This morning, May 18, 2009, the California Supreme Court issued its ruling in In re Tobacco II Cases, a case that will shape how parties litigate California Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") claims. At issue was the viability of UCL actions that seek to certify a class despite the fact that not all putative plaintiffs suffered injury as a result of a defendant's allegedly unfair practice. Since California's infamous UCL (also known as Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) is often used to add broad "consumer fraud" claims to product liability lawsuits against the life sciences industry (as well as many other industries), the outcome of In re Tobacco II garnered substantial attention...… Continue Reading
This morning, March 3, 2009, the California Supreme Court heard argument in In re Tobacco II Cases, a case that will shape how parties litigate California Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") claims. At issue is the viability of UCL actions that seek to certify a class despite the fact that not all putative plaintiffs suffered injury as a result of a defendant's allegedly unfair practice. Since California's infamous UCL (also known as Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) is often used to add broad "consumer fraud" claims to product liability lawsuits against the life sciences industry (as well as many other industries), the outcome of In re Tobacco II is garnering considerable attention.… Continue Reading
UPDATE: After more than two years, on February 3, 2009, the California Supreme Court finally set argument in an important UCL case, In re Tobacco II for Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., in San Francisco. With the Court’s 90-day rule, a decision can be expected by June 1, 2009 in the ordinary course. California product … Continue Reading
