"In Loss for Big Tobacco, Calif. Supreme Court Loosens Standing to Sue Under Proposition 64"

In an article in this morning's Recorder, Mike McKee writes: "Big Tobacco and other major businesses took a hit Monday when the California Supreme Court ruled that class actions over alleged fraud can go forward, even if it's impossible to tell whether every plaintiff was harmed by deceptive ads."

And the Daily Journal reports on the "Big Win for Plaintiff's Bar in Class Action Case" (subscription).  Laura Ernde writes:

Consumer class-action lawsuits are alive and well in California after a 4-3 decision Monday from the state Supreme Court that limited the reach of a 2005 voter initiative targeting frivolous lawsuits.

The ruling was a big win for plaintiff's attorneys, who feared the court would make it nearly impossible for them to use the state's unfair competition law to hold businesses responsible for false advertising claims.

The Los Angeles Times reports today that "Calif. top court revives class action against tobacco industry" (with comments from both Will Stern and Sharon Arkin, who are frequent co-speakers on UCL panels).  A short AP article appeared yesterday afternoon on the websites of the San Francisco Chroncile and the Sacramento Bee, and Bloomberg News ran a story. 

In the blogosphere, Cal Biz Lit has two posts on the opinion, and the Consumer Law & Policy Blog has a short report.