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Mealey's California Section 17200

  • September 10, 2025

    Judge: OnlyFans Class Must Show Why AI Errors Don’t Require Sanctions

    LOS ANGELES — Plaintiffs in a California unfair competition law and advertising class action challenging the use of professional chatters on the OnlyFans site must show why they shouldn’t be sanctioned after their counsel submitted a quartet of briefs with artificial intelligence-created errors, a federal judge in California said in an order to show cause.

  • September 10, 2025

    California ‘Insurer Of Last Last Resort’ Sued For Allegedly Mishandling Fire Claim

    LOS ANGELES — A homeowner whose property is covered by the California Fair Plan Association (CFPA) sued the insurance pool in state court, alleging that the state’s “insurer of last resort” failed to adequately investigate and assess damage and issue payment after her home was damaged in the Palisades Fire.

  • September 10, 2025

    Panel Affirms $7.9M Judgment Against Retail Chain For ‘Credit’ Insurance Sales

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on Sept. 9 affirmed a trial court’s entry of a more than $7.9 million judgment, comprising civil penalties for more than 318,000 violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), against a retail chain and its CEO for improper sales of “credit property insurance” policies on which only 2.7% of the profits were paid out as benefits.

  • September 10, 2025

    Putative Class Plaintiffs Say PFAS Case Against Band-Aid Makers Is Well-Founded

    TRENTON, N.J. — Plaintiffs who filed a putative class action against Johnson & Johnson and affiliates alleging that they have been injured by the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Band-Aids have filed a brief in New Jersey federal court arguing that the defendants’ motion to dismiss “fails on every front, applying incorrect legal standards and ignoring well-pleaded factual allegations.”

  • September 10, 2025

    Apple Seeks To Dismiss Developers’ App Store ‘Monopoly’ Claims

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Apple Inc. in California federal court moved to dismiss a putative class action brought by developers accusing it of monopolizing the market for mobile apps and forcing companies to pay “supra-competitive commissions” to keep their products on the Apple App Store, writing that the plaintiffs lack standing under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and cannot bring claims for violation of Korean and Japanese anti-monopoly laws.

  • September 09, 2025

    Nuisance Suit Against Exxon For Plastics Pollution May Proceed, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Exxon Mobil Corp.’s motion to dismiss claims by environmental groups that it violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by manufacturing single-use plastics that it allegedly misrepresented as recyclable while earning billions of dollars from sales but denied the motion as to the plaintiffs’ public nuisance claims.

  • September 08, 2025

    Judge Sends Putative Class Suit Over ‘Sustainable’ Cocoa Labeling To Illinois

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge on Sept. 5 transferred a putative class action lawsuit against a chocolate company for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly misrepresenting its cocoa as “Sustainably Sourced” to Illinois federal court where another putative class complaint over the same alleged misrepresentation was previously filed.

  • September 05, 2025

    Jury Awards Google Users More Than $425M For Online Data Gathering

    SAN FRANCISCO — After an 11-day trial in a five-year-old privacy class action, a California federal jury awarded two classes of mobile device users more than $425 million for invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion by Google LLC for the company’s practice of tracking mobile device users’ online activity despite selecting a setting to opt out of such data collection.

  • September 05, 2025

    Judge Dismisses ‘Fanciful’ Misrepresentation Suit Over ‘Brewed In USA’ Tea

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed a consumer’s putative class action against the manufacturers of a bottled tea product the consumer had alleged was unlawfully labeled in a manner that conveyed that the product originated in the United States when it in fact does not, writing that the plaintiff’s alleged reading of the product’s label “strains credulity.”

  • September 04, 2025

    U.K. Plaintiffs Amend Class Deception Claims Against Coupon Finder

    SAN FRANCISCO — Citizens of the United Kingdom filed an amended putative class action against a company that operates a discount-finding browser extension and its parent company for alleged violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) on behalf of all U.K. users of the browser extension who were not provided the best discounts available for certain products they purchased online, after a judge dismissed a prior complaint for lack of a connection to California.

  • September 02, 2025

    Driver Amends Suit Against Tesla For ‘Self-Driving’ Claims After Class Certified

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Tesla driver on Aug. 29 filed an amended complaint in California federal court accusing Tesla Inc. and affiliated entities of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by misrepresenting the capabilities of Tesla vehicles’ “self-driving” technology, two weeks after a judge granted the driver’s motion for class certification.

  • September 02, 2025

    Retailers’ Bid To Arbitrate False Discount Claims Properly Denied, Panel Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel affirmed a court’s refusal to compel arbitration of a consumer’s claims that a retail chain deceptively listed normal prices as discounts in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), finding that the consumer only agreed to place an order online and did not agree to enter into an arbitration agreement.

