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

Mealey's California Section 17200

December 06, 2024
‘Wicked’ Dolls Led Daughter To Pornographic Website, Mother Claims

LOS ANGELES — A mother filed a putative class action against toymaker Mattel Inc. accusing the company of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws due to its products, specifically dolls of characters from the movie “Wicked,” being labeled with a link to a pornographic website, writing that her minor daughter was “horrified” when she visited the link printed on the box of the toy.
December 06, 2024
Consumer Can’t Seek Equitable Monetary Damages Against Protein Shake Maker

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge dismissed a putative class action plaintiff’s claims for equitable monetary relief against a protein shake maker based on her claim that it unlawfully labeled the protein content of its products in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding that her labeling claims are not based on a private cause of action and do not establish that she lacks an adequate remedy at law.
December 06, 2024
Google, Advertising Developer Denied Early Appeal Of Minors’ Data Collection Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied Google LLC and its advertising subsidiaries’ motion to certify for interlocutory appeal the court’s earlier order denying their motion to dismiss a nationwide putative class action brought by minors under 13 who say their personal data was unlawfully collected, finding that the issues involved don’t warrant an early appeal.
December 06, 2024
Epic, Apple File Status Report, Disagree On Privileged Documents In Antitrust Row

OAKLAND, Calif. — In an antitrust suit filed by Epic Games Inc. against Apple Inc. in a California federal court, the parties filed a status report regarding discovery, with Epic asserting “that Apple has engaged in gross overuse of privilege” and Apple claiming that Epic’s search terms are “too broad.” In the case, Epic has moved to enforce an injunction requiring Apple to permit app developers to inform users of methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the company’s App Store.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 02, 2024
Deadlines For Remand Filings Set In Exxon Single-Use Plastics Pollution Cases

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has set a filing and briefing schedule for motions to remand state court two related cases against Exxon Mobil Corp. that accuse the company of creating a public nuisance and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and a barrage of state pollution laws by manufacturing single-use plastics that it allegedly misrepresented as recyclable while annually earning billions dollars from sales.
December 02, 2024
Walgreens Lidocaine Labeling Putative Class Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

CHICAGO — A putative class complaint by consumers who accused Walgreen Co., doing business as Walgreens, of misleading labeling on certain lidocaine products was dismissed with prejudice by a federal judge in Illinois after the lead plaintiff filed a voluntary stipulation of dismissal.
December 02, 2024
9th Circuit: Del Monte Fruit Cup Labels Didn’t Deceive Reasonable Consumers

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A trial court’s dismissal of a putative class complaint accusing a food processing company of deceiving consumers about the ingredients of its fruit cups was proper as the front labeling was not misleading and the back labeling clearly disclosed several synthetic ingredients, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled in an unpublished memorandum.
November 26, 2024
Judgment Entered Dismissing Homeowners’ Defect Suit Against Anchor Maker

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted two manufacturing companies’ motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissed with prejudice a putative class action brought against it by homeowners who accused them of selling them defective home connectors and anchors in breach of warranty and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
November 26, 2024
Google Must Provide Discovery In Gift Card Scam Suit Pending Disposition Of Claims

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Nov. 25 denied Google LLC and affiliated companies’ motion for reconsideration of a past order allowing discovery to continue in a putative class action against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect consumers from Google Play gift card scammers, writing that a stay is not warranted by an order dismissing the claims because they were dismissed with leave to amend.
November 26, 2024
Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over OnlyFans Subscribers’ Unfair Renewals Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted an adult website operator’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by plaintiffs who accused it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly charging them automatic renewal fees without warning, finding that after amendment and supplementary briefing the plaintiffs failed to establish personal jurisdiction.
November 22, 2024
Roblox Brings Cross-Claims Against Third-Party Developers In Parents’ Gambling Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — Roblox Corp. in its amended answer to putative class claims brought in California federal court by parents who say it allowed their minor children to play gambling games has for the first time brought cross-claims against the third-party developers behind the games at issue, asserting that they flaunted its rules and are “pillaging Roblox’s intellectual property” in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
September 17, 2024
23andMe Asks MDL Judge To Approve $30M Data Breach Settlement

SAN FRANCISCO — Genetic data company 23andMe Inc. filed a brief urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to grant preliminary approval to a $30 million settlement to resolve claims in a multidistrict litigation brought by plaintiffs whose genetic data on 23andMe’s website was hacked and offered for sale online and asking the court to enjoin separate litigation and arbitrations brought against it for the breach that it says could “jeopardize . . . the Settlement.”
November 21, 2024
Some 23andMe Users Seek Arbitration, Not Class Action, For Data Breach Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — In a brief filed in California federal court, several users of 23andMe Inc.’s website defend their right to pursue arbitration against the company for the theft of their genetic information by hackers, arguing that their decision to arbitrate defeats any typicality of claims between them and class members in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) over the theft and makes preliminary approval of a settlement of the MDL inappropriate.
November 20, 2024
Insurers: Auto Makers Failed To Recall Vehicles With Potential Deadly Defects

