New UCL/class certification decision
On Friday, the Court of Appeal reversed a trial court order denying class certification of a UCL claim. In Lebrilla v. Farmers Group, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jun. 25, 2004), the Court of Appeal rejected the argument that "a UCL action already provides an 'expedited mechanism for obtaining ... relief on behalf of the general public' and thus, giving it class treatment is superfluous." (Slip op. at 22.) This suggestion, the court determined, "was specifically addressed and rejected" in Corbett v. Superior Court, 101 Cal.App.4th 649, 671 (2002). Interestingly, the Lebrilla court did not mention Frieman v. San Rafael Rock Quarry, Inc., 116 Cal.App.4th 29 (2004), in which the Court of Appeal accepted a very similar argument, and affirmed an order denying certification of a UCL claim. (My prior posts on Frieman are here and here.)

- posted by Kim Kralowec @ 7:48 AM