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

Mealey's California Section 17200

April 24, 2025
Lilly Sues 4 Telehealth Companies For Selling Compounded Weight Loss Drugs

SAN FRANCISCO — Eli Lilly and Co. on April 23 sued four telehealth companies in a federal court alleging that they violated California’s unfair competition and false advertising laws by selling “knockoff compounded tirzepatide drugs,” FDA-approved drugs for diabetes and weight loss.
April 23, 2025
Partial Dismissal Issued In Yelp Antitrust Suit Against Google For ‘Stealing’ Info

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal magistrate judge on April 22 granted Google LLC’s request for consideration of documents incorporated by reference and granted in part and denied in part with leave to amend Google’s motion to dismiss in a California unfair competition law (UCL) and Sherman Act antitrust suit against Google by Yelp Inc. for “numerous anti-competitive practices, including stealing information from Yelp’s website and passing it off as Google’s own,” finding that “Yelp has sufficiently alleged monopoly power” but that tying of local search services to general search services is time-barred.
April 23, 2025
Judge Dismisses E-Cig Buyers’ Monopoly, UCL Claims Against Juul, Altria

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge entered two orders pursuant to stipulations between Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), Altria Group Inc. and indirect plaintiffs bringing antitrust claims related to Altria’s 2018 investment in JLI, thereby dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims for violation of federal monopoly laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
April 22, 2025
Judge Allows Bulk Of Roblox’s Claims Against Third-Party ‘Gambling’ Developer

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part a third-party developer’s motion to dismiss cross-claims brought against it by Roblox Corp. in a putative class action filed by parents who say Roblox allowed their minor children to access gambling games through the Roblox platform, finding that the developer consented to Roblox’s terms of use and may have confused consumers by using “Blox” in its game’s name.
April 22, 2025
Homeowners Accuse Insurers Of ‘Nefarious Conspiracy’ In Suit Arising From Wildfires

LOS ANGELES — California homeowners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires sued insurers in a California court for violations of the state’s Cartwright Act and unfair competition law (UCL), alleging that the insurers participated in a “nefarious conspiracy to eliminate competition between them, and to intentionally and systematically force Plaintiffs to obtain fire insurance from the state’s insurer of last resort.”
April 22, 2025
En Banc 9th Circuit Finds Jurisdiction Over Shopping App For Cookie Collecting

SAN FRANCISCO — The en banc Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 21 reversed a panel’s ruling and found that personal jurisdiction exists over putative class claims against a payment processing and shopping app accused of violating California privacy and unfair competition laws by concealing that it was using cookies to collect California consumers’ personal data for resale.
April 21, 2025
High Court Won’t Review California Adoption Of Federal Food Laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 21 denied a baby food company’s petition for a writ of certiorari challenging a split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel’s decision allowing the company to be sued by two parents under California consumer protection laws that adopt identical labeling rules to those set forth in federal law, which the company claimed should be preempted by federal law.
April 18, 2025
OnlyFans’ California Profits Create Jurisdiction, Subscribers Tell 9th Circuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Two subscribers of adult website OnlyFans urge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a California federal judge’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of their lawsuit accusing OnlyFans’ foreign owner of unlawful subscription renewals in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), writing that the website purposefully avails itself of California and makes $400 million in annual revenue from the state.
April 17, 2025
Groups Say Iron Works Has Polluted Groundwater With Stormwater Discharges

SAN DIEGO — Environmental groups have sued an ironworking company in California federal court arguing that it is liable for contamination of local groundwater because it has discharged, and continues to discharge, polluted stormwater from its facility to downstream waters and groundwater in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
April 17, 2025
$195,000 Class Deal Gets Final OK In Suit Over Allegedly Fraudulent Policies

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Noting the absence of objections and that “the average class member payment will be $467.77, and the highest payment will be $5,204.40,” a California federal judge granted final approval to a $195,000 class settlement that resolves a suit over allegedly counterfeited insurance policies sold through a captive reinsurance arrangement.
April 15, 2025
Harm From Mattress Maker’s Strike-Through Pricing Unclear, Magistrate Judge Says

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge recommended granting a mattress manufacturer’s motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws, writing that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that she was deceived by “strike-through reference pricing” but failed to plead that she suffered damages as a result.
April 15, 2025
Skechers Seeks Coverage For Injury Claims Caused By Shoes’ Lack Of Slip-Resistance

LOS ANGELES — Skechers USA Inc. sued its commercial liability insurer in a California court for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and unfair competition, alleging that the insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying action contending that class members were harmed by actual physical accidents caused by the insured’s shoes’ lack of slip-resistance or by the fact that the shoes were unusable.
April 14, 2025
Dismissal Bid Fought In Dispute Over Disability Policy ‘Age 65’ Language

