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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • January 21, 2025

    Medical Services Provider Accused Of Unlawfully ‘Annexing’ Sports Clinic

    LOS ANGELES — Two entities involved in operating a provider of sports medicine and orthopedic surgery and two affiliated doctors filed a complaint in California state court accusing a nonprofit medical services provider and its executives of unlawfully seeking to “absorb . . . and unlawfully control” the sports medicine providers in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), trademark dilution laws and other state laws prohibiting employment-related retaliation.

  • January 17, 2025

    Judge Tentatively OKs $7.5M ‘Virtual Diamonds’ Refund In Gambling App Settlement

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge at a Jan. 16 hearing presented his tentative ruling granting a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement between a mobile casino games developer and a putative class represented by two players who accused the developer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and state gambling laws, deeming “fair” the settlement, which is projected to require an in-game currency refund to players worth a total of $7.5 million, injunctive relief purportedly worth $163.2 million and attorney fees greater than $1.4 million.

  • January 16, 2025

    ‘ZzzQuil’ Maker Accused Of Misleading ‘Natural’ Marketing In Putative Class Suit

    SAN DIEGO — A consumer filed a putative class action against The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) in California federal court claiming that it misleadingly markets a sleep aid as providing benefits “naturally” in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) because it is actually made with “synthesized” artificial ingredients.

  • January 16, 2025

    Microsoft Browser Extension ‘Steals’ Affiliate Links For Profit, App Operator Says

    SEATTLE — An app operator and online content creator that earns funds from online marketing filed a putative class action complaint in Washington federal court against Microsoft Corp. contending that its in-browser shopping extension “systematically steals commission payments from their rightful owners,” writing that Microsoft knowingly takes affiliate links posted by marketers and redirects their expected profits to itself in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • January 16, 2025

    Gaming Company Urges 9th Circuit To Enforce Arbitration Agreement With Players

    SAN FRANCISCO — A gaming company and its co-founders on Jan. 15 filed an appellant brief to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals urging it to reverse a judge’s refusal to enforce its arbitration agreement with players who in a putative class suit say they were deceived into playing games advertised as offering live competition but which in fact involved gameplay against bots, writing that the judge misapplied standards of unconscionability and severability.

  • January 15, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Pro Se X User’s UCL Suit Over Account Suspension

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit against X Corp. asserting that his account was suspended in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after he criticized and messaged an adult content creator.

  • January 14, 2025

    High Court Urged To Find Federal Food Laws Preempt California Consumer Law Claims

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A baby food company filed a petition for a writ of certiorari urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling finding that putative class claims may be brought against it for violating California consumer protection laws by allegedly failing to comply with federal labeling rules, writing that the ruling conflicts with high court precedent and creates a circuit split.

  • January 14, 2025

    Walmart’s $5.2M Class Settlement Approved In Workers’ COVID-19 Screening Case

    FRESNO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted final approval of a $5.2 million class settlement to be paid by Walmart Inc. to end a case by workers who alleged that the retailer’s policy requiring nonexempt workers in that state to undergo a COVID-19 screening each shift without pay violated state and federal wage-and-hour laws, as well as California’s unfair competition law.

  • January 13, 2025

    Judge Amends Summary Judgment Order Over Insurer’s Liability Under Lost Policy

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge amended his previous order denying an insurer’s motion for summary judgment on a suit brought against it for breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by the successor-in-interest to a school that is being sued for a 1976 sexual assault of a student by a teacher, writing that the order conflated which policy was lost and which one the insurer conceded issuing.

  • January 13, 2025

    Comcast Loses Bid For High Court Review Of California Arbitration Rule

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a telecommunications services provider’s petition for a writ of certiorari in which it sought to challenge a California appellate court’s refusal to compel arbitration of a consumer’s claims for allegedly misleading consumers in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) pursuant to a state doctrine barring arbitration of claims for “public injunctive relief.”

  • January 13, 2025

    Certiorari Denied In Meta’s Advertising Fraud Damages Class Certification Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Meta Platforms Inc. seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming the certification of a damages class in a suit alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment related to Meta’s online advertising services.

  • January 13, 2025

    United States Weighs In As Musk Responds To Delaware’s Interest In OpenAI Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — In briefing on a pair of concurrent issues, Elon Musk told a federal judge in California that Delaware’s investigation into OpenAI Inc.’s corporate structuring is welcome, but its tardy entry into the fray and past conduct shows that it already dropped the regulatory ball and in any case cannot protect the plaintiffs’ interests, while the United States on Jan. 10 filed a statement expressing its interest in ensuring proper application of antitrust laws and related interpretation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • January 10, 2025

    Consumer’s Putative Class Suit For Audible Subscription Without Notice May Proceed

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge denied a motion by Amazon.com Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Audible Inc. to dismiss putative class claims alleging that they violated California consumer protection laws, including the state’s unfair competition law (UCL), by enrolling a consumer in an Audible subscription and charging her renewal fees, allegedly without notice.

