Mealey's California Section 17200
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October 04, 2023
Judge Rejects ‘Slack-Fill’ Claims Against Deodorant Maker
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge addressing an issue of first impression found that a California law that labels opaque product containers “misleading” if they contain “nonfunctional slack fill” is preempted by federal law and granted summary judgment to a deodorant maker on putative class action claims of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws.
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October 03, 2023
Judge Compels Arbitration Of Misleading ‘Self-Driving’ Claims Against Tesla
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Tesla Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration against four of five putative class action plaintiffs who accused it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting the capabilities of its vehicles’ “self-driving” technology, found the fifth plaintiff’s claims time-barred and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and provisional class certification.
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September 29, 2023
Copyright Holders Opposing Dismissal Say AI Companies Want To ‘Rewrite’ Law
SAN FRANCISCO — A group of copyright holders including comedian Sarah Silverman filed a brief opposing OpenAI Inc. and affiliated companies’ motion to dismiss their putative class action for copyright infringement, urging the court to reject OpenAI’s “misleading and self-serving reframing of the U.S. Copyright Act” and contending that its use of their works to train its ChatGPT AI program infringed on their copyrights.
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September 29, 2023
Sony Waives Response To Petition Over Trademark Rights In Celebrity Personas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. opted against responding to a petition for certiorari in which the executor of a deceased actor’s estate asks the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a celebrity owns trademark rights in his or her persona under the Lanham Act.
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September 28, 2023
Trial Pushed To January After Settlement Notice Filed In Classification Case
SAN FRANCISCO — In a Sept. 27 docket entry following a status conference, the October 2023 trial date in a cleaning service franchisee classification class dispute was vacated with a note that it will be reset in January 2024 after the franchisor filed a notice that the parties reached a settlement agreement that will provide up to $30 million.
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September 28, 2023
Proposed Settlement Of Ring Privacy Lawsuit Provides Only Injunctive Relief
LOS ANGELES — The five remaining named plaintiffs in a putative privacy class action against Ring LLC filed a motion in California federal court seeking preliminary approval of an injunctive-relief-only settlement of contractual, negligence and unfair competition claims related to incidents of eavesdropping and data sharing in connection with Ring’s security camera products.
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September 27, 2023
Air Purifiers’ False Germ-Killing Claims Preyed On COVID Fears, Plaintiffs Say
SAN FRANCISCO — A group of consumers in a new putative class action filed in California federal court assert that two manufacturers of air purifiers “prey on consumers’ fears” of germs and during the COVID-19 pandemic misrepresented their products as capable of killing airborne pathogens, allegedly in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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September 27, 2023
Chipmaker Wins Summary Judgment On Class MDL Claims For ‘Exclusive Dealing’
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Sept. 26 granted summary judgment sought by a modem chipmaker on putative class claims against it brought by plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation who accused it of exclusive dealing to two original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege an actual antitrust injury and failed to plead a violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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September 27, 2023
Provider’s Distinct Injuries Permit 2nd Suit Against Insurer, Court Says
LOS ANGELES — Because a medical provider’s second lawsuit seeking compensation from an insurer involves different claims and injuries arising from distinct time periods, it does not constitute impermissible claim splitting, and a trial court erred in imposing sanctions for filing it, a California appeals court said Sept. 26 in reviving California unfair competition law (UCL) and other causes of action.
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September 27, 2023
Decongestant Makers, Retailers Face Class Claims For Selling Ineffective Products
SAN FRANCISCO — Two new putative class lawsuits filed in California federal court accuse multiple defendants of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by selling decongestant products to millions of consumers that contained an active ingredient that a Food Drug and Administration advisory panel recently agreed is not effective as advertised
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September 26, 2023
Hearing Scheduled After Settlement Notice Filed In Franchisor Classification Case
SAN FRANCISCO — A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 27 in a cleaning service franchisee classification class dispute after the franchisor filed a notice that the parties reached a settlement agreement that will provide up to $30 million; the federal judge in California stated in the order that the status of the settlement and whether to vacate the October trial date will be considered at the hearing.
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September 25, 2023
Judge Relates Authors’ AI Suits Against Meta For Copyright Infringement
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Sept. 22 brought a putative class action against Meta Platforms Inc. for copyright infringement in its training of its artificial intelligence software filed by authors including Michael Chabon into the docket of a similar suit filed by a group of writers including comedian Sarah Silverman, who had moved to relate the cases.
