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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • February 05, 2025

    9th Circuit Hears Oral Argument In Antitrust Dispute Over Google Play App Monopoly

    SAN FRANCISCO —  The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral argument in an antitrust dispute over a lower court’s entry of judgment in favor of Epic Games Inc. and issuance of an injunction, which among other things prohibits Google from requiring the use of Google Play Billing in apps distributed on Google Play Store.

  • February 04, 2025

    Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Failed To Protect Patient Data And Nude Photos From Hackers

    LOS ANGELES — Eight patients on Feb. 3 filed suit in California federal court accusing a plastic surgeon and his medical practice of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to protect their data or prevent a cyberattack by hackers who obtained data including nude photographs of patients, some of which the hackers have allegedly posted online.

  • February 04, 2025

    Judge Orders Jurisdictional Inquiry In ‘Drip Pricing’ Suit Against Flower Company

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Feb. 3 ordered a jurisdictional inquiry in a putative class action lawsuit filed by a California resident who accuses an Illinois floral arrangement delivery company of engaging in the practice of “drip pricing,” specifically by allegedly adding a undisclosed “surprise fee” of $19.99 to customers’ orders at the last step of a complicated purchase process in violation of California consumer protection laws, including the unfair competition law (UCL).

  • February 03, 2025

    Class Claims Over Trans Fats In Packaged Ramen Dismissed With Prejudice

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a consumer’s amended motion for class certification in her lawsuit accusing a packaged ramen maker of concealing the presence of trans fats in its products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and then dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice after finding the plaintiff had failed to resolve previously identified deficiencies in her class claims.

  • February 03, 2025

    User Dismisses Class Suit Claiming LinkedIn Trained AI On Users’ Private Messages

    SAN FRANCISCO — Less than two weeks after filing a putative class action in California federal court accusing LinkedIn of violating federal law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by accessing its premium users’ private messages to train artificial intelligence models without their consent, the plaintiff, a premium user of LinkedIn’s professional networking and social media site, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice.

  • January 30, 2025

    Putative Class Suit Over Fish Oil Health Claims Dismissed With Prejudice

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted a supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a consumer’s putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling a fish oil product as beneficial to heart health, finding the claims preempted and concluding that the label statements at issue “are not capable of deceiving a reasonable consumer.”

  • January 27, 2025

    Judge Grants Preliminary Approval To $7.5M ‘Virtual Diamonds’ Refund Settlement

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement of putative class claims brought against a mobile casino games developer by two players who accused the developer of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and state gambling laws under which “Virtual Diamonds” worth a total of $7.5 million will be distributed to an estimated 1.2 million customers.

  • January 23, 2025

    LinkedIn Used Private Messages To Train Generative AI, User Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A user of the professional networking and social media site LinkedIn filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing the company that operates the site of violating federal law and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by accessing Premium users’ private messages to train artificial intelligence models without their consent.

  • January 23, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seeks Damages From Apple For Selling Smartwatch Bands That Contain PFAS

    SAN FRANCISCO — Plaintiffs have filed a putative class action against Apple Inc. in California federal court contending that its smartwatch bands contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiffs argue constitutes fraudulent business practices because Apple “intentionally misrepresented and/or concealed material facts with the intent to deceive” customers.

  • January 23, 2025

    Consumers’ Claims Over Lead In Stanley Tumblers Inadequately Pleaded, Judge Says

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed putative class claims against the manufacturer of Stanley-brand drinkware for violating several states’ consumer protection laws, including California’s unfair competition law (UCL), by failing to disclose the presence of lead in its products, writing that the plaintiffs didn’t allege a “plausible risk” from lead’s “mere presence,” but granted the plaintiffs leave to amend.

  • 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.