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

Mealey's California Section 17200

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.
December 18, 2024
OpenAI Seeks Dismissal Of YouTube UCL Claims, Says Injury, Conduct Lacking

SAN FRANCISCO — Copyright law preempts a man’s California unfair competition law (UCL) claims in an artificial intelligence action, and the vague allegations about using YouTube videos in training ChatGPT lack any economic injury or deceptive conduct on which they could be brought and would fail anyway, OpenAI entities tell a federal judge in California in seeking dismissal with prejudice.
December 18, 2024
YouTube Sues ‘Cult’-Aligned Company For ‘Cloning’ Its Platform And Content

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — YouTube LLC on Dec. 18 filed a complaint in California state court accusing a Delaware corporation of operating an online website that is a “clone” of its video platform and of hosting reuploaded content from YouTube in breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
December 16, 2024
Flyer Accusing Airline Of Deceptive ESG Claims May Seek Injunctive Relief

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied Delta Air Lines Inc.’s partial motion to dismiss a flyer’s claims for injunctive relief in a putative class action in which she says the airline violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misleadingly describing itself as “carbon-neutral” based on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments.
December 13, 2024
UCL, RICO Suit Against Gaming Company That Uses Bots Stayed Pending Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a motion filed by a gaming company, its co-founders and two investors to stay putative class claims against them for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and federal racketeering laws by falsely advertising their mobile games as offering live competition when players in fact compete with bots, finding a stay appropriate pending an appeal of his earlier refusal to compel arbitration.
December 10, 2024
Consumer Asks 9th Circuit To Rehear Fruit Cup Labeling Claims

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A consumer filed a petition for panel and en banc rehearing with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, urging it to rehear her appeal of the dismissal of a putative class complaint accusing a food processing company of deceiving consumers about the ingredients of its fruit cups, arguing that the panel misapplied precedent and the reasonable consumer standard.
December 10, 2024
Final Approval Granted In Class Action Over ‘100% Natural’ ChapStick Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Dec. 9 granted final approval to a no-damages settlement of a class action against GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Holdings (US) LLC (GSK) and Pfizer Inc. for labeling certain ChapStick products as “100% Natural,” with the defendants agreeing to remove that phrase from labels, admitting no wrongdoing, and plaintiffs’ attorneys awarded more than $250,000 in fees.
December 09, 2024
Dismissal Of Claims Apple Lured Users Into ICloud Subscriptions Affirmed

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the dismissal of a putative class complaint brought by plaintiffs who claimed that Apple “addicted” them to its free iCloud data storage service and then required them to pay once the data they stored exceeded its free storage maximum of five gigabytes, writing that they failed to plead any misrepresentations.