  • August 29, 2025

    $8.5M Settlement OK’d In Worker’s Suit Alleging Calif. Wage-And-Hour Violations

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted final approval of an $8.5 million class and representative settlement, ending wage-and-hour claims brought by one employee under California law against an engineering conglomerate accused of failing to provide meal and rest breaks, overtime and minimum wages and expenses.

  • August 28, 2025

    App Makers Unfairly Tried To Force Players Into Arbitration, 9th Circuit Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 27 affirmed a lower court’s ruling barring a mobile gaming app developer’s attempt to enforce an “unconscionable” arbitration agreement with players who alleged that they were tricked into paying to play against bots instead of real people in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • August 28, 2025

    Injunction Issued Against Website User Accused Of Posting Fake Google Reviews

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — After granting in part Google LLC’s motion for default judgment, a California federal judge issued a permanent injunction to prevent a man and his agents from creating reviews on services owned by Google LLC in Google’s suit against the man and unnamed parties alleging violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for the defendants’ purported participation in a “scheme” through their website to sell and post fake reviews for business listings on Google’s services.

  • August 28, 2025

    Parents Claim Intentional ChatGPT Design Choices Led To Son’s Suicide

    SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI entities intentionally designed ChatGPT to emotionally engage with users but without implementing sufficient safeguards, leading the AI to encourage a teenager to isolate from his family and commit suicide, his parents say in a California lawsuit alleging strict liability, negligence, wrongful death and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • August 27, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Motion To Compel Denial In Online Retail Class Arbitration Row

    PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration by Lands’ End Inc. in a consumer’s putative class suit alleging violations of multiple California consumer protection laws regarding Lands’ End’s purported false advertising about pricing on its website, finding that contrary to Lands’ End’s  claims that its website’s terms of use, including an arbitration provision, bar the suit, the District Court did not err in its determination “that the hyperlink to the Terms of Use was broken” at the time of the plaintiff’s purchase.

  • August 25, 2025

    Microplastic Leaching Suit Against Ziploc Maker Voluntarily Dismissed

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge entered an order dismissing with prejudice the claims of a consumer who filed a putative class action accusing the manufacturer of Ziploc bags of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by allegedly concealing the risk that its products can leach microplastics into consumers’ food.

  • August 25, 2025

    Plaintiffs Suing Therapy App For Privacy Violations May Proceed Anonymously

    SAN FRANCISCO — The anonymity of putative class plaintiffs accusing online therapy company BetterHelp Inc. of violating privacy laws by selling their personal data to third parties in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) does not require dismissal, a California federal judge ruled in denying the company’s motion to dismiss, citing the nature of the plaintiffs’ privacy protection claims.

  • August 22, 2025

    Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims Will Proceed Against Homeowners Insurers

    SAN DIEGO — An insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims will proceed against homeowners insurers in a putative class action suit filed by a homeowner who claims that her insurer wrongfully refused to renew her homeowners policy because the insured sufficiently alleged facts in support of the claims, a California federal judge said.

  • August 20, 2025

    Man Says Otter Notetaker Records, Saves Conversations Without Consent

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California man alleges that Otter.ai Inc. does not obtain prior consent of all participants in a virtual meeting before its Notetaker transcription app is engaged to record a conversation, leveling claims of computer fraud, invasion of privacy and unfair competition against the artificial intelligence (AI) technology firm in California federal court.

  • August 18, 2025

    Judge Dismisses UCL Claim From Class Suits Over Lead In Tampons

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge issued two substantially similar rulings largely denying two tampon-makers’ motions to dismiss two putative class actions accusing them of concealing the presence of lead in their tampons in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), but granted dismissal with prejudice as to the plaintiffs’ UCL claims under the unfair prong.

  • August 15, 2025

    Windows 10 User Says Microsoft Stopping Tech Support To Boost Its AI

    SAN DIEGO — A consumer filed a suit in California state court against Microsoft Corp. over its plans to cease offering technical support for its Windows 10 operating system (OS) in October 2025, claiming that it wants to drive users onto newer Microsoft products that use artificial intelligence so it can “monopolize the generative AI market” and failed to disclose that Windows 10 licenses were temporary in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • August 14, 2025

    Musk Must Mount Fight Against UCL Counterclaims In OpenAI Suit, Judge Says

    SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk must face California unfair competition law (UCL) counterclaims stemming from his media interactions touting his attempts to buy OpenAI Inc. assets because the conduct is sufficiently divorced from courthouse advocacy to fall outside litigation privilege protections, a federal judge in California said, while also dismissing his breach of implied covenant and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims.

  • August 13, 2025

    UPS To Pay $1.7M, Enact Compliance Programs In Calif. Hazardous Waste Settlement

    STOCKTON, Calif. —  United Parcel Service Inc. and a group of its subsidiaries agreed to pay more than $1.7 million in civil penalties and other costs and implement a series of programs to settle state code violations alleged by the people of California for improper disposal, hauling and reporting of hazardous waste materials during routine operations.