Mealey's California Section 17200
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March 18, 2025
Costco: Baby Wipes Case Fails Because Studies Do Not Show Harmful Effects Of PFAS
SAN FRANCISCO — Costco Wholesale Corp. has moved in California to dismiss a class action alleging that Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes contain unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that the plaintiffs do not cite “any state or federal regulations prohibiting or restricting the specific substances” at issue and do not point to a single study that purports to find harmful effects from those substances in humans.
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March 18, 2025
Consumers Tell High Court Federal Food Laws ‘Expressly Permit’ California Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two parents filed an opposition brief to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should deny 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 for violating California consumer protection laws by allegedly violating federal labeling rules, writing that federal law does not preempt states from adopting “‘identical’” labeling rules.
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March 17, 2025
Labeling Suit Over Protein Powder Requiring Milk Dismissed By Judge
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 14 granted a motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing a protein powder maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to clearly label its products as requiring milk to provide consumers with the advertised amounts of protein, finding that a reasonable consumer wouldn’t be deceived based on the pleadings but granting leave to amend.
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March 17, 2025
Judge Grants Hunter Biden's Request To Drop Lawsuit Over Laptop Files
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Hunter Biden’s ex parte application for an order of voluntary dismissal of his lawsuit against a conservative activist and his organization for violating computer fraud laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by posting data from Biden’s private laptop online, but citing defense claims of “legal prejudice” and the timing of the filing entered dismissal with prejudice instead of without as Biden had requested.
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March 14, 2025
Parents Say Fortnite Provokes ‘FOMO’ In Youths To Spur In-Game Item Sales
SAN FRANCISCO — Two parents filed a putative class action in California federal court accusing Epic Games Inc., the developer of “Fortnite,” of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by using “deceptive countdown timers” and other marketing tactics to pressure vulnerable youths into purchasing in-game items, in part due to their youthful susceptibility to the “fear of missing out” (FOMO).
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March 14, 2025
Judge Dismisses Suit Over Fruit Company’s Health Claims With Prejudice
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on March 13 dismissed with prejudice a putative class action against a fruit company for labeling its fruit products as “Healthy” and providing “Good Nutrition” despite containing significant amounts of sugar, writing that the plaintiffs in their amended complaint failed to establish that the claims are not “puffery” and would deceive a reasonable consumer.
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March 14, 2025
Developer Accused Of Using Roblox To Start Robux Gambling Games Seeks Dismissal
SAN FRANCISCO — A third-party developer filed a motion in California federal court to dismiss cross-claims brought against it by Roblox Corp. in a putative class action lawsuit filed by parents who say their minor children accessed gambling games through the Roblox platform, writing that the court lacks jurisdiction, the claims are untimely and the claims against it are deficient on the merits.
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March 13, 2025
Facebook Swimsuit-Photo App Loses Appeal Of Anti-SLAPP And Attorney Fees Rulings
SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate panel on March 12 affirmed an order striking claims against Facebook Inc., CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other employees for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by restricting the developer of an app that searched Facebook for photos of people wearing swimsuits from accessing user data and affirmed a roughly $683,000 attorney fee award against the developer.
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March 12, 2025
Plaintiffs Suing Over Fake Discounts May Seek Equitable Relief Based On Pleadings
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a window coverings seller’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit alleging that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by misrepresenting its regular prices as time-limited sales, siding with other federal courts within the Ninth Circuit that reserve “stricter” scrutiny of equitable relief pleadings for the summary judgment stage.
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March 11, 2025
Putative Class Claims Over Sugary Protein Bars May Proceed, Judge Says
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a protein bar maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and New York consumer laws by advertising and labeling its products as healthy when they in fact contain high levels of sugar.
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March 11, 2025
Deceptive Labels Suit Against ‘Healthy’ Snack-Maker Can Proceed, Magistrate Says
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge recommended denial in part of a snack-maker’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s putative class suit against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by using misleading claims such as “healthier” to deceive consumers into buying its products, which are allegedly high in saturated fat.
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March 07, 2025
Privacy, Biometric Claims Over CapCot Video-Editing App Survive Dismissal
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge largely granted a motion by ByteDance Inc. to dismiss putative class claims over the purported collection of personal data from users of its CapCot video-editing app, finding that a group of the app’s users did not establish claims for unfair competition, unjust enrichment and violation of several federal and California state privacy laws.
