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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Denies Preliminary Approval Of $7.8M Settlement In Video Games Antitrust Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a plaintiff’s motion for preliminary approval of a $7.8 million settlement to resolve claims against Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC for violating antitrust laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by monopolizing sales of PlayStation 5 (PS5) video games through its online store, citing “glaring shortcomings” in the motion.

  • July 21, 2025

    Fact Discovery Closed After Judge Refuses To Certify IPhone Data Class Action

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on July 18 entered a stipulated order closing fact discovery in a class action against Apple Inc. after denying in an earlier order the plaintiff’s motion for class certification on claims that Apple wastes iPhone users’ cellular data even when their phones were set to reduce the consumption of data, in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), and denying as moot opposing motions to exclude expert witnesses.

  • July 21, 2025

    9th Circuit Revives UCL Suit Over Carbs, Calories In Supplements

    PASADENA, Calif. — No petition for rehearing having been filed, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel issued its mandate after reversing a judge’s order dismissing a consumer’s putative class claims against a supplement maker for falsely labeling its products as containing zero calories or carbohydrates in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws, opining that the consumer’s claims are not preempted.

  • July 18, 2025

    Federal Magistrate Dismisses Cheese Labeling Suit Without Leave To Amend

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge on July 17 dismissed without leave to amend a consumer’s putative class action lawsuit against the maker of “Hamburger Helper” products for allegedly misrepresenting the cheese content of its products with a picture of a bowl of cheesy pasta and the statement “Made With Real Cheese,” finding cheese was not advertised as a primary ingredient and that the labels would not deceive reasonable consumers.

  • July 17, 2025

    Dismissal Denied In Antitrust, Hacking Lawsuits Over Car Dealership Software

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge issued rulings largely denying motions to dismiss in two lawsuits filed against each other by competitors in the auto dealership management system (DMS) market, which have accused each other of hacking proprietary data and antitrust violations blocking access to the market in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and antitrust law.

  • July 17, 2025

    Judge Certifies Class In Suit Challenging Homeowners Insurer’s ACV Calculation

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in their breach of contract, bad faith and unfair competition lawsuit alleging that their homeowners insurer has a common practice of depreciating sales tax when calculating actual cash value (ACV) benefits to insureds.

  • July 16, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Class Suit Against Ford Over Defective ‘E-Latch’ Doors

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge granted in part Ford Motor Co.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by concealing an alleged defect with its electronic door handles that could leave the doors locked with children trapped inside when the vehicles lost power, finding that the plaintiffs did not plead Ford had a duty to disclose the defect.

  • July 15, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Hand Sanitizer False Advertising Claims

    LOS ANGELES — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a consumer’s putative class action suit accusing CVS Pharmacy Inc. and its affiliate of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by falsely claiming that a hand sanitizer product “kills 99% of germs,” writing that the label would not deceive a reasonable consumer.

  • July 14, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Driver’s Claim For Larger COVID-19 Refunds

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a driver’s class action against her insurer, GEICO, for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by providing drivers an insufficient rebate on premiums after the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that the insurer was protected by the “‘safe harbor’” doctrine as the state insurance commissioner approved its rebate amounts.

  • July 11, 2025

    Caltech Cybersecurity Bootcamp Class Plaintiff Urges Approval Of $400K Settlement

    SAN FRANCISCO — A woman who enrolled in an online education program called the “Caltech Cybersecurity Bootcamp” and filed a putative class action suit alleging that the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and its partner, Simplilearn Americas Inc., deceptively marketed the bootcamp filed a brief in California state court urging the court to certify a settlement class and preliminarily approve a $400,000 settlement to be distributed among the participating class members.

  • July 10, 2025

    Forum Selection Clause Issue Certified For Appeal In Crypto Wallet Data Breach Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — Declining to grant partial final judgment as to dismissed claims and defendants in a putative class action over a crypto-asset wallet firm’s 2020 data breach, a California federal judge, instead, granted interlocutory appeal on the issue of whether subcontractors of the wallet maker can avail themselves of a forum selection clause in the lead defendant’s terms of service (TOS).

  • July 09, 2025

    Epic Dismisses Antitrust Claims, Says It Settled With Samsung In App Blocking Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Epic Games Inc., the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, filed a notice stating that it settled claims against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Samsung Electronics America Inc. (collectively, Samsung) in a suit alleging antitrust law and California unfair competition law (UCL) violations against Samsung and Google LLC related to their 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.

