Newsletter RSS

Mealey's California Section 17200

  • November 04, 2025

    San Francisco Settles Suit Against Flavored Nicotine Pouch Sellers For Nearly $3M

    SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and three companies that sold flavored nicotine pouches in violation of the city’s ban on flavored tobacco products settled the city attorney’s lawsuit against them seeking civil penalties for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), with a state court entering judgments under which the defendants will collectively pay $2,985,000.

  • November 04, 2025

    Parents’ Unlawful Gambling Class Claims Against Roblox Dismissed By Judge

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Roblox Corp.’s motion to partly dismiss a putative class lawsuit brought against it by the parents of minor Roblox players who allegedly lost money gambling with the in-game currency “Robux,” writing that the parents’ claims for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) under the unlawful prong and for negligence per se did not sufficiently allege that Roblox violated state gambling laws.

  • November 04, 2025

    California, Sling TV Settle Action Alleging Violations Of Data Privacy Laws

    LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement between the state of California and streaming service Sling TV LLC in an action alleging that the streaming service violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by not providing easy-to-use opt-out methods for consumers who choose to stop the sale of their personal information and not providing sufficient privacy protections for children.

  • October 31, 2025

    Some Claims Survive Dismissal In Suit Over Disability Policy ‘Age 65’ Language

    PHOENIX — Bad faith, breach of contract and reformation claims survived a dismissal bid in a putative class case over whether certain individual long-term disability (LTD) benefits must be paid through eligible insureds’ 65th birthdays, and an Arizona federal judge allowed limited leave to amend as to claims he dismissed in the Oct. 30 order.

  • October 31, 2025

    Trio Of Dismissal Rulings Issued In Data Breach Snowflake MDL

    BUTTE, Mont. — Less than a week after granting final approval of two class settlements totaling $13.5 million, a federal judge in Montana issued a trio of orders addressing motions to dismiss filed in a multidistrict litigation over data breaches experienced by Snowflake Inc., a data storage firm, that impacted a number of its clients.

  • October 30, 2025

    Microsoft Says Suit Over End Of Windows 10 Tech Support Must Be Arbitrated

    SAN DIEGO — Microsoft Corp. moved in California federal court to compel arbitration of a consumer’s suit accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by discontinuing free technical support for users of its Windows 10 operating system (OS), which the plaintiff claims is a tactic to drive users onto newer Microsoft products that use artificial intelligence so it can “monopolize the generative AI market.”

  • October 30, 2025

    Senior Living Facilities’ Disability Access Class Settlement Given Final OK

    OAKLAND, Calif. — The for-profit operator of three California senior living facilities accused of failing to make the sites accessible for people with disabilities will bring the interior and exterior common areas into compliance with the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Standards (ADAS) for accessible design in the next five years as part of a class settlement approved by a federal judge in California.

  • October 30, 2025

    Stay Entered After Model Appeals Dismissal Of Unfair Image Use By Adult Websites

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge entered an order staying deadlines for defendants to seek attorney fees pending the outcome of a model’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in which she seeks to challenge the court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of defendants that she claims harmed her and caused distress by using her image online to market adult websites in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • October 28, 2025

    Consumer, Weight Loss Companies In Bankruptcy Resolve Suit After Stay Lifted

    LOS ANGELES — A consumer filed a joint stipulation in California federal court with two bankrupt companies that manufactured weight loss supplements and their founder and CEO, asking the court to dismiss the consumer’s putative class action claiming that the benefits of the supplements were misrepresented in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), on the same day that a judge lifted a bankruptcy-related stay so the consumer could pursue injunctive relief.

  • October 28, 2025

    E-Cig Companies Defend ‘Carbon-Neutral’ Claims Against ‘Greenwashing’ Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. (RJRV) and its affiliates moved in California federal court to dismiss a putative class complaint brought against them by e-cigarette consumers for allegedly violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by representing their e-cigarette products to consumers as “carbon-neutral,” writing that such claims were permissible, independently certified and would not deceive reasonable consumers.

  • October 27, 2025

    Judge Joins Cases Against Otter.ai Related To Notetaker App Privacy Concerns

    SAN FRANCISCO — A judge in California federal court has consolidated litigation brought by individuals who argue 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, ruling that claims brought by multiple plaintiffs involve substantially similar allegations and claims.

  • October 23, 2025

    Judge Affirms Dismissal Of Hospital Operator’s Suit Against Insurer For ER Fees

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of several hospitals’ lawsuit against an insurer for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) in relation to its alleged failure to pay reasonable reimbursement to the hospitals, which are out-of-network, for emergency room services provided to its insureds, finding that the claims were premised on a hypothetical duty that does not exist in the state Insurance Code.

  • October 23, 2025

    Woman Says Glucose Monitoring Devices Were Defective, Seeks To Represent Class

    LOS ANGELES — Dexcom Inc. misled users of its glucose monitoring systems by representing the device to be safe and accurate while it knew that the devices were defective and prone to dangerous alert failures, a woman alleges in a putative class action complaint filed in a California federal court.

