By Rachel Slajda

Law360, New York (July 06, 2011, 6:07 PM ET) -- A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed an unfair competition claim against Hewlett Packard Co. in a proposed class action over allegedly defective touchscreen laptops, paring the suit down to two claims. 

The suit, which accuses HP of selling computers with defective touchscreens and then failing to repair them according to their warranties, has been trimmed several times since it was filed in December 2009. The consumer plaintiffs are now on their third amended complaint.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg granted HP's motion to dismiss a claim that it violated California's Unfair Competition Law, but...