THE UNFAIR COMPETITION LAW (UCL)
(Business & Professions Code Sec. 17200)
This law has been protecting consumers and business by allowing district attorneys to go after companies that mislead consumers in order to gain an advantage in the marketplace.
Unfortunately, in recent years, this law has been abused by private attorneys filing lawsuits where no consumer or competitor has been harmed, motivated by the prospect of court-ordered attorneys fees.
"Unfair," under this law, can be whatever a lawyer says it is. A lawyer can file a suit without even having to identify a customer or competitor who was misled by the product or service.
The law lets a private lawyer claim to represent the "injured public" without even trying to communicate with the people he claims to be representing.
These lawsuits often force companies into costly litigation, ending up in settlements that produce a win for attorneys, but little or no benefit for consumers.
California State Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown has called the UCL "a means of generating attorneys' fees without any corresponding public benefit."
There is no protection for a company once an initial unfair competition suit has been filed and settled - another lawsuit may be filed on exactly the same issue.
The UCL must continue to protect consumers from unfair competition and deceptive advertising, but the law must also be altered to discourage its use by private fee-seeking attorneys without clients.
