There has been an explosion of consumer lawsuits alleging businesses violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, Business & Professions Code Sections 17200, et. seq. and  17500, et. seq. (“UCL”).

Section 17200 of the UCL prohibits business practices that are “unlawful,” “unfair,” and “fraudulent” while also prohibiting “unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising.”  Its sister statute, Section 17500, prohibits false and misleading advertising.  California’s UCL allows government and private parties to initiate and prosecute actions.  California’s UCL is unique because it permits plaintiffs to borrow other codes, statutes, regulations, and ordinances to create liability.

While California’s UCL has certainly affected California companies, its impact has been felt throughout the United States.  K&L Gates attorneys have represented numerous clients in UCL disputes in California, as well as in other jurisdictions.  Our attorneys have represented clients in such industries as herbal supplements and functional foods, manufacturing, automotive, retail, consumer electronics, wireless telecommunications and finance.  Some examples of UCL actions handled by K&L Gates include:

• Defending a national wireless service provider in a representative action alleging violations of California's UCL.
  
  
• Defending an automobile manufacturer sued in a putative nation-wide class action alleging violations, among other things, of California's UCL and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
  
  
• Defending a nutritional supplement contract manufacturer who was sued in a putative nationwide class action alleging violations of California's UCL and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
  
  
• Defending a consumer electronics manufacturer/distributor who was sued in a putative class action alleging violations of California's UCL.
  
  
• Defending a national advertising company in a representative action alleging the client violated California's UCL by committing violations of the California Labor Code.
  
  
• Defending a national paint manufacturer/distributor who was sued by a putative private attorney general and a number of local government agencies for allegedly violating California's UCL.
  
  
• Handling post-trial proceedings on behalf of an herbal supplement company who, before becoming a K&L Gates client, was found liable under California's UCL and ordered to pay a multi-million dollar restitution award.
  
  
• Defending a mortgage lender who was sued in a putative class action alleging that the lender violated, among other things, the Federal Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, as well as California's UCL and Consumer Legal Remedies Act. 

The ability to defend a typical California UCL action requires an in-depth knowledge of this unique statute, a command of the rules and procedures governing class-action litigation and, in many cases, an understanding of substantive areas of law that are used to trigger the UCL violation.  K&L Gates' ability to defend UCL cases is enhanced by the interdisciplinary manner in which we staff such cases.  Our UCL attorneys frequently work with attorneys from our other leading practices areas, including FDA, mortgage banking, labor and employment, wireless telecommunications, consumer finance and securities, so that every aspect of a UCL case is handled by an experienced practitioner.

California's UCL requires constant monitoring.  New cases and a voter initiative, Proposition 64, have greatly changed how UCL cases must be defended.  K&L Gates attorneys closely monitor such judicial and legislative developments.  They have published numerous articles on the subject, participated in lectures and served as sources for media reports on UCL developments.  For example, our attorneys were among the first to use Proposition 64 to successfully defeat cases filed against our clients before the initiative was passed.