Category Archives: unfairness

mortgages and the UCL: an occasional series

Posted on June 16, 2014 by rtushnet

Pestana v. Bank of America, 2014 WL 2616840, No. A137566 (Cal. Ct. App. June 12, 2014) Pestana sued his mortgage loan servicers (BoA) after BoA denied his application for a loan modification under the federal Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP), … Continue reading →

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Uber alles except unfair competition

Posted on April 9, 2014 by rtushnet

I predict that Mark Lemley will not like this decision but that Mark McKenna will. Boston Cab Dispatch, Inc. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 2014 WL 1338148 No. 13–10769 (D. Mass. Mar. 27, 2014) Plaintiffs sued Uber for false advertising, unfair … Continue reading →

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unjust enrichment claim preempted once patent claim fails

Posted on March 12, 2014 by rtushnet

Medisim Ltd. v. BestMed LLC, 959 F. Supp. 2d 396 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) Previous opinions in this case between thermometer competitors, mostly addressing trademark issues now out of the case (I skipped the patent parts).  After a jury trial, the jury … Continue reading →

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Connecticut lawyer can’t bring unfair competition claim against California lawyer

Posted on February 18, 2014 by rtushnet

Shehu, LLC v. Adams, 2014 WL 567832, CV136017710S (Conn. Super. Ct. Jan. 17, 2014) Plaintiffs (a Connecticut lawyer and his firm) sued Adams and his firm, both located in California.  In 2012, Adams emailed Shehu, LLC and two employees of … Continue reading →

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Trademark licensor must be joined even when plaintiff is exclusive licensee

Posted on February 13, 2014 by rtushnet

Aceto Corporation v. TherapeuticsMD, Inc., 953 F. Supp. 2d 1269 (S.D. Fla. 2013) Aceto sells various pharmaceutical/nutritional ingredients and other chemicals.  Defendants allegedly make and sell a line of prenatal vitamins, Prena1, that violate Aceto’s exclusive US rights to a … Continue reading →

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TM claims in DMCA notice may lead to 512(f) liability

Posted on January 27, 2014 by rtushnet

CrossFit, Inc. v. Alvies, No. 13–3771, 2014 WL 251760 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 22, 2014) CrossFit sued Alvies for trademark infringement, among other things, and Alvies counterclaimed for false advertising/unfair competition.  CrossFit moved to dismiss the counterclaims and partially succeeded.  CrossFit … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dmca, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, trademark, unfairness | Leave a comment

unfair competition in the news

Posted on January 24, 2014 by rtushnet

The facts described in this article about Uber’s alleged attempt to crush competitor Gett by booking and then cancelling rides seem like a pretty good candidate for application of the general unfair competition tort.  Hypo of the day: what causes … Continue reading →

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Is disclosure of recurring charges enough?

Posted on November 15, 2013 by rtushnet

At Slate, a story about Boingo raises questions about what other steps a business ought to take to ensure that consumers make informed decisions to keep accepting recurring charges, when we know that many consumers don’t review their bank/credit card statements … Continue reading →

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HAMP-ed up UCL claim resurrected on appeal

Posted on November 5, 2013 by rtushnet

Lueras v. BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP, 2013 WL 5848859, No. G046799, — Cal.Rptr.3d —- (Ct. App. Oct. 31, 2013) The new frontier: mortgage-related claims brought under consumer protection laws.  A divided court of appeals reversed the dismissal of Lueras’ … Continue reading →

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