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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • October 15, 2025

    Online Merchant Gets More Time To Oppose Rehearing Of 9th Circuit Remand Ruling

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted an extension to an online collectibles seller for more time to oppose a petition filed by a consumer seeking rehearing of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that district courts may remand cases to state court for lack of equitable jurisdiction to avoid a “perpetual removal-dismissal loop” only after courts give defendants an opportunity to keep the case in federal court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Plaintiff Must Provide Discovery Showing Audible Subscription Was Unwanted

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Oct. 14 granted a motion by Amazon.com Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Audible Inc. to compel responses by a putative class action plaintiff to interrogatories supporting “her central legal theory” that the defendants violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by enrolling her in an Audible subscription and charging renewal fees without consent.

  • October 15, 2025

    Class Complaint Alleges Popular Running Shoes Come With Unwanted Squeak

    PORTLAND, Ore. — Running shoes that cost nearly $200 per pair are defective as technology intended to provide cushioned support causes “a noisy and embarrassing squeak with each and every step,” two consumers allege in a putative class complaint filed in a federal court in Oregon.

  • October 14, 2025

    Microsoft Accused Of Harming Competition With OpenAI Partnership

    SAN FRANCISCO — A group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers on Oct. 13 filed a putative class action in California federal court against Microsoft Corp., seeking treble damages and injunctive relief — including “the divestiture or segregation of Microsoft’s Generative AI” business — based on allegations that Microsoft limited OpenAI’s access to computational power and drove up ChatGPT prices while promoting its own chatbot in competition with OpenAI.

  • October 13, 2025

    Supplement Labeling Suit Preempted By Federal Law, 9th Circuit Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit accusing a dietary supplement maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after finding the suit preempted because it is based on alleged violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), while a concurring judge questioned if circuit court precedents on such claims can be reconciled.

  • October 13, 2025

    Los Angeles’ Biggest Vape Seller Will Pay $350K To Settle Suit For Selling Flavors

    LOS ANGELES — A California state judge entered a consent judgment resolving an action brought by the Los Angeles city attorney against a business owner and his two tobacco retail businesses, collectively described as “the largest exclusive tobacco retailer” in Los Angeles, with the defendants agreeing to pay $350,000 to resolve claims they violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by selling flavored e-cigarette products in violation of a statewide ban on flavored tobacco.

  • October 10, 2025

    9th Circuit Tosses Appeal As Lacking Jurisdiction In Anti-SLAPP Online Review Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — An en banc Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 9 dismissed for lack of jurisdiction an interlocutory appeal by a digital marketing agency and its owner of a lower court order denying a motion to strike under the California anti-SLAPP statute related to counterclaims for defamation and libel for online reviews in a suit alleging violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to a dispute over parking spaces, finding no jurisdiction because the order denying the motion to strike was not a final appealable order.

  • October 10, 2025

    Past Settlement Of Kombucha Mislabeling Suit Dooms New Class Claims, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed four plaintiffs with prejudice from their class action accusing a kombucha maker of misleading consumers as to its beverage’s alcohol and sugar content in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) because they are members of a class that previously won a settlement against the same defendant for similar claims, but allowed putative class claims by other plaintiffs who didn’t start drinking kombucha until after the previous settlement.

  • October 09, 2025

    Man Files Class Action, Alleges Sleeping Supplement Contained Addictive Sedative

    ATLANTA — A recovering addict who unknowingly consumed a psychoactive sedative while taking a dietary supplement for sleep has filed a putative class action in a Georgia federal court, alleging that the label failed to list the sedative, which is banned in the United States; he also seeks to represent a subclass of California consumers alleging violation of the state’s unfair competition law (UCL) (Jason McCool v. Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 25-5668, N.D. Ga.).

  • October 07, 2025

    U.S. Supreme Court Denies Google Stay Request In Epic Games Antitrust Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — For an application presented to Justice Elena Kagan that she referred to the court, the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 denied Google LLC and related entities’ request for a partial stay of a permanent injunction that Google says “completely” overhauls its app store, the Google Play Store (Play), pending disposition of Google’s petition for a writ of certiorari 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.

  • October 06, 2025

    High Court Won’t Review California Bar Of Arbitration In Coinbase Hacking Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 denied cryptocurrency exchange operators’ petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a California state court ruling barring enforcement of its arbitration agreement with customers because the customers seek public injunctive relief under California’s unfair competition law (UCL), which the crypto company claimed undermined the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

  • October 03, 2025

    Split Panel Says California Interest Law Not Preempted After High Court Vacatur

    SAN FRANCISCO — A split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 2 said that it cannot overrule its own precedent holding that the National Bank Act (NBA) does not preempt a California state law requiring a minimum 2% interest on certain mortgage escrow accounts and affirmed a more than $9 million judgment in favor of a class of borrowers, while a dissenting judge said the precedent at issue was “‘effectively overruled’” by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • October 02, 2025

    N.Y. Plaintiffs Dismissed From False Discount Pricing Suit Against Ralph Lauren

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted in part two clothing companies’ motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against them for deceptively advertising their products with false discounts, finding that state law claims on behalf of New York consumers were inadequately pleaded but denying the motion as to claims on behalf of Oregon and California consumers, including for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • October 02, 2025

    $2M Settlement Of California Federal Wage-And-Hour Class Action Gets Final OK

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted final approval to a $2 million class action settlement to resolve long-running claims that the owners of facilities that supply forage products violated the California Labor Code and the California unfair competition law (UCL) by, among other things, failing to pay nonexempt employees minimum and overtime wages and failing to comply with rest and meal period requirements.

