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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • January 07, 2026

    California Federal Judge Dismisses Vaccine Case For Lack Of Standing

    LOS ANGELES — A woman who alleges that she was given an unsafe vaccine while pregnant saw her case dismissed by a federal judge in California, who ruled that her amended complaint failed to state a claim to establish standing.

  • January 07, 2026

    9th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Class Suit Challenging Variable Rate Credit Cards

    SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court properly dismissed a putative class complaint accusing a bank of violating the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by changing interest rates on outstanding balances on variable rate credit cards, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, holding that the increases and decreases fall within the CARD Act’s exception as they are based on the prime rate, a number that is out of the bank’s control.

  • January 06, 2026

    Tesla ‘Self-Driving’ Cars Suit Paused For 9th Circuit Interlocutory Appeal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 5 stayed a class action against Tesla Inc. and its affiliates for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting the capabilities of Tesla vehicles’ “self-driving” technology after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted the Tesla parties permission to file an interlocutory appeal of the court’s order granting the driver’s motion for class certification.

  • January 06, 2026

    Magistrate Judge Determines Settlement Amount In ‘Free Trial Scam’ Class Suit

    SAN DIEGO — A group of defendants referred to as the “Konnektive defendants” who are alleged to have provided software and other services used in a “free trial scam” will pay $2 million to settle consumers’ California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) claims following a bench trial and Jan. 5 determination by a California federal magistrate judge that the consumers failed to prove their CLRA claims “by a preponderance of the evidence”; the parties agreed to the trial in order to decide whether the settlement amount would be $2 million or $5 million.

  • January 05, 2026

    ChatGPT Reinforced Delusions, Led To Murder-Suicide, Man’s Estate Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — ChatGPT foreseeably reinforced a Connecticut man’s delusions that his 83-year-old mother orchestrated attempts on his life leading him to commit murder-suicide, the administrator of his estate claims in a suit alleging product liability, negligence and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • December 23, 2025

    Walmart Wins $623K Attorney Fee Sanction Against Plaintiff In Avocado Oil Case

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge awarded Walmart Inc. more than $623,000 in attorney fees against two attorneys as sanction for bringing a frivolous class action based on the plaintiff’s alleged in-store purchase of Walmart avocado oil, which after multiple rulings including a grant of class certification was revealed to have been made online and therefore was subject to a binding arbitration agreement.

  • December 22, 2025

    Class Claims Over Meta Portal’s Unfair Obsolescence Partly Dismissed By Judge

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part a motion to dismiss a putative class action claiming that the Meta Portal-brand devices were unfairly marketed to customers and later “bricked” by Meta and rendered “obsolete” when Meta removed major apps from the product, finding that the plaintiffs failed to plead most of their claims but allowing a claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) under the unfair prong to proceed.

  • December 19, 2025

    Settlement Of Capital One Affiliate Marketing Class Suit Gets Preliminary Approval

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia federal judge on Dec. 18 granted preliminary approval to a settlement on behalf of a nationwide class that accused Capital One Financial Corp. of violating consumer protection laws including California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by using a browser extension to misappropriate online influencers’ commissions from affiliate marketing links, with Capital One denying wrongdoing and the plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking nearly $4 million in fees.

  • December 18, 2025

    Dismissal Of Suit Against Walmart Alleging Benzene In Acne Products Recommended

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge has recommended that a California federal court grant a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by consumers who allege that they would not have purchased benzoyl peroxide (BPO) products from Walmart if they had been adequately warned about the presence of benzene.

  • December 17, 2025

    Energy Companies Sued In State Court Over Unplugged Wells In Los Angeles Oil Field

    LOS ANGELES — Citing an “unmitigated threat” to surrounding communities through the leak of toxic pollutants, Los Angeles County and the people of California filed a complaint in a state court against the operators of numerous unplugged oil and gas wells within the county’s Inglewood Oil Field (IOF), alleging violations of the state’s civil code and unfair competition law (UCL).

  • December 15, 2025

    Judge Issues $13K Sanction Against OnlyFans Plaintiffs’ Counsel For AI Usage

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Dec. 12 ordered plaintiffs’ attorneys to pay $13,000 for filing “AI-tainted” briefs in the court and denied their motion to withdraw and amend those briefs and in separate orders refused to reconsider the enforceability of OnlyFans’ forum selection clause and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against OnlyFans’ owners and content creators’ agencies for deceptively marketing “chats” to subscribers.

  • December 15, 2025

    Judge Won’t Transfer Class Suit Over Lead In Tampons To Ohio

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied a tampon manufacturer’s motion to transfer a putative class action lawsuit accusing it of concealing the presence of lead in its tampons in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) to federal court in Ohio, where similar claims have been brought against it, finding that transfer would not be convenient for the California-based plaintiffs.

