An article in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle mentioned section 17200 by name and quoted Will Stern, Bruce Simon, and others on a lawsuit contemplated by Barry Bonds seeking to recover the profits from a book about steroids in professional sports. According to the article, the UCL claim is based on the theory that the authors violated federal law (and hence the UCL) by relying on illegally-obtained grand jury transcripts to write their book.
Here is a link to the San Francisco Superior Court docket for the case, which was in fact filed yesterday. The complaint is accessible there for download. The Chronicle also reported yesterday afternoon that Judge James L. Warren denied Bonds' ex parte application for an order appointing a receiver to monitor sales of the book. The Chronicle further reports that the defendants plan an anti-SLAPP motion as well as a challenge based on Prop. 64—that Bonds has suffered no loss of money or property "as a result of" the alleged UCL violation.
UPDATE: Monday's Daily Journal will also have an article, "Legal Swats at Bonds Book: Federal Judge Could Press Authors to Disclose Source," discussing this case as well as activity in a related federal action pending before Judge Susan Illston. (Thanks to JS for the heads-up.)
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