BUSINESS LITIGATION
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"What is Unfair Competition?"
Today, the term refers not only to a wide variety of claims that one business might bring against a competitor—the traditional and historical unfair competition—but also claims that investors and consumers might bring. Today, the toughest pro-consumer law in California (and perhaps the nation) is the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof.C. § 17200) and the Deceptive, False, and Misleading Advertising Statute (Bus. & Prof.C. § 17500). Claims under §§ 17200 and 17500 also figure prominently in a great deal of civil cases brought by the Attorney General and by consumer fraud units of district attorneys' offices. These claims are also being aggressively used in business litigation.
In the consumer area especially, §§ 17200 and 17500 have had a tremendous impact. These claims appear as part of virtually all consumer class actions in California.
Sections 17200 and 17500 have a unique and, in some ways, even a counterintuitive jurisprudence. There are broad definitions of what business practices are forbidden, new ideas about who is to benefit from pro-competition legislation, and unconventional rules on standing and “classwide” relief.
Unfair Practices Act prohibits specific practices which the legislature has determined constitute unfair trade practices. Unfair competition statute is independent of the Unfair Practices Act and other laws; its remedies are cumulative to the other remedies or penalties available, but its sanctions are less severe than those of the Unfair Practices Act. Prevailing plaintiffs under unfair competition statute are generally limited to injunctive relief and restitution, and may not receive damages, much less treble damages or attorney fees. In contrast to its limited remedies, unfair competition statute's scope is broad, and embraces anything that can properly be called a business practice and that at the same time is forbidden by law.
Unfair competition statute governs anti-competitive business practices as well as injuries to consumers, and has as a major purpose the preservation of fair business competition. By proscribing “any unlawful” business practice, unfair competition statute “borrows” violations of other laws and treats them as unlawful practices that the statute makes independently actionable. Unfair competition statute does more than just “borrow” violations of other laws, and makes clear that a practice may be deemed unfair even if not specifically proscribed by some other law. Because unfair competition statute is written in the disjunctive, it establishes three varieties of unfair competition—acts or practices which are unlawful, or unfair, or fraudulent; in other words, a practice is prohibited as “unfair” or “deceptive” even if not “unlawful,” and vice versa.
- California's Unfair Business Practice Act (Bus. & Prof. C. 17200)
- False advertising
- Unfair competition
- Unfair business practices
- Partnership disputes
- Contract disputes
"What is Unfair Competition?"
Today, the term refers not only to a wide variety of claims that one business might bring against a competitor—the traditional and historical unfair competition—but also claims that investors and consumers might bring. Today, the toughest pro-consumer law in California (and perhaps the nation) is the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof.C. § 17200) and the Deceptive, False, and Misleading Advertising Statute (Bus. & Prof.C. § 17500). Claims under §§ 17200 and 17500 also figure prominently in a great deal of civil cases brought by the Attorney General and by consumer fraud units of district attorneys' offices. These claims are also being aggressively used in business litigation.
In the consumer area especially, §§ 17200 and 17500 have had a tremendous impact. These claims appear as part of virtually all consumer class actions in California.
Sections 17200 and 17500 have a unique and, in some ways, even a counterintuitive jurisprudence. There are broad definitions of what business practices are forbidden, new ideas about who is to benefit from pro-competition legislation, and unconventional rules on standing and “classwide” relief.
Unfair Practices Act prohibits specific practices which the legislature has determined constitute unfair trade practices. Unfair competition statute is independent of the Unfair Practices Act and other laws; its remedies are cumulative to the other remedies or penalties available, but its sanctions are less severe than those of the Unfair Practices Act. Prevailing plaintiffs under unfair competition statute are generally limited to injunctive relief and restitution, and may not receive damages, much less treble damages or attorney fees. In contrast to its limited remedies, unfair competition statute's scope is broad, and embraces anything that can properly be called a business practice and that at the same time is forbidden by law.
Unfair competition statute governs anti-competitive business practices as well as injuries to consumers, and has as a major purpose the preservation of fair business competition. By proscribing “any unlawful” business practice, unfair competition statute “borrows” violations of other laws and treats them as unlawful practices that the statute makes independently actionable. Unfair competition statute does more than just “borrow” violations of other laws, and makes clear that a practice may be deemed unfair even if not specifically proscribed by some other law. Because unfair competition statute is written in the disjunctive, it establishes three varieties of unfair competition—acts or practices which are unlawful, or unfair, or fraudulent; in other words, a practice is prohibited as “unfair” or “deceptive” even if not “unlawful,” and vice versa.
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