  • July 07, 2025

    Judge Grants Contractors’ Demurrer As To 2 Claims In Hurricane Hilary Coverage Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted contractors’ demurrer as to insureds’ negligent and concealment claims in a coverage dispute arising from Hurricane Hilary damage, agreeing with the contractors that because the contractors were hired by the insurer to inspect the insureds’ roof, neither of them owed a duty to the insureds.

  • July 02, 2025

    High Court Won’t Review Iowa Pork Producers’ California Law Challenge

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by an association of Iowa pork producers that brought a new discrimination-based challenge against a California law restricting sales of pork, violations of which are punishable under California’s unfair competition law (UCL), which was previously reviewed and upheld by the high court.

  • July 02, 2025

    Judge Partly Dismisses Claims Over PFAS In ‘Natural Mouthwash’

    NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge on July 1 ordered parties to meet and confer over the future schedule for litigation after a district court judge partly dismissed putative class action claims against two consumer products companies for allegedly deceiving consumers and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by selling a “natural mouthwash” product that is alleged to contain PFAS.

  • July 01, 2025

    California Appellate Court Lets Rehab Plan For Workers’ Comp Insurer Stand

    SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished opinion, the First District California Court of Appeal upheld a nonconsensual rehabilitation plan for a workers’ compensation insurance carrier; the plan was approved as part of conservation proceedings brought by California’s insurance regulator and includes options to resolve dozens of reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) lawsuits.

  • June 30, 2025

    Amicus Tells High Court California Bar On Arbitration Must Not ‘Fester’ Longer

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A retail industry association on June 27 filed an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a cryptocurrency exchange’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of a California state court ruling barring enforcement of its arbitration agreement with customers, arguing that the state court undermined federal law by treating claims for public injunctive relief under California state law as inarbitrable.

  • June 27, 2025

    California Judge Denies Insured’s Motion For Summary Adjudication As To UCL Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted an insured’s motion for summary adjudication as to his declaratory relief claim in a lawsuit alleging that the California Fair Plan Association (CFP) issued property insurance policies with fire coverage that is unlawfully restrictive as to smoke damage claims but denied the insured’s motion as to his unfair competition law (UCL) claim, finding that he failed to satisfy his burden to establish standing to bring the UCL claim.

  • June 25, 2025

    Widower Can Replace Dead Wife In Google Gift Card Scam Suit, Judge Says

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge granted a dead plaintiff’s widower’s motion for leave to substitute himself as plaintiff, add new plaintiffs and amend the dead wife’s putative class action against Google LLC and affiliates for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect customers from Google Play gift card scammers.

  • June 24, 2025

    9th Circuit Revives Antitrust Counterclaims In Real Estate IP Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO —A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 23 found that a California federal judge wrongly dismissed antitrust counterclaims brought by a real estate entity in response to copyright claims filed by another real estate entity that says it misappropriated photos; the panel held that the defendant-appellant adequately established that the plaintiff-appellee engaged in anticompetitive practices for the purposes of surviving dismissal.

  • June 24, 2025

    Plaintiffs In Shrinking Crocs Suit Can Amend Claims, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part Crocs Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action accusing it of misrepresenting its Crocs-brand shoes as resistant to weather, finding that the claims were sufficiently pleaded in part and that the court’s denial of class certification in a separate suit involving similar claims against Crocs does not bar the present plaintiffs from seeking certification.

  • June 23, 2025

    VPPA, UCL Claims Against Online Video Retailers Must Be Arbitrated, Judge Rules

    SAN FRANCISCO — Determining that attempts to settle and dismiss putative class claims against online retailers under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) did not contradict an intent to arbitrate under a totality of the circumstances, a California federal judge granted the defendants’ motion to stay and to compel arbitration.

  • June 19, 2025

    Attorney Fees, Costs Awarded In Acura Bluetooth Settlement As Honda Appeals

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California issued final approval order and judgment after a settlement was reached between consumers in four states and American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in a class case alleging defective HandsFreeLink (HFL) Bluetooth systems in certain Acura vehicles that cause excessive electric drain, approving more than $9.5 million in attorney fees and costs while the total value of claims is estimated to be less than $540,000.

  • June 18, 2025

    Judge Allows Claims That Apple Unfairly Blocked ICloud Competitors

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by consumers accusing it of monopolization for unfairly barring users of Apple devices from using competitive cloud storage services in violation of the federal Sherman Act and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • June 17, 2025

    $5.25 Million Settlement Approved In Recruiter Misclassification Class Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $5.25 million nonreversionary class settlement in a lawsuit alleging systemic misclassification of recruiters as exempt employees and granted in part a motion for attorney fees, costs and a service award.