smaller wholesalers.
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March 03, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement of a California consumer’s class action against a California company that was accused of deceptively marketing the origin of Japanese-style sake that is manufactured domestically, allegedly in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), with the settlement providing for injunctive relief and attorney fees of $645,000.
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March 03, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion by the parents of minor players of Roblox Corp.’s gaming platform to summarily affirm a California federal judge’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration filed by the third-party developer of a site called “Bloxflip” that allegedly was used by the parents’ children to illegally gamble with digital “Robux” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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March 02, 2026
CHICAGO — A class complaint was filed in an Illinois federal court alleging that an insurer committed an egregious privacy violation and breach of consumer trust in violation of Illinois, California and federal laws by knowingly deploying tracking technologies without the consent of its insurance customers and other website visitors and in violation of its own express assurances that the customers’ private information would remain confidential, asserting that the insurer sold out its customers and website users’ trust for money.
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February 27, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Feb. 26 issued a ruling providing the reasoning behind a previously issued short-form order certifying several classes of purchasers bringing antitrust claims against Juul Labs Inc. (JLI) and Altria Group Inc. for allegedly seeking to monopolize the e-cigarette market, and also granted a defense motion for reconsideration as to time limits on the class.
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February 27, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted OpenAI Inc.’s motion to dismiss an amended complaint in which xAI accused competitor OpenAI of violating the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that xAI’s allegations relate to the conduct of eight former employees who left for OpenAI but not “any misconduct by OpenAI.”
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February 24, 2026
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted final approval to a settlement of $1 per class member, amounting to approximately $172,000, and granted a motion for attorney fees of $1,775,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys to resolve class action claims against multiple employers for requiring job applicants to answer invasive medical inquiries, including when one plaintiff’s last menstrual period was, in violation of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).