Mealey's California Section 17200 : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's California Section 17200

October 11, 2023
Homeowners May Change Plaintiffs In Anchors Defect Case, Magistrate Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge on Oct. 10 granted a group of homeowners’ motion to file an amended complaint changing certain plaintiffs in their putative class action alleging that a manufacturer sold them defective home connectors and anchors, despite the manufacturer’s arguments that adding new plaintiffs and allegations about a new home will cause it to incur thousands of dollars in inspection and discovery-related costs.
October 11, 2023
Judge Dismisses UCL Claim, Allows Debt-Collection Claims In Mortgage Servicing Row

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss a suit brought against a mortgage lender, its affiliate and a servicer, finding that the borrower and a resident of the property at issue did not allege a loss of money as required by their claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) but brought valid debt collection claims for unfair practices pertaining to payment of a consumer debt during a COVID-19 forbearance period.
October 10, 2023
Citing Mudpie, 9th Circuit Affirms Virus Exclusion Bars Coverage For COVID-19 Losses

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage for their losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent governmental orders, finding that, as in Mudpie, Inc. v. Travelers Cas. Ins. Co. of Am., the insureds failed to plausibly assert that “the efficient cause” of their losses was anything other than the spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout California.
October 10, 2023
Judge Denies TRO Blocking Alleged Gambling App From Revising Terms To Moot Suit

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a putative class plaintiff’s application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop an app company, which the plaintiff accuses of operating an illegal sports gambling game in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), from revising its terms of use in a way that the plaintiff says would “retroactively” subject users to an arbitration agreement barring them from class membership.
October 10, 2023
Claims That IUD Increased Cancer Risks Partially Survive Motion To Dismiss

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A woman’s class claims that an intrauterine device is not suitable for birth control because it increases the risk of breast cancer in users partially survived a motion to dismiss, with a California federal judge refusing to consider the merits of the studies the woman cited at the pleading stage of the case.
October 10, 2023
Judge Dismisses UCL Suit Over ‘Healthy’ Claims On Gatorade Fit Drinks

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge granted PepsiCo. Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and of unjust enrichment by labeling its “Gatorade Fit” beverages as providing “Healthy Real Hydration” after finding that the plaintiff “does not adequately allege either claim.”
October 06, 2023
Judge Grants Final Approval To $10M Settlement In Roblox Digital Goods Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 5 granted final approval to a $10 million settlement to resolve putative class claims that will return more than half of “Robux” that 8 million users of the Roblox online video game lost when the game deleted in-game digital items the users had purchased, allegedly in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
October 05, 2023
Apple Appeals ‘Breathtakingly Broad’ Injunction In Epic App Store Antitrust Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a petition for certiorari filed one day after Epic Games Inc. filed its own petition in the same suit, Apple Inc. asks the U.S. Supreme Court to provide guidance on whether it is appropriate to issue a universal injunction that provides relief to all affected nonparties when there has been no class certification.
October 05, 2023
Nissan Carbon Monoxide Case Dismissed By Parties After Settlement Notice

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The parties in a lawsuit in a federal court in California accusing Nissan North America Inc. of selling vehicles that permit carbon monoxide to enter the passenger compartments filed a stipulation for dismissal with prejudice two months after filing a notice of settlement.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).