Tag Archives: unfairness

policy of paying only 85% purchase price for claims under service policy isn’t inherently deceptive/abusive

Shuman v. SquareTrade Inc., 2021 WL 5113176, No. 20-cv-02725-JCS (N.D. Cal. Nov. 3, 2021) SquareTrade sells service contracts for the protection of consumer goods. Shuman alleged that it consistently fails to provide consumers with the full terms and conditions of … Continue reading

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competitor succeeds in enjoining sale of competing but non-FDA-cleared medical devices

Telebrands Corp. v. Vindex Solutions LLC, 2021 WL 534361, No. 21-cv-00898-BLF (N.D. Cal. Feb. 12, 2021) Telebrands sells stuff, including the Hempvana Rocket, a handheld transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit, “a pain-relieving pen that uses TENS therapy in the … Continue reading

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Disparate impact isn’t “unfair” for consumer protection purposes, court indicates

Schulte v. Conopco, Inc., No. 20-2696 (8h Cir. May 18, 2021) This would make a great student note topic: Is disparate impact “unfair” under state consumer protection laws? The court here implicitly says no, without ever confronting the question directly. … Continue reading

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Homeopathy claims weren’t unfair in the absence of proven falsity

Allen v. Hyland’s, Inc., 2021 WL 718295, No. CV 12-1150-DMG (MANx) (C.D. Cal. Feb. 23, 2021) This class action, about whether certain homeopathic products didn’t perform as indicated on the packaging, went to a jury trial that ended in Hyland’s … Continue reading

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TM choice of law: P’s primary place of business determines which state’s law applies

Lontex Corp. v. Nike, Inc., 2021 WL 3170600, No. 18-5623 (E.D. Pa. Jul. 27, 2021) A rare choice of law opinion involving competitors. This is a trademark infringement claim but Lontex asserted claims under various state unfair trade practices law. … Continue reading

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a rare freestanding UCL unfairness claim re: service termination that rendered cameras nonfunctional

Soo v. Lorex Corp., 2020 WL 5408117, No. 20-cv-01437-JSC (N.D Cal. Sept. 9, 2020) Plaintiffs brought California and New York consumer protection claims based on what happened to their home security Flir cameras; defendants moved to compel arbitration, which was … Continue reading

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Placebo effect is ok by CLRA: Homeopathic remedy wins jury trial on false advertising, still needs to defend against “unfairness”

Allen v. Hylands, Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2019 WL 2142843, No. 17-56184 (9th Cir. May 15, 2019) Allen, on behalf of a class, appealled following a jury’s verdict in favor of Hyland’s. “The gravamen of [Allen’s] claims is that Hyland’s … Continue reading

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What’s UpCounsel? LegalForce thinks it’s false advertising

LegalForce RAPC Worldwide P.C. v. UpCounsel, Inc., 2019 WL 160335, No. 18-cv-02573-YGR (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 2019) LegalForce’s litigation against various competitors in the trademark registration world continues.  UpCounsel “is an online marketplace for legal services that enables users (primarily … Continue reading

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In which I sue Amazon again

In FTC v. Amazon, the initial opinion was heavily, albeit badly, redacted.  With the able assistance of Paul Alan Levy from Public Citizen, MediaPost and I have moved to unseal the opinion and the documents on which it’s based, on … Continue reading

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FTC rules don’t explain excessive redactions in FTC v. Amazon

F.T.C. v. Amazon.com, Inc., NO. C14-1038-JCC (W.D. Wash. Apr. 26, 2016)   Amazon made it really easy for kids to make in-app purchases in “free” apps; the court agreed with the FTC that this was bad, denying the FTC’s request … Continue reading

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