Plaintiff stated viable UCL and CLRA claims against Target based on its deceptive advertising of its "white baking chips." The product's price tag said "WHT CHOCO" while the product's label didn't clearly say whether the white baking chips contained or did not contain chocolate. A reasonable consumer could read the price tag and believe that the chocolate chip-like white baking… Read More
Patients sued medical group after the group suffered a data breach that allowed hackers access to personal indentifying information concerning patients, including SSNs and medical histories. This decision holds that the patients have UCL standing to sue. Under their "benefit of the bargain" theory, the patients suffered a loss of money by purchasing the medical group's services which (a) weren't… Read More
The trial court correctly denied defendants' Anti-SLAPP motion to strike plaintiff's claims under the UCL and CLRA based on defendants' allegedly false statements in releases or other statements and advertisements that Michael Jackson was the lead artist on all tracks in a posthumous CD. Even if the defendants' statements were protected speech under CCP 425.16(e), plaintiff showed a probability of… Read More
The San Diego city attorney sued the owner of Instacart for misclassifying its gig workers as independent contractors seeking an injunction and civil penalties under B&P Code 17200. This decision holds that defendant cannot compel arbitration of the city attorney's claim. Like the EEOC in EEOC v. Waffle House Inc. (2002) 122 S.Ct. 754, the city attorney here was not… Read More
Doctors sued county for the unreimbursed portion of their invoices for emergency medical treatment given to participants in the county's health plan. Under the Knox-Keene Act, a health plan must reimburse noncontracting health care providers for the reasonable value of the emergency care they render to health plan participants. A provider that thinks it has been underpaid may sue a… Read More
This decision affirms denial of defendant's motion to disqualify the private attorneys whom San Diego hired on contingency fee contracts to prosecute this suit for civil penalties under B&P Code 17200. The contingency fee contracts specified that the City Attorney retained ultimate control over the litigation or its settlement, and the contracts contained other clauses required under County of Santa… Read More
This decision affirms all but $42 million of a $344 million judgment against Johnson under the UCL and FAL for misleading advertising and concealment of the serious risks entailed in using its pelvic mesh product to cure certain conditions in women. The trial court applied the proper test in determining whether Johnson's instructions for use and other advertising would mislead… Read More
A dredge company's application to the Coast Guard for a coastwise shipping permit was protected speech under CCP 425.16. Plaintiff had no probability of succeeding on its UCL claim based on the allegedly fraudulent application for the coastwise permit because the Coast Guard exercises exclusive jurisdiction over the issuance of those permits, preempting state law claims arising from the issuance… Read More
Under the Knox-Keene Act, health care plans must reimburse out-of-contract hospital for emergency services provided to plan members at the reasonable and customary value for those services (in the absence of a contract setting another rate). A hospital may sue a health plan in quantum meruit if if thinks the health plan has paid less than the reasonable and customary… Read More
Following Nolte v. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 1401, this decision holds that it is not an unfair or unlawful business practice for a hospital not to affirmatively disclose, prior to treatment, that it will charge an emergency room charge to patients using the emergency room. Extensive state and federal statutes and regulations require specific sorts of disclosures of… Read More
Trader Joe's label on honey saying "100% New Zealand Manuka Honey" was not false advertising in violation of the UCL. Under FDA honey guidelines, a honey label may indicate the flower of origin of the honey if the producer has reason to believe that the designated flower is the chief floral source of the honey. Here, Trader Joe's had evidence… Read More
Compensation for expected but unearned future income to which the plaintiff has no legal entitlement is not recoverable as restitution under the UCL, regardless whether it is characterized as lost market share. Lost profits are damages, not restitution, and are unavailable in a private action under the UCL. Here, the trial court properly dismissed plaintiff optometrist's UCL claim against a… Read More
The CMA sued under the UCL seeking an injunction banning Aetna's policy of discouraging its in-network doctors from referring patients to out-of-network doctors. This decision holds that the CMA's diversion of its time and assets to help its doctor members fight Aetna's policy doesn't qualify as a loss of money or property under B&P Code 17203 and that absent a… Read More
The FTC Act does not authorize the FTC to seek monetary restitution in a suit that the FTC brings in the first instance (i.e., without a prior administrative proceeding) in federal court under section 13(b) of the FTC Act. (15 USC 53(b).) The section expressly permits only injunctive relief in such an action. Furthermore, allowing restitution under section 13(b) would… Read More
Ins. Code 533.5 provides that no insurer (no matter what the insurance policy says) owes any duty to indemnify or defend a suit by the Attorney General, a district attorney or city or county counsel to recover a fine, penalty or restitution for a violation of B&P Code 17200 or 17500. This decision holds that the statute does not violate… Read More
A guide to nutritional supplements that professed to be neutral but was allegedly favorable to a competing manufacturer that paid it handsomely for high rankings was commercial speech, largely because the manufacturer's payments gave the guide an economic motivation (apart from merely selling guides) to make the speech. The guide also made false statements insofar as it denied plaintiff's products… Read More
California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Civ. Code 3426.7) preempts other remedies for misappropriation of trade secrets such as a claim for unfair competition under B&P Code 17200. Read More
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act does not preempt state law requirements for dietary supplements that do not differ from those promulgated under the FDCA. So a plaintiff can bring a UCL action against a dietary supplement supplier for failing to substantiate its advertising or labeling claim about the supplement's structure or function--except that while the FDCA and FDA… Read More
California's automatic renewal law, B&P Code 17600 et seq. requires a consumer’s affirmative consent to any subscription agreement automatically renewed for a new term when the initial term ends as well as “clear and conspicuous” disclosure of the offer terms, and an “easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation. However, this decision holds that the law's provision that "all available civil remedies that… Read More
Bus. & Prof. Code 17204 and 17207 confer standing on district attorneys to sue under the UCL for restitution and civil penalties in the name of the people of the State of California. A district attorney may obtain all allowed forms of relief--injunction, restitution and civil penalties--statewide at least so long some of the violations occurred in the county which… Read More