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September 22, 2023
Judge Certifies Classes Of Smokers Deceived By American Spirits ‘Natural’ Claims
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico federal judge published the redacted version of his opinion granting in part a motion to certify a class of smokers accusing three tobacco companies of mislabeling American Spirit-brand cigarettes as “natural” and “additive-free,” shortly after three tobacco companies petitioned the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for permission to challenge the certification order, which was previously issued to the parties under seal.
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September 22, 2023
AI Health Care Company Seeks To Defend Common-Law Trademark
SAN FRANCISCO — A company’s registration of an already-in-use trademark and its intention to use the mark going forward sow confusion and tie the name’s existing goodwill to a disreputable entrepreneur in violation of the California unfair competition law (UCL), among others, a company hoping to use artificial intelligence in the medical education space says in a complaint.
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September 21, 2023
Sarah Silverman Seeks To Relate AI Suit Against Meta With Michael Chabon’s
SAN FRANCISCO — A group of writers including comedian Sarah Silverman moved in California federal court to relate their putative class action against Meta Platforms Inc. for copyright infringement in its training of its artificial intelligence software with a similar suit filed by authors including Michael Chabon, one day after Meta moved to dismiss the litigation involving Silverman.
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September 20, 2023
Plaintiffs Dismiss Suit Challenging AI Chatbot Privacy Practices
SAN FRANCISCO — After warning that the release of artificial intelligence was done with “disregard for the potentially catastrophic risk to humanity,” 16 anonymous plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their complaint claiming that Microsoft Corp. and others violated federal privacy laws and state consumer protection laws, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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September 18, 2023
9th Circuit Vacates Dismissal Of UCL Suit Against Nestle For ‘White Morsels’
SAN FRANCISCO — Citing new state law precedent involving a similar lawsuit, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a California federal judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit in which purchasers of Nestlé’s “Toll House Premier White Morsels” accused the company of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misleading them into believing the product is made of white chocolate.
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September 18, 2023
9th Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of Suit Over ‘Wet Ones’ Germ-Killing Claims
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a consumer’s lawsuit claiming that a sanitary wipe product maker violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by falsely claiming that its product “Kills 99.99% of Germs,” finding that the court misconstrued the reasonable consumer standard.
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September 18, 2023
Judge Says Plaintiff Suing Supplement Maker Failed To Plead Caloric Mislabeling
SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge granted a supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misrepresenting its products as containing zero calories after finding that the plaintiff failed to establish its methodology for testing the product’s caloric content.
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September 18, 2023
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Suit Against Apple For IDevices’ Defects, Slowdown
SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals split panel affirmed a federal judge’s dismissal for failure to state a claim a putative class suit claiming that Apple Inc. violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by concealing the fact that its software updates to fix security defects in iPhones, iPods, iPads and Apple TVs (collectively, iDevices) significantly slowed their performance.
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September 15, 2023
California High Court Won’t Review UCL Mental Health Coverage Ruling
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court denied a petition for review after a lower court published its opinion finding that two insureds adequately alleged standing under the California unfair competition law (UCL) and that the way the insurer handles mental health care results in shortages of that care.
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September 14, 2023
Judge Dismisses Class Suit Accusing Herb, Spice Maker Of Concealing Heavy Metals
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Sept. 13 granted an herb and spice maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state consumer protection laws by failing to disclose the presence of heavy metals in products as was discovered during independent testing by Consumer Reports.
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September 14, 2023
Brita Water Filters Fail To Remove PFAS, Plaintiff Claims In Putative Class Suit
LOS ANGELES — A consumer filed a putative class action in California state court accusing a water filter maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state consumer protection laws by allegedly misrepresenting its products’ abilities to purify water when the products in fact do not remove contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
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September 13, 2023
Company Denies UCL Liability For ‘Incidental Presence’ Of PFAS In Smoothie Drinks
SAN DIEGO — A beverage maker on Sept. 12 moved in California federal court to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by concealing the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in its fruit juice smoothie products, writing that the plaintiffs lack standing as they do not allege that it intentionally added PFAS to the products or that it intentionally deceived consumers.
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September 13, 2023
Award-Winning Writers Sue AI Developers For Unfairly Using Copyrighted Books
SAN FRANCISCO — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, his wife and fellow author Ayelet Waldman and three other writers on Sept. 12 filed a putative class action in California federal court against Meta Platforms Inc. accusing it of copyright infringement and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by integrating their copyrighted written works into a dataset it uses to train artificial intelligence software, days after they sued OpenAI for similar conduct.