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

Mealey's California Section 17200

February 18, 2025
Parties To Musk’s Suit Over ChatGPT Funding Seek Dismissal

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk and his compatriots have no contract with OpenAI entities on which to base claims, have not shown any competitive injury from the artificial intelligence company’s deal with Microsoft Corp. and neither properly allege nor sufficiently point to an injury in fact for their California unfair competition law (UCL) claims, defendants in Musk’s fraud and racketeering suit told a federal judge in California in three motions to dismiss.
February 18, 2025
Lead Claims Against Tampon Makers Dismissed In Part By Judge

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge issued two substantially similar rulings dismissing in part two putative class action lawsuits brought against tampon makers by women who accuse the companies of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by concealing the presence of lead in their tampons, finding that the claims should not be dismissed pending a Food and Drug Administration review of lead in tampons but also finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege that the tampons they bought contained dangerous levels of lead.
February 18, 2025
Class Action Alleges Allstate Collected, Sold Data Without Plaintiffs’ Consent

CHICAGO — A class action complaint filed in Illinois federal court alleges that The Allstate Corp. and its subsidiaries collected and sold the plaintiffs’ personal data and “‘trillions of miles’ worth of ‘driving behavior’” data without their consent.
February 18, 2025
Plaintiffs Failed To Plead Timely Purchase Of Fruit Bars In Labeling Suit

SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge dismissed with prejudice a putative class action accusing a food manufacturer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting as “natural” fruit bar products that actually contained artificial flavors, finding among other deficiencies that the plaintiffs failed to allege that their purchases of the product were made within the statute of limitations period.
February 14, 2025
False Advertising Claims Over Walmart Avocado Oil Inadequate, Judge Says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on Feb. 13 granted Walmart Inc.’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s putative class action accusing it of deceptively labeling its avocado oil product as pure avocado oil in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding that the plaintiff failed to allege that the product is labeled in a way that would deceive a consumer as to the purity of its oil.
February 14, 2025
Panel: No Coverage For Unfair Competition Suit Against Furniture Delivery Company

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that an insurer has no duty to defend its furniture delivery company insured against an underlying misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition lawsuit brought by a competitor, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of the insurer’s motion for summary judgment in the insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit.
February 13, 2025
Car Dealership Software Company Accuses Competitor Of Hacking Its Data

SAN FRANCISCO — A developer of auto dealership management system (DMS) software filed a complaint against its competition in California federal court for allegedly hacking its proprietary data to gain a competitive advantage in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), while also moving to dismiss the competitor’s lawsuit in the same court accusing it of violating UCL and antitrust laws.
February 12, 2025
Precious Metals Company Data Breach Class Claims Dismissed By Plaintiff

DALLAS — A putative class action plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in Texas federal court of his lawsuit accusing a Texas-based precious metals refiner of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other consumer protection laws by failing to take cybersecurity measures to stop a data breach that allowed access to the personally identifiable information (PII) of himself and class members.
February 12, 2025
Fortra Data Breach MDL Judge OK’s 1 Settlement, Stays Case For Global Settlement

MIAMI — The Florida federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over a 2023 software app data breach granted final approval to the settlement of one of the MDL’s tracks on Feb. 11, while staying proceedings for the remaining parties while details of an announced global settlement are finalized.
July 22, 2024
Claims Trimmed From Remanded Crypto Wallet Data Breach Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A cryptocurrency wallet firm and two of its business partners saw their motions to dismiss a suit over a 2020 data breach partly granted, as a California federal judge found some claims to be preempted by a forum selection clause and others to be insufficiently pleaded.
February 12, 2025
Judge Dismisses Contractor, Allows Only UCL Claim In Crypto Wallet Data Breach Row

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a subcontractors’ motion to dismiss claims against it related to a crypto wallet data breach incident after finding the claims fall under a forum selection clause requiring exclusive jurisdiction in France despite it being a nonsignatory to the contract, but declined to dismiss the plaintiffs’ putative class claim accusing the French parent company of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
February 12, 2025
Final Attorney Fees Award Granted In Decade-Old Defective Flooring Class Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — More than four years after a class action settlement over defective bamboo flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators Inc. received final approval, a California federal judge granted a motion by class counsel for a final attorney fees award of $863,919.82, representing 25% of the value of store vouchers redeemed by class members in the last two years.
February 11, 2025
Gun Safe Defect Putative Class Claims Dismissed Without Prejudice

