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

Mealey's California Section 17200

October 11, 2024
Altman Fires Back At Musk In Suit Over OpenAI’s Purpose

SAN FRANCISCO — Calling California unfair competition law (UCL) and various other claims “preposterous,” “hyperbolic” and “incoherent” and just the latest step in an “increasingly blusterous” harassment campaign, Samuel Altman and related OpenAI entities and directors fired back at a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk, asking a federal judge in California to dismiss the case.
October 10, 2024
Judge Dismisses PFAS Diaper Class Action, Says Allegations Not Plausibly Alleged

NEW YORK— A federal judge in New York has dismissed a putative class action lawsuit brought by a woman who contended that the maker of diapers falsely advertised that its product was free from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which the plaintiff said induced her to spend more money on the diapers. The judge held that the complaint failed to plausibly allege that the diapers were mislabeled.
October 10, 2024
‘AI’ Isn’t License To Copy Creative Human Works, Thomson Reuters Says

WILMINGTON, Del. — After prevailing on California unfair competition law (UCL) antitrust counterclaims in a federal court in Delaware, a news company argues in a pair of briefs in support of summary judgment that the evidence is clear that a company knowingly copied large quantities of unique and creative copyrighted data to train its artificial intelligence and cannot claim the conduct falls under fair use or innocent infringer protections.
October 10, 2024
Judge Remands California Labeling Suit Against Kroger, Awards Attorney Fees

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Oct. 9 remanded a lawsuit brought by two California county district attorneys against Kroger Co. for allegedly violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL) by misrepresenting caloric content on certain products and awarded the plaintiffs attorney fees after finding that Kroger “lacked an objectively reasonable basis for seeking removal.”
October 10, 2024
Judge Largely Denies Bid To Seal Order Certifying Class In Gun Barrel Defect Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a motion to seal his recent order certifying a class action accusing the manufacturers of Glock handguns of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to warn consumers of an alleged barrel defect, agreeing to seal one sentence but finding that the other disputed information in the ruling was already “discussed in the public hearing.”
October 10, 2024
Wiretap, Privacy Claims Over TikTok’s In-App Browser Largely Survive Dismissal

CHICAGO — Mostly denying a motion to dismiss by TikTok Inc., an Illinois federal judge found that most of the claims over the purported collection of personally identifiable information (PII) by the company’s in-app browser (IAB) were sufficiently pleaded by the named plaintiffs at this stage of a multidistrict litigation against the social media firm.
October 10, 2024
Grocery Stores Agree To Pay Nearly $4M To California For Overcharging Customers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — A California state court entered final judgment and a permanent injunction against three grocery store chains that agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle claims brought against them by the state for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL) for “scanner violations,” in which a store charges customers higher prices at checkout than the store’s lowest advertised prices.
October 10, 2024
9th Circuit Unseals Driver’s Brief Challenging GEICO’s ‘Unfair’ COVID-19 Rebates

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unsealed a brief filed by a driver appealing a federal judge’s grant of summary judgment on her class action claim for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) to GEICO for allegedly unfairly retaining an estimated $238 million in additional premium relief the driver says it owed insureds after the COVID-19 pandemic.
October 10, 2024
Meta Asks High Court To Review Class Certification Ruling In Advertising Fraud Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Meta Platforms Inc. filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, 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, asserting that review is necessary because “the Ninth Circuit applied a one-sided deference regime that stacks the deck in favor of class certification, in conflict with all other circuits” except the Second Circuit.
October 09, 2024
California Brings Consumer Protection Suit Against TikTok For Harming Youth

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The California Attorney General’s Office on Oct. 8 filed a lawsuit in state court accusing the owners and operators of the TikTok social media app of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL) by intentionally targeting children, including those younger than 13, with addictive features and illegally collecting their data. Similar consumer protection suits were recently filed in more than a dozen other states.
October 08, 2024
3-Year Injunction Issued Against Google In Antitrust Dispute With Epic Games

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 7 issued a three-year permanent injunction against Google 10 months after a jury entered a verdict in favor or Epic Games Inc. in its antitrust dispute with Google LLC over the Android app market and the Google Play Store, finding that “[r]equiring Google to allow other app stores to be distributed through the Play Store for a discrete period is a modest step to correct the consequence of unlawfully preventing rival stores from reaching users and developers.”
October 07, 2024
U.S. High Court Won’t Weigh In On Class Arbitration, Severing Claims Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 declined to answer questions presented in a petition by the operator of household rental stores that concern a court’s right to refuse to sever and compel arbitration of individual portions of a claim.
October 07, 2024
High Court Denies Uber, Lyft Challenges To California Wage Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied separate petitions for writs of certiorari filed by Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., in which they challenged rulings from a California appellate court affirming the denial of their attempt to compel arbitration of state officials’ lawsuits against them for allegedly misclassifying drivers in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
October 03, 2024
Discovery Ruling Issued In Insurance Fraud Suit Seeking Relief Under ERISA, UCL