  • October 22, 2025

    Bank Of Canton’s $300,000 Settlement Approved In MOVEit Data Breach MDL

    BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts on Oct. 21 granted final approval to a $300,000 class settlement to be paid by The Bank of Canton, ending claims against it related to a security incident due in part to a vulnerability in the MOVEit Transfer application; the settlement is one of several reached in the multidistrict litigation over a 2023 ransomware attack that affected users of the MOVEit file-transfer app.

  • October 20, 2025

    3rd-Party Developer Of Gambling App Using ‘Robux’ Files Appeal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A developer filed a notice of appeal in California federal court after the court denied his motion to dismiss claims brought against him by the parents of minor users of Roblox Corp.’s gaming platform for illegally causing minors to lose money gambling with the digital currency “Robux” through a website called “BloxFlip” that Roblox says in a cross-complaint infringed its trademark.

  • October 20, 2025

    California Attorney General Sues Plastic Bag Makers Over False Recycling Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — The California Attorney General’s Office on Oct. 17 filed a complaint in state court against three plastic bag makers accused of violating state environmental laws and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by falsely labeling their carryout bags as recyclable, and separately sought entry of consent judgment against four other bag makers who settled similar claims and agreed to collectively pay $1.7 million.

  • October 17, 2025

    Calif. Federal Judge Partly Dismisses Toddler Drink Deceptive Label Suit

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Oct. 16 after a hearing adopted his tentative ruling and granted in part a grocery retailer’s motion to dismiss a putative class action in which a consumer accuses it of failing to disclose the presence of citric acid in products it manufacturers, dismissing the consumer’s nationwide class claims while denying dismissal of other claims, including violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).

  • October 15, 2025

    Online Merchant Gets More Time To Oppose Rehearing Of 9th Circuit Remand Ruling

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted an extension to an online collectibles seller for more time to oppose a petition filed by a consumer seeking rehearing of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that district courts may remand cases to state court for lack of equitable jurisdiction to avoid a “perpetual removal-dismissal loop” only after courts give defendants an opportunity to keep the case in federal court.

  • October 15, 2025

    Plaintiff Must Provide Discovery Showing Audible Subscription Was Unwanted

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge on Oct. 14 granted a motion by Amazon.com Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Audible Inc. to compel responses by a putative class action plaintiff to interrogatories supporting “her central legal theory” that the defendants violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by enrolling her in an Audible subscription and charging renewal fees without consent.

  • October 15, 2025

    Class Complaint Alleges Popular Running Shoes Come With Unwanted Squeak

    PORTLAND, Ore. — Running shoes that cost nearly $200 per pair are defective as technology intended to provide cushioned support causes “a noisy and embarrassing squeak with each and every step,” two consumers allege in a putative class complaint filed in a federal court in Oregon.

  • October 14, 2025

    Microsoft Accused Of Harming Competition With OpenAI Partnership

    SAN FRANCISCO — A group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers on Oct. 13 filed a putative class action in California federal court against Microsoft Corp., seeking treble damages and injunctive relief — including “the divestiture or segregation of Microsoft’s Generative AI” business — based on allegations that Microsoft limited OpenAI’s access to computational power and drove up ChatGPT prices while promoting its own chatbot in competition with OpenAI.

  • October 13, 2025

    Supplement Labeling Suit Preempted By Federal Law, 9th Circuit Says

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit accusing a dietary supplement maker of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after finding the suit preempted because it is based on alleged violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), while a concurring judge questioned if circuit court precedents on such claims can be reconciled.

  • October 13, 2025

    Los Angeles’ Biggest Vape Seller Will Pay $350K To Settle Suit For Selling Flavors

    LOS ANGELES — A California state judge entered a consent judgment resolving an action brought by the Los Angeles city attorney against a business owner and his two tobacco retail businesses, collectively described as “the largest exclusive tobacco retailer” in Los Angeles, with the defendants agreeing to pay $350,000 to resolve claims they violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by selling flavored e-cigarette products in violation of a statewide ban on flavored tobacco.

  • October 10, 2025

    9th Circuit Tosses Appeal As Lacking Jurisdiction In Anti-SLAPP Online Review Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — An en banc Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 9 dismissed for lack of jurisdiction an interlocutory appeal by a digital marketing agency and its owner of a lower court order denying a motion to strike under the California anti-SLAPP statute related to counterclaims for defamation and libel for online reviews in a suit alleging violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to a dispute over parking spaces, finding no jurisdiction because the order denying the motion to strike was not a final appealable order.

  • October 10, 2025

    Past Settlement Of Kombucha Mislabeling Suit Dooms New Class Claims, Judge Says

    LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed four plaintiffs with prejudice from their class action accusing a kombucha maker of misleading consumers as to its beverage’s alcohol and sugar content in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) because they are members of a class that previously won a settlement against the same defendant for similar claims, but allowed putative class claims by other plaintiffs who didn’t start drinking kombucha until after the previous settlement.