• July 13, 2006

The California Court of Appeal issued a decision Wednesday that protects marketers from "frivolous" class-action lawsuits brought under that state's Unfair Competition Law. The decision serves to tighten standards for "certification" of a legal "class" -- a necessary first step in bringing such a suit -- and was handed down in favor of Pfizer Inc. Pfizer was appealing a certification approved by a state Superior Court in Los Angeles; the Court of Appeal's decision served to withdraw this certification. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) had filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Pfizer, arguing that a proposition approved in 2004 by California voters had raised the bar for certifying a legal class. According to Dan Jaffe, ANA executive vice-president, "Prior to Proposition 64... the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) allowed any person to sue on behalf of the public at large for false advertising, regardless of whether that person or anyone else had suffered any injury... Proposition 64 amended the UCL so that lawsuits can be brought in the name of a private citizen only if that person has suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property as a result of such unfair competition."