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

Mealey's California Section 17200

March 31, 2025
Judge Stays Deceptive Marketing Class Claims Against Zyn Maker Due To Earlier Suit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 28 stayed a putative class action against Swedish Match North America LLC (SM) for allegedly deceptively marketing Zyn nicotine pouches as nicotine cessation products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws after finding a similar suit is already pending and applying the “first-to-file rule.”
March 31, 2025
Judge Allows Class Suit Over ‘Truffles From France’ Claims To Proceed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on March 28 denied a chocolate maker’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in a putative class action filed by two women who say the company deceptively marketed its chocolate truffles as made in France in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws .
March 31, 2025
23andMe Agrees To Proceed With Data Breach Settlement, Files Bankruptcy Notices

SAN FRANCISCO — Two days after 23andMe Inc. informed a California federal court that it would be proceeding with a settlement of negligence, privacy and unfair competition claims over a 2023 data breach, which had been preliminarily approved in December, the troubled DNA testing company filed three notices of bankruptcy, staying the multidistrict litigation.
March 28, 2025
Judge Dismisses Class Suit Alleging Infant Formula Contained Heavy Metals

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on March 24 granted an infant formula company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by allegedly concealing the presence of heavy metals in its formula products, finding that the plaintiff failed to allege that the amounts of heavy metals in the products pose a safety.
March 28, 2025
9th Circuit Reverses, Says Claims Valid In Roundup Mislabeling Lawsuit

PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 27 issued an unpublished nonprecedential memorandum in which it reversed a lower court decision that dismissed claims against Monsanto Co. and its parents related to allegations that its herbicide Roundup was mislabeled, ruling that the plaintiffs alleged sufficient facts to plausibly state a claim for relief against Monsanto, but the panel affirmed the part of the lower court ruling that concluded that the claims against Scotts Co. LLC were properly dismissed.
March 28, 2025
Judge Dismisses Deception Claims Over V8 Splash, Allows Malic Acid Claim

CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on March 27 largely granted Campbell Soup Co.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by two consumers who say it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively marketing V8 Splash as healthy but ordered expedited discovery regarding whether malic acid is used to flavor the product.
March 26, 2025
Class Claims For School’s Nondisclosure Of Sexual Misconduct Fail, Panel Says

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action brought against a school for failing to disclose that three of its employees engaged in sexually abusive or inappropriate conduct, finding in part that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring a claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) as they were not directly harmed by the conduct.
March 24, 2025
Apple Misled Consumers As To IPhone 16’s ‘AI-Driven’ Functions, Consumer Says

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A consumer filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing Apple Inc. of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state consumer laws by misleading millions of consumers into buying its latest iPhone models by misrepresenting the artificial intelligence capacities that the iPhone 16’s “Apple Intelligence” and Siri software would offer.
March 24, 2025
High Court Won’t Review COVID Deaths Suit Against Nursing Home Operators

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 24 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a California nursing home operator and affiliated defendants that sought to challenge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of the remand to state court of a claim against them for the deaths of 15 elderly residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, which they contended was preempted by the federal PREP Act.
March 21, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms Ruling Tossing ‘Illicit’ Ink Cartridge UCL Suit Against Amazon

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 20 affirmed a lower court ruling that dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit by a remanufacturer of ink cartridges accusing Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiaries of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL), the Lanham Act and other laws by allowing third-party sellers to post allegedly deceptive listings for recycled printer ink cartridges, thereby diverting business from authentic ink cartridge recyclers, finding that “to the extent claims” against Amazon “survive” the Communications Decency Act (CDA), the remanufacturer “has failed to allege an actionable false statement by Amazon.”
March 18, 2025
App’s Arbitration Agreement Was ‘Rife With Unfair Surprise,’ 9th Circuit Told

SAN FRANCISCO — Mobile app game players who contend in a putative class suit that they were tricked into paying to play against bots instead of real people urge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a March 17 appellee brief to affirm a lower court’s ruling barring arbitration of their claims against the app’s developer and its co-founders, saying the agreement was unconscionable and required “batching” of claims that would have lasted “a century or more.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”