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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • June 30, 2025

    Amicus Tells High Court California Bar On Arbitration Must Not ‘Fester’ Longer

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A retail industry association on June 27 filed an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a cryptocurrency exchange’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a California state court ruling barring enforcement of its arbitration agreement with customers, arguing that the state court undermined federal law by treating claims for public injunctive relief under California state law as inarbitrable.

  • June 27, 2025

    California Judge Denies Insured’s Motion For Summary Adjudication As To UCL Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted an insured’s motion for summary adjudication as to his declaratory relief claim in a lawsuit alleging that the California Fair Plan Association (CFP) issued property insurance policies with fire coverage that is unlawfully restrictive as to smoke damage claims but denied the insured’s motion as to his unfair competition law (UCL) claim, finding that he failed to satisfy his burden to establish standing to bring the UCL claim.

  • June 25, 2025

    Widower Can Replace Dead Wife In Google Gift Card Scam Suit, Judge Says

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a dead plaintiff’s widower’s motion for leave to substitute himself as plaintiff, add new plaintiffs and amend the dead wife’s putative class action against Google LLC and affiliates for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect customers from Google Play gift card scammers.

  • June 24, 2025

    9th Circuit Revives Antitrust Counterclaims In Real Estate IP Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO —A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 23 found that a California federal judge wrongly dismissed antitrust counterclaims brought by a real estate entity in response to copyright claims filed by another real estate entity that says it misappropriated photos; the panel held that the defendant-appellant adequately established that the plaintiff-appellee engaged in anticompetitive practices for the purposes of surviving dismissal.

  • June 24, 2025

    Plaintiffs In Shrinking Crocs Suit Can Amend Claims, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part Crocs Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of misrepresenting its Crocs-brand shoes as resistant to weather, finding that the claims were sufficiently pleaded in part and that the court’s denial of class certification in a separate suit involving similar claims against Crocs does not bar the present plaintiffs from seeking certification.

  • June 23, 2025

    VPPA, UCL Claims Against Online Video Retailers Must Be Arbitrated, Judge Rules

    SAN FRANCISCO — Determining that attempts to settle and dismiss putative class claims against online retailers under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) did not contradict an intent to arbitrate under a totality of the circumstances, a California federal judge granted the defendants’ motion to stay and to compel arbitration.

  • June 19, 2025

    Attorney Fees, Costs Awarded In Acura Bluetooth Settlement As Honda Appeals

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California issued final approval order and judgment after a settlement was reached between consumers in four states and American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in a class case alleging defective HandsFreeLink (HFL) Bluetooth systems in certain Acura vehicles that cause excessive electric drain, approving more than $9.5 million in attorney fees and costs while the total value of claims is estimated to be less than $540,000.

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Allows Claims That Apple Unfairly Blocked ICloud Competitors

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by consumers accusing it of monopolization for unfairly barring users of Apple devices from using competitive cloud storage services in violation of the federal Sherman Act and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • June 17, 2025

    $5.25 Million Settlement Approved In Recruiter Misclassification Class Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $5.25 million nonreversionary class settlement in a lawsuit alleging systemic misclassification of recruiters as exempt employees and granted in part a motion for attorney fees, costs and a service award.

  • June 16, 2025

    Judge Remands Suit Over Styrofoam Company’s Deceptive Recycling Claims

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge on June 13 sua sponte remanded a putative class action suit against a cup maker for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting its products as recyclable, finding that the suit was improperly removed and the defendant did not prove the amount in controversy satisfied the requirements for federal jurisdiction.

  • June 16, 2025

    Defective Vision Vitamins Suit Dismissed Due To Improper Claim-Splitting

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge dismissed with prejudice a woman’s putative class action accusing a supplement maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to warn her that its supplement to benefit her vision contained excessive zinc, finding that because the plaintiff previously filed an individual personal injury suit over the same injury, her putative class suit represented improper claim-splitting.

  • June 13, 2025

    Judge Orders Electronics Company To Pay $33M For Faking Online Reviews

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on June 12 granted a motion for default judgment filed by a plaintiff representing a certified class of consumers who claim that they were deceived by a Chinese manufacturer-owned company’s practice of faking reviews on Amazon.com to sell shoddy electronics in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and ordered it to pay nearly $33 million in disgorgement.

  • June 13, 2025

    Video Game Fans Dismiss Suit Challenging Termination Of Online Racing Game

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Three plaintiffs on June 12 filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in California federal court of their putative class action claims against a video game developer for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by shutting down an online racing game, which they said was deceptive and unfairly deprived them of access to the game.