PHOENIX — Arguing in part that the defendants’ “desired interpretation runs counter to the well-pleaded facts, the parties’ expectations, any reasonable consumer’s expectations, and decisional law,” a plaintiff on April 11 urged an Arizona federal court to deny dismissal of his putative class complaint over whether certain individual long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be paid through eligible insureds’ 65th birthdays.
April 14, 2025
9th Circuit Reverses Denial Of Damages, Fees Against Chinese Air Filter Seller

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 11 reversed and remanded a federal judge’s ruling denying an air purifier seller’s motion request for roughly $2.5 million in default judgment and attorney fees against a Chinese company that harmed its business by selling shoddy replacement filters for its products, writing that a party may still seek damages in default even if the amount of damages is not specified in the pleadings.
April 11, 2025
Judge Keeps UCL Suit Against ‘Social’ Gambling Site In Federal Court

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion filed by a plaintiff with a gambling addiction to remand his “representative” complaint asking the court to shut down an online “social” gambling website he says is operated in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), finding that the amount in controversy for federal jurisdiction is met based on the potential costs of the plaintiff’s sought relief to the website operator.
April 11, 2025
Judge Grants Summary Judgment On ‘Fraud’ Claims For Facebook Ad Removal

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Meta Platforms Inc.’s motion for summary judgment against a content publisher that accused Meta of breach of contract and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for removing its content from Facebook after the publisher spent more than 53 million Canadian dollars on Facebook advertising, finding that its claims were untimely.
April 11, 2025
OpenAI Launches Unfair Competition Law Counterclaim Against Musk

SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI Inc. hit Elon Musk with a California unfair competition law counterclaim in his suit over its corporate structure, saying the co-founder can’t stand seeing its success in the wake of his departure and launched an ongoing campaign of harassment to undermine the company.
April 10, 2025
Class Suit Against OnlyFans Over ‘Chatter’ Scheme May Proceed Anonymously

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge on April 9 declined to dismiss putative class claims brought by California subscribers of adult website OnlyFans for an alleged “chatter scheme” in which they were allegedly deceived into paying to communicate with adult content creators, but instead were connected to “professional chatters,” and said the plaintiffs may proceed anonymously to avoid the risk of embarrassment from revealing private messages discussing their “sexual interests.”
April 09, 2025
Google, Class Plaintiffs Settle 14-Year-Old AdWords Suit For $100M

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A consumer and his company representing two certified classes of advertisers who claim that Google LLC misrepresented the benefits of its AdWords advertising service have moved in California federal court for preliminary approval of a $100 million settlement to claims against Google first filed in 2011 and say their attorneys will seek a 33% attorney fees award.
April 09, 2025
Vape Maker Says Plaintiffs’ PFAS Class Action Fails For Lack Of Jurisdiction

SAN FRANCISCO — A maker of vapes has moved in California federal court to dismiss a putative class action alleging that its products contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), arguing that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking and that the plaintiffs have failed to plead fraud-based claims with particularity.
April 08, 2025
Class Claims Over ‘Habit Forming’ Chemical In Sleep Aid May Proceed, Judge Says

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge denied a consumer health product company’s motion to dismiss a putative class action filed against it by a consumer who accuses it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting its product as not habit forming, finding that the plaintiffs provided scientific evidence that the product can cause dependency and withdrawal symptoms.
April 07, 2025
Class Claims Against Apple For Slowing Iphones With Update May Proceed, Judge Says

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted in part and denied in part Apple Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by users of an older iPhone model who accuse it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by deceiving them into downloading an iPhone software update that was optimized for newer-model iPhones and allegedly caused a slowdown in their devices.
April 07, 2025
More Than $12M In Attorney Fees, Expenses Awarded After Apple Gift Card Settlement

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California, over objections by Apple Inc. and Apple Value Services LLC (together, Apple), granted approval of $11.65 million in attorney fees and more than $500,000 in expenses sought by the plaintiffs and class counsel as part of a $35 million settlement in a case over an alleged iTunes gift card scam.
April 04, 2025
Judge Won’t Dismiss False Discount Class Claims Against Helix Mattress Seller

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge denied a motion filed by the company that sells Helix-brand mattresses to dismiss or strike putative class claims against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by allegedly marketing mattresses for sale online with fake discounts and countdowns to deceive customers into believing that they could benefit from time-limited sales.
April 04, 2025
Judge Approves $15 Million Settlement Of Cash App Data Breach Class Action

SAN FRANCISCO — Almost 10 months after a California federal judge preliminarily approved a $15 million settlement of a consolidated class action against the owners of Cash App over a pair of data breaches that exposed users’ personally identifiable information (PII) and account data, the judge granted the named plaintiffs’ motion for final approval, settling 16 claims, including negligence, fraud, invasion of privacy and unfair competition.