  • January 09, 2025

    Content Creators Say PayPal Used ‘Honey’ Browser Extension To ‘Steal’ Profits

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Jan. 8 deferred ruling on an administrative motion to relate four putative class actions brought by influencers and content creators active on YouTube and Instagram who accuse PayPal Inc. of interfering with prospective economic relations and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by using a popular browser extension to redirect their profits from market affiliate links to itself.

  • January 08, 2025

    Borrower Sufficiently Alleges Lender Hurt Credit In Auto-Pay Dispute, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a lender’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by a borrower who contends the lender violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by filing a derogatory credit report against him for missing loan payments after transferring the loan without notifying the borrower that his automatic payments would no longer be processed.

  • January 08, 2025

    Decade-Long Amazon Wage-And-Hour MDL Dismissed After $11.1M Settlement Approved

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky dismissed with prejudice a multidistrict litigation accusing Amazon.com Inc. and related parties of failing to pay workers for time spent undergoing mandatory security screenings stating that all matters had been resolved; the order was filed a little over two weeks after an $11.1 million settlement between the online retailer and California workers was granted final approval.

  • January 08, 2025

    9th Circuit Won’t Rehear Consumer’s Deceptive Fruit Cup Labeling Claims

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A consumer’s petition for panel or en banc rehearing was denied Jan. 7 by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which declined to reconsider its earlier finding that the consumer failed to allege in her putative class complaint that a reasonable consumer would believe fruit cups contained only natural ingredients based on the products being labeled “fruit naturals.”

  • January 07, 2025

    Plaintiffs Can’t Add Amazon To Deceptive Beef Labeling Suit Against Whole Foods

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion by putative class plaintiffs to add Amazon.com and affiliates as co-defendants to their suit accusing Whole Foods and affiliates of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly falsely advertising beef products as “antibiotic-free,” finding that the request is untimely and would cause “undue prejudice.”

  • January 07, 2025

    Mother Accuses Roblox, Epic Of Addicting Son To Games For Profit

    LOS ANGELES — A minor video game player’s mother filed a products liability lawsuit accusing two video game developers of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by encouraging youth addiction to their video games to maximize profits, writing that the developers intentionally included addictive features in the games despite knowing they are primarily played by youth.

  • January 06, 2025

    Apple Settles ITunes Gift Card Scam Class Suit For $35 Million

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A $35 million settlement to be paid by Apple Inc. and Apple Value Services LLC (together, Apple) to end a class complaint alleging that the company knowingly participated in an iTunes gift card scam and kept stolen money for itself was granted final approval by a federal judge in California.

  • January 02, 2025

    Siri Users Seek Initial Approval Of $95 Million Eavesdropping Claims

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A proposed $95 million settlement with Apple Inc. over the purported unauthorized recording of private conversations of Apple device users by its digital assistant Siri represents “the product of more than five years of litigation and months of negotiations” and merits preliminary approval, a group of plaintiffs tells a California federal judge in a Dec. 31 motion, in which they call the agreement “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

  • December 26, 2024

    Judge Finds ‘Dream Kabobz’ Pet Food Label Not Misleading, Dismisses Class Suit

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge dismissed without leave to amend a consumer’s putative class complaint accusing a pet food maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misrepresenting its product as being made primarily of meat, writing that the product’s labels would not confuse a reasonable consumer.

  • December 23, 2024

    No ER Fee Disclosure Duty Created By Consumer Laws, California Supreme Court Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Dec. 23 ruled against a patient and in favor of health care providers by finding that beyond existing statutory and regulatory requirements, California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) do not impose an additional duty on providers to disclose emergency room fees to patients, resolving an issue on which a “split of authority” existed in California.

  • December 20, 2024

    Class Suit Over Cleaning Product’s Deceptive Label Adequately Pleaded, Judge Rules

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California federal judge denied a multipurpose cleaning product maker’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s complaint in which she accuses it of misrepresenting its one-gallon product as capable of producing “32 gallons” on the front label in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • December 19, 2024

    Judge Orders Class Notified In $18.2M Settlement Of Senior Home Understaffing Suit

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge ordered that notification be issued to more than 4,100 class members comprising family members of former and current residents of care facilities after the court granted final approval of an $18.2 million settlement with the facilities’ operator, including $10.5 million in attorney fees, for claims that residents were harmed by understaffing in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and elder financial abuse law.