Recent UCL "unlawful" prong decision: Dell, Inc. v. Superior Court (Mohan)

This case got lost in the blog pile for a few weeks. In Dell, Inc. v. Superior Court (Mohan), ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Jan. 31, 2008), the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Four) addressed a UCL "unlawful" prong claim. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants violated certain Revenue & Taxation Code provisions by collecting sales and use taxes on optional service contracts sold with computers (which, in turn, violated the UCL). The trial court conducted a stipulated bench trial on the discrete issue of whether sales of the service contracts were subject to sales or use tax. The trial court determined that they were not, and the Court of Appeal agreed.