LOS ANGELES — A California federal magistrate judge substantially granted a motion to compel discovery filed by a cheese manufacturing company in its suit against surgery centers for alleged fraudulent billing for health care plan benefits related to unnecessary or unperformed medical services, restitution under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding in part that the defendants’ privacy concerns are outweighed by the need for the discovery information that will be reviewed under a stipulated protection order that will address those concerns.
October 03, 2024
Judge Orders Further Briefing In OnlyFans Unfair Renewals Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 2 directed putative class plaintiffs accusing an adult entertainment website of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by improperly charging them automatic renewal fees to file an amended complaint modifying their allegations regarding the defendants’ purposeful targeting of California, which the judge will consider before ruling on a motion to dismiss.
October 03, 2024
Alter Ego Liability Theory Rejected In Ruling On Summary Judgment Motions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ruling on two motions for summary judgment on cross-claims in a suit involving reinsurance and related agreements, a California federal judge rejected an alter ego argument, granting one motion fully and the other partially.
October 02, 2024
Judge Won’t Certify Class Allegedly Deceived By ‘Veterinary’ Pet Food

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied motions by self-described “pet parents” for certification of classes accusing three veterinary pet food-makers of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively enforcing a prescription requirement for their products, which the consumers say deceived them into believing that the products are subject to federal regulation and safety inspections.
October 02, 2024
LensCrafters’ $39M Settlement Of Consumers’ Overpayment Claims Granted Final OK

NEW YORK — A $39 million settlement between Luxottica Retail North America, doing business as LensCrafters, and consumers who allege that they were given false information about the company’s AccuFit system that caused them to overpay for prescription eyeglasses in violation of California, Florida and New York laws was granted final approval by a federal judge in New York.
October 02, 2024
Epic Games Files Antitrust Suit Against Samsung, Google Over App Blocking Feature

SAN FRANCISCO — Epic Games Inc., the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, on Sept. 30 sued Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Google LLC, alleging antitrust law and California unfair competition law (UCL) violations related to Google’s and Samsung’s alleged cooperation to reduce competition in the app distribution market by agreeing to Samsung’s use of the “auto blocker” default settings on its new phones that would block all user attempts to download and install Android apps from any source competing with the Google Play Store and the Samsung Galaxy Store.
October 01, 2024
Consumer Accusing V8 Splash Of Misleading Labels Defends Against Dismissal

CAMDEN, N.J. — A consumer filed a brief in New Jersey federal court opposing Campbell Soup Co.’s motion to dismiss her putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceptively marketing its V8 Splash product as healthy, arguing that the product’s deceptive front label renders disclosures on its back label irrelevant.
September 30, 2024
Consumer Agrees To Dismiss ‘Inhumane’ Practices Suit Against Organic Milk Producer

SAN FRANCISCO — A consumer and an organic milk producer on Sept. 27 filed a joint stipulation in California federal court asking the court to dismiss the consumer’s putative class claims that the producer violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by selling its milk with “idyllic imagery” of cow mothers with calves when its milk is produced by cows “inhumanely” separated from calves at birth.
September 27, 2024
Home Depot Agrees To Pay $2M To California For Overcharging Claims

SAN DIEGO — A California judge entered final judgment and a permanent injunction against Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., which agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle claims brought against it by the state for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL) for allegedly charging customers prices higher than the lowest advertised or posted price.
September 27, 2024
Plaintiff Consents To Hacked Facebook Accounts Suit Being Heard By Magistrate

SAN FRANCISCO — A plaintiff bringing a putative class action against Meta Platforms Inc. in California federal court for breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) due to it allegedly allowing “hackers to abscond with hundreds of thousands of Facebook accounts” while barring hacked users from regaining access to their accounts consented to magistrate jurisdiction over the suit on Sept. 26.
September 27, 2024
Settlement In Principle Reached In Walgreens Lidocaine Labeling Class Suit

CHICAGO — A status hearing in a putative class complaint by consumers who accuse Walgreen Co., doing business as Walgreens, of misleading labeling on certain lidocaine products was delayed via a docket entry by a clerk in a federal court in Illinois on Sept. 26 after the parties stated that they reached a settlement in principle.
September 26, 2024
Judge Dismisses $20M Suit Against Printer Manufacturer Over Ink Cartridge Yields

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed a Texas company’s lawsuit against a printer manufacturer for fraud and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) based on claims that the manufacturer misrepresented the yields of its ink cartridges, leading the plaintiff to allegedly incur $20 million in damages.