On Monday, the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division One) held that federal law preempted a UCL "unlawful" prong claim predicated on an alleged violation of Penal Code section 653o, which "bans the import of products made from certain animals, including kangaroos, into California." Viva! International Voice for Animals v. Adidas Promotional Retail Operations, Inc., ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Nov. 21, 2005) (slip op. at 1). This is the case that was argued on the same day that I argued the Prop. 64 retroactivity issue before the same Division in the Insurance Broker cases. The Prop. 64 retroactivity issue was also argued in the Viva! case, but the Court determined that "[i]n light of this conclusion, we need not reach ... other issues raised by defendants, including the applicability of Proposition 64, pending before the Supreme Court in Californians for Disability Rights v. Mervyn’s (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 386, review granted April 27, 2005, S131798 and Branick v. Downey Savings & Loan Assn. (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 828, review granted April 27, 2005, S132433." (Slip op. at 17-18 n.14.)
I had no idea that Adidas made its shoes out of kangaroo leather.
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