Second District (Wrongly) Upholds Denial of Cert in Cohen v. Direct TV
On September 28th the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of class certification in Cohen v. Direct TV, Inc. The Court's Opinion, which is unpublished, concluded that the trial court correctly denied class certification of a class action under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”) because the proposed class included persons who had not viewed alleged deceptive promotions by Direct TV.
However, this decision conflicts with the California Supreme Court’s analysis in In Re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal.4th 298 (2009), which recently rejected the argument that a UCL class action could not be certified absent a showing that all class members relied on an alleged deceptive promotion to their detriment. Under settled California law, the public is entitled to broad protections under the UCL regardless of whether absent class members sustained a direct injury as the result of alleged deceptive advertising.
A detailed discussion of the issues presented by Cohen is addressed at the Bailey Class Action Daily.