  • September 30, 2025

    $49.25M Settlement OK’d In College Baseball Coaches’ Conspiracy To Deny Pay Suit

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $49.25 million settlement for a class of college “volunteer” baseball coaches who accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its member schools of conspiring to ensure they were paid nothing for what they said were full-time jobs.

  • September 30, 2025

    Bench Trial Set To Determine Settlement Amount In ‘Free Trial Scam’ Class Suit

    SAN DIEGO — A federal magistrate judge in California determined that a bench trial will commence on Oct. 20 to determine the amount of a class settlement between consumers and a group of defendants referred to as the “Konnektive defendants” alleged to have provided software and other services used in a “free trial scam.”

  • September 29, 2025

    Judge Partly Dismisses Trafficking Victim’s Suit Against PornHub Owners, Visa

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Sept. 26 issued two rulings, partly granting a motion to dismiss filed by owners and operators of pornography website PornHub and a separate motion to dismiss filed by Visa Inc., which processes payments for PornHub, both of which were accused of violating sex-trafficking laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by monetizing child sex abuse material (CSAM) made of the plaintiff while she was a minor.

  • September 29, 2025

    Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Class Claims Against Protein Shake Makers

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge, after a hearing, denied a motion to dismiss a consumer’s putative class action lawsuit accusing a protein shake maker and its parent company of misrepresenting the amounts of protein, sugar and carbohydrates in their protein shakes in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that defense arguments about products the consumer did not purchase can be addressed at the class certification stage.

  • September 29, 2025

    Justice Kagan Seeks Response To Google Stay Request In Epic Games Antitrust Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Sept. 26 requested a response to an application filed by Google LLC and related entities seeking a partial stay of a permanent injunction that Google says “completely” overhauls its app store, the Google Play Store (Play), pending disposition of Google’s petition for a writ of certiorari 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.

  • September 26, 2025

    Consumers’ Attorney Fees Theory Doesn’t Create Jurisdiction, 9th Circuit Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — Writing that consumers would need to incur $4.3 billion in attorney fees to meet the jurisdictional amount in controversy requirement, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a lower court’s dismissal on the merits of the consumers’ putative class action against the maker of Kleenex-brand “Wet Wipes” for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and on remand directed dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

  • September 26, 2025

    OnlyFans Defendant Says Hagens Berman Downplays AI Briefing Errors

    LOS ANGELES — Website company Elite Creators LLC urged a federal judge to impose strict sanctions for Hagens Berman’s use of artificial intelligence in a California unfair competition law and false advertising class action related to OnlyFans, saying the plaintiffs’ response to an order to show cause downplays the scope and impact of the errors.

  • September 25, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Recommends Partly Dismissing Deceptive Toddler Drink Label Suit

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge recommended granting in part and denying in part a toddler drink maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class lawsuit accusing it of deceptively labeling and marketing a toddler drink by using nutrient content claims that are prohibited for children under the age of 2 by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.

  • September 22, 2025

    Minors Sue Disney Over Data Collection On Videos For Children

    LOS ANGELES — Three minors filed a putative class action in California state court accusing two Disney companies of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to designate certain YouTube videos as “for kids” and collecting information about those viewers, which was also the subject of a recent $10 million settlement by Disney with the Federal Trade Commission.

  • September 19, 2025

    Final Approval Given To $20 Million Global Settlement Of Fortra Data Breach MDL

    MIAMI — Five months after a Florida federal judge preliminarily approved a $20 million global settlement of a multidistrict litigation over a 2023 data breach experienced by users of a file-transfer program, he granted final approval to the settlement, thus resolving all remaining claims against software firm Fortra LLC, its customers and their clients by class members who claim that their personally identifiable information (PII) was compromised in the cyberattack.

  • September 19, 2025

    PornHub Investors, Hedge Fund Lenders Dismissed From Woman’s Trafficking Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge in two orders dismissed with prejudice claims brought against hedge funds that lent money to MindGeek S.a.r.l., the company that owns and operates pornography website Pornhub, and claims against former partial owners of MindGeek, in a lawsuit brought by a woman accusing MindGeek and its affiliates of violating sex-trafficking laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by monetizing child sex abuse material (CSAM) that was made while she was a minor.