Rubenstein v. The Gap, Inc.

A retailer did not falsely advertise clothes it sold at its outlet stores by placing its brand-name labels on the clothes, even if they were of lesser quality and never sold in its main line retail stores.  The Gap does not falsely advertise in violation of the FAL, UCL or CLRA by placing its regular…

In re Turner (Turner v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.)

A borrower lacks standing to challenge foreclosure based on late assignment of the loan to a securitized trust as breach of the trust agreement renders the assignment voidable, not void, the borrower is not a third party beneficiary of that agreement, and the defects do not harm the borrower who would be foreclosed anyway.  A…

People v. Overstock.com, Inc.

It was not an abuse its discretion to assess defendant $6.8 million in civil penalties for false advertising and UCL violations in light of factual findings that defendant falsely advertised its products using price comparisons with similar (but not the same) products, choosing the highest available price rather than average price for comparison, and using…

People ex rel. Harris v. Aguayo

Trial court properly found defendants liable under the unfair competition law in view of their fraudulent scheme to acquire semi-abandoned properties through a combination of adverse possession and the recordation of wild deeds.  Defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme to acquire semi-abandoned properties by adverse possession and by a variety of scams such as recording…

Friedman v. AARP, Inc.

Plaintiff stated a viable unfair competition law claim by alleging that the insurer paid almost 5% of his Medicare gap insurance premiums to the American Association of Retired People as a disguised commission even though it was not a licensed California insurance agent.  A plaintiff who bought Medicare gap insurance through the AARP Insurance Plan,…

Kwan v. SanMedica Int’l, LLC

To state a claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, or Consumer Legal Remedies Act, a private plaintiff must allege facts showing that the defendant’s advertising is actually false, not merely that that the defendant has not or cannot substantiate its advertising claims.  “We do not overrule a district judge on a question…

McGill v. Citibank, N.A.

A waiver of the right to seek injunctive relief in court to prevent violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, or False Advertising Law is unenforceable under California law, and the Federal Arbitration Act does not preempt California law in that respect.  This decision reaffirms Broughton v. Cigna Healthplan of California (1999)…

Oskoui v. J.P.Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

A home loan borrower could survive summary judgment on her claims for breach of contract and violation of the unfair competition law based on deceptive processing and denial of the borrower’s loan modification applications, since servicer should have known from the beginning that borrower’s loan exceeded eligibility guidelines yet reviewed her three times anyway.  A…

Ivanoff v. Bank of America, N.A.

Successive suits by mortgage borrower based on breach of contract and the Truth in Lending Act are not barred by the merger-and-bar aspect of res judicata, since the primary right sued upon is different—TILA protects a right of disclosure of key loan terms, whereas contract law protects the parties’ agreement.  In a first suit, the…

Van Patten v. Vertical Fitness Group, LLC

Plaintiff had standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, but not the UCL for unwanted text messages soliciting him to renew a gym membership, but the claims were properly dismissed because plaintiff expressly consented to receive the messages by giving his phone number to the gym, and merely allowing his gym membership to…

Veera v. Banana Republic, LLC

Plaintiff suffered economic loss sufficient for UCL standing by buying undiscounted items after a long wait at the cash register after being lured into a store by a 40% off sale sign that did not warn not all items were on sale.  Acknowledging that Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1 went…

Robinson v. U-Haul Co. of California

Trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting a permanent injunction against U-Haul’s enforcement in California of an unlawful non-competition clause in its dealer agreements, which affected 1,000 U-Haul dealers in California as well as U-Haul’s competitors, customers and the general public, since U-Haul’s proposed voluntary non-enforcement of the clause would have allowed it…