UNFAIR COMPETITION LAW LITIGATION

In recent years, California businesses and nationwide companies doing business in this state have been plagued by lawsuits brought under California's unique "Unfair Competition Law," Business & Professions Code section 17200. This statutory scheme allows plaintiffs who have suffered no injury and have had no contact whatsoever with a company to file suit "on behalf of the general public," seeking injunctive relief, restitution and attorneys fees for business practices deemed "unlawful, unfair or misleading." The risk to companies from such litigation may lie less in the ultimate outcomes than in the potentially burdensome and invasive process, as plaintiffs seek court orders requiring disclosure of detailed information concerning all of a company's sales and customers. The disruption to business from such litigation can be enormous.

Adams | Nye | Becht LLP has acted as state-wide liaison counsel and represented hundreds of defendant companies in this dangerous, cutting-edge litigation. We have helped design effective strategies for minimizing the discovery burden, reducing client exposure, discouraging further litigation and encouraging dismissals or early, minimal settlements.