  • June 13, 2025

    9th Circuit Agrees ‘WallStreetBets’ Creator’s Trademark, UCL Claims Fail

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s dismissal of a trademark and unfair competition suit against Reddit Inc. by the founder of the “WallStreetBets” message board that was the center of the ballooning of GameStop Corp.’s share value in 2021; the panel said the board’s founder failed to show that he used the name “WallStreetBets” as a mark in commerce.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judge Refuses Remand Of California Suit Over Insulin Pricing

    CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the pricing of insulin denied the state of California’s renewed motion to remand its claims against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by unfairly setting insulin prices, finding that removal to federal court was proper despite the state’s disclaimers releasing any interest in recovery under federal law.

  • June 11, 2025

    Conservative Social Media User’s Suit Over ‘Political’ Ban From Sites Dismissed

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge on June 10 dismissed with prejudice a conservative activist’s lawsuit against social media companies Meta Platforms Inc. and X Corp. Inc. for banning her accounts on their platforms based on what she contended were constitutionally protected political statements, finding that the platforms as publishers are immune from her claims for violation of her free speech rights and of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • June 11, 2025

    Judge Allows Claims Over Deceptive Labeling Of ‘Hypoallergenic’ Baby Products

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge issued two rulings declining to dismiss most claims brought in two separate putative class actions accusing Walmart Inc. and Unilever of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misleadingly labeling baby petroleum jelly products for skin conditions such as diaper rash as “hypoallergenic” when the products in fact contain fragrance-related ingredients that can cause contact dermatitis.

  • June 10, 2025

    Magistrate Approves $7.25M Settlement Of Patreon Privacy Violation Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge granted a motion for final approval of a $7.25 million settlement to resolve claims that Patreon Inc. illegally shared its users’ video-viewing data with social media company Meta Platforms Inc., including more than $2.1 million in attorney fees, and rejected as invalid more than 900 opt-outs filed on behalf of class members by a third-party “recovery company.”

  • June 09, 2025

    Reddit: Anthropic Copied User Data For AI Training Without Permission

    SAN FRANCISCO — While billing itself as the ethical artificial intelligence company, Anthropic PBC trains its large language model on Reddit Inc. users’ data without consent and in violation of specific directives not to use the data, the social media company alleges in a complaint in California state court for breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law.

  • June 05, 2025

    9th Circuit Denies Apple’s Bid To Stay Injunction In App Dispute With Epic Games

    SAN FRANCISCO — In a two-page order issued June 4, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a motion filed by Apple Inc. to stay an injunction pending appeal in an antitrust dispute with Epic Games Inc. over a lower court ruling that requires Apple to permit app developers to inform users of methods for making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the company’s App Store.

  • June 04, 2025

    Football Players Appeal Order Striking Suit Against Netflix Over Documentary

    LOS ANGELES — A group of former college football players who were featured in a Netflix Inc. documentary but did not receive any compensation have filed a notice of appeal in the Los Angeles County Superior Court after a judge granted an anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) motion filed by Netflix and affiliates dismissing the players’ suit for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.

  • May 30, 2025

    Amici Urge Review Of 9th Circuit Affirmance Of Dismissal Of Suit Against Meta

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amici curiae filed briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court urging review of a petition filed by a man seeking certiorari for a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming dismissal of his complaint and claims that Facebook Inc. (now Meta Platforms Inc.) destroyed his social network pages and his related business income by removing posts that purportedly violated its community standards.

  • May 29, 2025

    E-Cig Maker Accused Of Deceiving Vapers With ‘Greenwashing’ Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — Three e-cigarette users filed a putative class complaint on May 28 against R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJRV) and its affiliates, accusing them of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting their e-cigarette products to consumers as “carbon-neutral” to boost sales as part of an allegedly deceptive “greenwashing” campaign.

  • May 29, 2025

    Judge Dismisses ‘Flamin’ Hot’ Cheetos Inventor’s Defamation, Discrimination Claims

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on May 28 granted PepsiCo Inc. and Frito-Lay Inc.’s motions to strike and to dismiss a lawsuit brought against them by a former executive who says he invented the “Flamin’ Hot” variety of Cheetos snacks and claimed that the company defamed him and cost him the opportunity to be featured in a documentary by casting doubt on his inventorship claims.

  • May 28, 2025

    Fortnite Developer Seeks To Compel Arbitration Of Youth’s ‘FOMO’ Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Epic Games Inc., the developer of “Fortnite,” on May 27 filed a motion in California federal court seeking to compel arbitration of a minor’s putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by using “deceptive countdown timers” and minors’ “fear of missing out” (FOMO) to incentivize their purchases of in-game items.