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March 07, 2025
Final Judgment Entered For $27.5 Million Thomson Reuters Data-Selling Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO — One week after a California federal judge granted final approval to a $27.5 million settlement of a class action over Thomson Reuters Corp.’s online gathering and sale of personally identifying information (PII) of Californians, he issued final judgment in the four-year-old suit, dismissing unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims against the company.
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March 06, 2025
Suits Consolidated Against Microsoft For ‘Stealing’ Affiliate Link Benefits
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge consolidated nine putative class actions against Microsoft Corp. brought by app operators and online content creator that earn money from online marketing and claim that Microsoft’s in-browser shopping extension “systematically steals commission payments from their rightful owners.”
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March 05, 2025
$9.5 Million Settlement Of Payroll Firm Data Breach Suit Gets Final Approval
LOS ANGELES — Six months after a $9.5 million settlement of privacy and unfair competition claims over a payroll services provider’s 2023 data breach was preliminarily approved, a California judge gave the final stamp of approval to the agreement, also granting the plaintiffs’ motion for attorney fees, costs and class representative service awards.
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March 04, 2025
Furniture Delivery Company Asks 9th Circuit To Rehear UCL Coverage Dispute
PASADENA, Calif. — A furniture delivery company insured has asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that an insurer has no duty to defend it against an underlying misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition lawsuit brought by a competitor, challenging the appeal court’s affirmation of a lower federal court’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.
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March 04, 2025
Judge Dismisses Monopoly Claims Against Apple Over iCloud Storage
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action in which consumers accuse it of monopolizing access to its iCloud data storage service on Apple devices in violation of federal and state antitrust laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding the plaintiffs did not sufficiently allege a violation of federal law, a monopoly or unfair conduct.
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March 03, 2025
Choice-Of-Law Ruling Issued In Disability Insurance Suit In Federal Court
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Granting an insurer’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in a suit challenging the discontinuation of long-term disability (LTD) benefits, a Connecticut federal judge ruled that the “tort, equity, and contract claims under the common law are not governed by California law” and that three California and North Carolina statutory claims fail as a matter of law.
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February 27, 2025
High Court Distributes Nursing Home Operators’ Challenge To COVID Deaths Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 26 distributed for conference a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a California nursing home operator and affiliated defendants challenging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of the remand to state court of a case against them for the deaths of 15 elderly residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the federal PREP Act preempts state law claims against them and requires removal.
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February 27, 2025
Judge Certifies Class Accusing Loan App Operator Of Concealing Fees
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge certified a class of California residents accusing a consumer loan app operator of concealing certain fees while operating as an unlicensed lender in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and California finance laws, denied the app operator’s motion to exclude a plaintiffs’ witness and granted in part the defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to claims regarding its performance fees.
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February 26, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms Judgment In Chipmaker's Favor On Antitrust Claims
SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Feb. 25 affirmed orders of dismissal and a grant of summary judgment on consumer claims brought against a chipmaker for alleged anti-competitive exclusive dealing and unlawful tying claims, finding the conduct at issue lawful, but said the consumers may refile their claim for violation of California's unfair competition law in state court.
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February 26, 2025
‘Wholesome’ Claim On High-Sugar Bars Not Puffery, Judge Rules
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a snack maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit brought against it by a consumer who accuses it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling its fig bar products as healthy and “wholesome” when they in fact contain high levels of sugar, finding that “the word ‘wholesome,’” as used on the defendant’s labels “is not puffery.”
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February 25, 2025
Judge Partially Dismisses Claims In UCL Class Suit Over App Cyberbullying
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge partially dismissed a putative class suit against YOLO, a company that designed an anonymous messaging app that allegedly failed to monitor content, purportedly resulting in cyberbullying and the death of one user, finding that the motion to dismiss for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) is granted due to the plaintiffs’ failure to show that they have an inadequate remedy at law.
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February 24, 2025
Class Suit Over Microplastics Leaching From Baby Bottles May Proceed, Judge Says
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a plastic products maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by omitting the risk to babies and young children of microplastics leaching out of its plastic baby bottles and sippy cups, writing that studies cited by the plaintiffs sufficiently support their material omission claims.
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February 20, 2025
Judge Permits ‘Mass Opt-Out’ From Eavesdropping Class Action Against Google
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge stated that she had “little hesitation” denying Google LLC’s motion to reject a “mass exclusion request” by nearly 70,000 Google Assistant (GA) users who seek to opt out of an unfair competition class action over Google’s purported eavesdropping via the digital assistant app and pursue arbitration of their privacy claims against the company instead.