  • December 12, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Contempt Finding In Apple Antitrust Dispute With Epic Games

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 11 affirmed in part a lower court’s ruling finding Apple in contempt of a court-ordered injunction to enjoin Apple Inc. from certain anticompetitive practices on its App Store but reversed in part civil contempt sanctions regarding restrictions on Apple’s ability to impose any commissions on purchases outside an app in an antitrust dispute with Epic Games Inc., finding that the lower court did not err in finding Apple in contempt.

  • December 12, 2025

    Judge Says Digital ‘Robux’ Are ‘Thing Of Value’ Under California Gambling Laws

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge said “old gambling provisions” need to be “clean[ed] up” but nonetheless found that they apply to “Robux,” the digital in-game currency used in the game Roblox, in an order denying a Robux-gambling website creator’s motion to dismiss claims brought against him by the parents on behalf of children “who gambled away their Robux on RBLXWild.”

  • December 12, 2025

    Judge Says Expert Can Opine On Damages In Dispute Over Michael Jordan Trademarks

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge ruled that an expert retained by a manufacturer of trading cards and other sports memorabilia can opine on the fair market value of a company’s alleged unauthorized use of Michael Jordan’s distinctive and valuable trademarks.

  • December 12, 2025

    Split 9th Circuit Panel Upholds Dismissal Of ‘Air Fried’ Chips Labeling Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld a trial court’s dismissal of a consumer’s putative class complaint alleging that potato chips’ “Air Fried” labeling is deceptive when the chips are only finished in an air fryer rather than fully cooked in an air fryer as the consumer failed “to plausibly allege that a reasonable consumer would be deceived into believing that the chips are not deep fried in oil.”

  • December 11, 2025

    Judge: Insurer Has Duty To Defend Cosmetics Company Against Consumer Fraud Suits

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California held that a commercial general liability insurer has a duty to defend its cosmetic company insured against three underlying putative class action lawsuits alleging that the insured deceptively sold beauty products by failing to disclose the dangerous risks and side effects of lash enhancement serums’ “key ingredient,” further concluding that the policy’s unfair competition exclusion does not bar coverage.

  • December 10, 2025

    Child Support Processors Appeal $7.6M Judgment For 50-Cent Customer Service Fees

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three companies that send child support payments to recipients filed a notice of appeal in California federal court on Dec. 9 stating they are appealing the court’s $7.6 million restitution award against them in favor of a certified class of child support recipients, who the court found were charged 50-cent service fees for making customer support phone calls in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • December 10, 2025

    Magistrate Judge Dismisses ‘Greenwashing’ Suit Against Sugarcane Grower

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge dismissed with leave to amend a putative class action against a sugarcane grower accused of using “greenwashing” to deceptively market its sugar as environmentally friendly when it is not in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding the plaintiff did not “adequately articulate” her theory of liability.

  • December 10, 2025

    ‘Ultra-Processed Food’ Makers Follow Big Tobacco’s Playbook, California Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — The city attorney of San Francisco, acting on behalf of California, filed a lawsuit in California state court accusing 11 of the nation’s largest food companies and 50 John Does of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and causing a public nuisance by deceptively marketing their “ultra-processed foods” (UPFs) while concealing their health risks in a manner similar to that of the tobacco companies that formerly owned three of the defendants.

  • December 09, 2025

    Appeal Over Consumer’s ‘Buttery Spread’ Class Claims Dismissed By 9th Circuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 entered an order dismissing a consumer’s appeal of the dismissal of her putative class action accusing a butter alternative maker of deceiving consumers by manufacturing a watery and oily product that allegedly led to consumer complaints regarding the sale of “rancid” products after the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal.

  • December 05, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms TRO Enjoining OpenAI From Use Of ‘IO’ Mark

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) that bars a company recently purchased by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI LLC from using marks that could potentially cause confusion with another technology company with a similarly pronounced name.

  • December 04, 2025

    California High Court Declines Review Of Ruling That Upheld Rehabilitation Plan

    SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court denied a petition for review filed by an insurer after a lower appellate court upheld a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan for a workers’ compensation insurance carrier approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator  to resolve dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • December 03, 2025

    U.K. Plaintiffs’ Restitution Claim For ‘Honey’ Discount Losses Dismissed

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge dismissed with leave to amend a putative class action filed by citizens of the United Kingdom against two companies that own and operate the “Honey” discount-finding browser extension, finding that the plaintiffs’ claim for monetary restitution under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) is actually a claim for damages and, therefore, not recoverable.

  • December 03, 2025

    Preliminary Injunction Left Intact In IP Row Over Game Emulation Software

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied video game emulation software developers’ motion to reconsider a decision to grant a video game publisher’s request for a preliminary injunction in a dispute over trademarks and copyrights related to the video game EverQuest, finding that the defendants “essentially argue the Court was wrong in its decision” without further evidence.