SANTA ANA, Calif.— Automobile and property insurers filed a subrogation lawsuit on behalf of their insureds against automotive manufacturers, telling a California court that the defendants “purposefully and knowingly failed to recall millions of their defective vehicles” that contained “potentially deadly defects” and, as a result, put “countless lives at risk from 2006 to date” and caused their insureds to suffer property damage including the loss of use of their vehicles.
November 19, 2024
Fair Use, Copyright At Issue In AI Legal Research Summary Judgment Briefing

WILMINGTON, Del. — Whether it was unlawful to train an artificial intelligence on a “vanishingly small” amount of protected legal research material and whether a copyright can even protect legal research product when the underlying materials were all in the public domain come before a federal judge in Delaware on briefing for motions for summary judgment. Redacted versions of the reply briefs were filed Nov. 18.
November 18, 2024
Panel Reverses Dismissal Of State’s Data Breach UCL Claim, Citing Discovery Rule

SAN DIEGO — A California appellate panel addressing a question of first impression on Nov. 15 reversed a trial court’s ruling in favor of Experian Data Corp. barring claims brought by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office accusing Experian of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect more than 400,000 California customers whose data was hacked, writing that the state adequately alleged that its UCL claim accrued within the statute of limitations period.
November 18, 2024
Judge Grants Apple’s Dismissal Motion In Suit Against Israeli Tech Companies

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Apple Inc.’s voluntary motion for dismissal and motions to seal in Apple’s suit accusing Israeli technology companies NSO Group Technologies Ltd. and Q Cyber Technologies Ltd. (collectively, NSO) of violating federal and California law by allegedly developing malware to hack into Apple’s servers.
November 18, 2024
Epic Urges Court To Deny Apple’s Bid For Relief From Injunction In Antitrust Row

OAKLAND, Calif. — Epic Games Inc. filed a brief in California federal court in its antitrust suit against Apple Inc., urging the court to reject Apple’s motion to limit or vacate an injunction requiring it to permit app developers to inform users of methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the App Store.
November 15, 2024
Gamers Bring Class Suit Against Developers For Online Racing Game’s Shutdown

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two video game players filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing developers of an online racing video game known as The Crew of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by shutting down servers to the game, thereby terminating players’ access to the game permanently, which they compare in their suit to a manufacturer coming “into your home” and removing a product you previously paid for.
November 14, 2024
Baby Bottle Makers Seek Dismissal Of Consumers’ Claims Over Undisclosed Microplastics

SAN FRANCISCO — Two plastic baby bottle makers moved to dismiss separate putative class action complaints brought against them in California federal court by mothers who say the companies violate California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by failing to disclose the risk that their baby bottles and sippy cups “leach harmful microplastics directly into the food and drink of vulnerable babies and young children.”
November 14, 2024
Google Play Gift Card Scam Victim Says Discovery Should Continue Pending Amendment

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A putative class action plaintiff accusing Google LLC and affiliated companies of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect consumers from Google Play gift card scammers, whose complaint was recently dismissed with leave to amend, filed a brief in California federal court opposing the court’s reconsideration of a stay of discovery while she prepares an amended complaint.
November 13, 2024
Judge Says Supplements’ Lack Of Serving Size Info Supports Labeling Claims

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Nov. 13 denied a supplement maker’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other consumer protection laws by not including dosage per serving size on the front label despite that information being included on the back label, finding that precedent finding lack of serving information on a front label is not outweighed by more recent labeling precedent.
November 13, 2024
Objector Appeals After New York Times Auto-Renewal Class Settlement OK’d

NEW YORK — A class member who objected to a $2,375,000 settlement to be paid by The New York Times Co. to end a class complaint accusing the newspaper publisher of engaging in an illegal “automatic renewal” scheme filed a notice of appeal four weeks after final settlement approval was granted by a federal judge in New York.
November 12, 2024
Insurers Say Kia, Hyundai Disregarded Dangerous Defects For Years

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Several insurers filed a complaint in subrogation in California state court accusing the makers of Kia and Hyundai-brand cars of causing insureds harm in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to report or recall vehicles with dangerous electrical defects, including spontaneously catching fire while deactivated.