Northern District of California Judge finds company can sue for injunction under UCL

On Thursday, Judge Maxime Chesney ruled that a company had a right to sue another company under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL) for an injunction without any showing of money damages.  This is the latest in a long series of cases that have attempted to discern the remedies available under the statute which were only recently resolved with Clayworth v. Pfizer which found that an injunction was available.

In the current case, Finelite has accused Ledalite Architectural Products of advertising that Ledalite's products may be covered by a series of patents.  Finelite alleges that the products are not patented and that this false claim is an unfair trade practice forbidden by UCL.  Finelite claims it has lost sales as a result and seeks an injunction to prohibit Ledalite from engaging in this form of advertising.  Ledalite responds that Finelite's injury is hypothetical and that it is not of the restitution nature of recovery available under UCL.  Since no restitution was sought, there is no claim upon which the court can grant relief.

Judge Chesney disagreed, citing Clayworth, and stating that an injunction was a sufficient remedy available by itself under the statute.

The case is Finelite, Inc. v. Ledalite Architectural Prods.No. C-10-1276, and the opinion is below the jump.



Here is the opinion:

Finelite v. Ledalite MTD