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a putative class action against a manufacturer of gun safes with biometric locks and a retailer that sold the products for allegedly violating California consumer protection laws by selling defective gun safes that on dozens of occasions were unlocked and allowed unauthorized access, in one incident leading to the death of a child.
February 07, 2025
Panel Affirms Dismissal Of Borrower’s UCL Suit For Denied Loan Modification

SAN DIEGO — A Fourth District California Court of Appeal Division I panel affirmed a trial court’s entry of judgment on the pleadings and summary judgment on a borrower’s claims that her loan servicer violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and California home loan laws and violated her privacy by sharing her loan modification information with a third party.
February 05, 2025
Privacy Suit Over Mental Health Site’s Data Sharing Mostly Survives Dismissal

PHOENIX — Two users of a mental health firm’s website adequately pleaded putative class claims for wiretapping, unfair competition and privacy over the site operator’s use of Meta Platforms Inc’s Pixel to collect and share users’ personal data, an Arizona federal judge ruled, mostly denying the operator’s dismissal motion.
February 05, 2025
9th Circuit Hears Oral Argument In Antitrust Dispute Over Google Play App Monopoly

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral argument in an antitrust dispute over a lower court’s entry of judgment in favor of Epic Games Inc. and issuance of an injunction, which among other things prohibits Google from requiring the use of Google Play Billing in apps distributed on Google Play Store.
February 04, 2025
Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Failed To Protect Patient Data And Nude Photos From Hackers

LOS ANGELES — Eight patients on Feb. 3 filed suit in California federal court accusing a plastic surgeon and his medical practice of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to protect their data or prevent a cyberattack by hackers who obtained data including nude photographs of patients, some of which the hackers have allegedly posted online.
February 04, 2025
Judge Orders Jurisdictional Inquiry In ‘Drip Pricing’ Suit Against Flower Company

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Feb. 3 ordered a jurisdictional inquiry in a putative class action lawsuit filed by a California resident who accuses an Illinois floral arrangement delivery company of engaging in the practice of “drip pricing,” specifically by allegedly adding a undisclosed “surprise fee” of $19.99 to customers’ orders at the last step of a complicated purchase process in violation of California consumer protection laws, including the unfair competition law (UCL).
February 03, 2025
Class Claims Over Trans Fats In Packaged Ramen Dismissed With Prejudice

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a consumer’s amended motion for class certification in her lawsuit accusing a packaged ramen maker of concealing the presence of trans fats in its products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and then dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice after finding the plaintiff had failed to resolve previously identified deficiencies in her class claims.
February 03, 2025
User Dismisses Class Suit Claiming LinkedIn Trained AI On Users’ Private Messages

SAN FRANCISCO — Less than two weeks after filing a putative class action in California federal court accusing LinkedIn of violating federal law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by accessing its premium users’ private messages to train artificial intelligence models without their consent, the plaintiff, a premium user of LinkedIn’s professional networking and social media site, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice.
January 30, 2025
Putative Class Suit Over Fish Oil Health Claims Dismissed With Prejudice

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling a fish oil product as beneficial to heart health, finding the claims preempted and concluding that the label statements at issue “are not capable of deceiving a reasonable consumer.”
January 27, 2025
Judge Grants Preliminary Approval To $7.5M ‘Virtual Diamonds’ Refund Settlement

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement of putative class claims brought against a mobile casino games developer by two players who accused the developer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and state gambling laws under which “Virtual Diamonds” worth a total of $7.5 million will be distributed to an estimated 1.2 million customers.
January 23, 2025
LinkedIn Used Private Messages To Train Generative AI, User Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A user of the professional networking and social media site LinkedIn filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing the company that operates the site of violating federal law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by accessing Premium users’ private messages to train artificial intelligence models without their consent.
January 23, 2025
Plaintiffs Seeks Damages From Apple For Selling Smartwatch Bands That Contain PFAS

SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs have filed a putative class action against Apple Inc. in California federal court contending that its smartwatch bands contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiffs argue constitutes fraudulent business practices because Apple “intentionally misrepresented and/or concealed material facts with the intent to deceive” customers.
January 23, 2025
Consumers’ Claims Over Lead In Stanley Tumblers Inadequately Pleaded, Judge Says

SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed putative class claims against the manufacturer of Stanley-brand drinkware for violating several states’ consumer protection laws, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL), by failing to disclose the presence of lead in its products, writing that the plaintiffs didn’t allege a “plausible risk” from lead’s “mere presence,” but granted the plaintiffs leave to amend.