[PLAINTIFF NAME],
an individual residing in the State of California, │ Case No.: __
│
Plaintiff, │ COMPLAINT FOR:
│ 1. Violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act
v. │ (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750 – 1785)
│ 2. Violation of the Unfair Competition Law
[DEFENDANT NAME], │ (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq.)
a [corporation/LLC/etc.] formed under the laws of │ 3. Violation of the False Advertising Law
[STATE OF FORMATION] and doing business in the │ (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17500 et seq.)
State of California, │ 4. Common-Law Fraud / Intentional Misrepresentation
│
Defendant. │ DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
│
[// GUIDANCE: Modify the caption to match local county formatting rules and any additional defendants.]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- DOCUMENT HEADER ..................................................... 2
- DEFINITIONS .......................................................... 3
- OPERATIVE PROVISIONS (FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS) ........................... 4
- REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES (ALLEGED) ............................... 6
- COVENANTS & RESTRICTIONS (ALLEGED DUTIES) ............................ 7
- DEFAULT & REMEDIES (CAUSES OF ACTION) ................................ 8
- RISK ALLOCATION (REQUESTED RELIEF) .................................. 11
- DISPUTE RESOLUTION .................................................. 13
- GENERAL PROVISIONS .................................................. 14
- EXECUTION BLOCK .................................................... 15
1. DOCUMENT HEADER
1.1 Parties
1.1.1 Plaintiff – [PLAINTIFF NAME] (“Plaintiff”) is an individual consumer who purchased and used the Product (defined below) for personal, family, or household purposes in [COUNTY], California.
1.1.2 Defendant – [DEFENDANT NAME] (“Defendant”) is a [corporation/LLC] with its principal place of business at [ADDRESS] and at all relevant times conducted business within the State of California.
1.2 Jurisdiction & Venue
1.2.1 Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper under Cal. Const. art. VI, § 10 and Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 410.10.
1.2.2 Venue is proper in this Court under Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 395(a) because Defendant transacts business and committed the complained-of acts in this County.
1.3 Demand for Jury Trial
Pursuant to Cal. Const. art. I, § 16 and Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 631, Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.
[// GUIDANCE: If the contract at issue contains an arbitration clause, see § 8.3 for limited arbitration carve-outs.]
2. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Complaint, the following capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below:
“Advertisement” means any statement, illustration, or representation disseminated to the public in connection with the promotion of the Product.
“CLRA” means the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750 – 1785.
“Defective Condition” means the material non-conformities, omissions, or safety hazards alleged in § 3 below.
“Product” means the consumer good or service marketed and sold by Defendant to Plaintiff, specifically identified as [DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT].
“UCL” means California’s Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq.
“Unfair or Deceptive Practice(s)” has the meaning given in Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 and includes the acts alleged herein.
[// GUIDANCE: Add or remove definitions to track the factual scenario.]
3. OPERATIVE PROVISIONS (FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS)
3.1 Background
3.1.1 On or about [DATE OF PURCHASE], Plaintiff purchased the Product from Defendant for approximately [$AMOUNT].
3.1.2 Prior to purchase, Plaintiff reviewed Defendant’s Advertisements, including [WEBSITE, PACKAGING, ETC.], which represented, inter alia, that the Product “____.”
3.2 Misrepresentations & Omissions
3.2.1 Defendant affirmatively represented that the Product “__,” representations that were false, misleading, and likely to deceive a reasonable consumer.
3.2.2 Defendant failed to disclose material facts, including but not limited to “__,” despite having exclusive knowledge of such facts and a duty to disclose them.
3.3 Reliance
Plaintiff reasonably relied on Defendant’s misrepresentations and omissions in deciding to purchase the Product and would not have done so—or would have paid substantially less—had the truth been disclosed.
3.4 Injury
As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff suffered:
a. Monetary loss equal to the purchase price and/or diminished value of the Product;
b. Out-of-pocket expenses for attempted repairs/replacements; and
c. Exposure to safety risks and consequential damages.
4. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES (ALLEGED)
4.1 Express Warranties. Defendant warranted that the Product “meets or exceeds industry standards” and is “free from defects in materials and workmanship.”
4.2 Implied Warranties. Under Cal. Com. Code §§ 2314–2315, Defendant impliedly warranted that the Product was of merchantable quality and fit for its ordinary purpose.
4.3 Breach. The Product failed to conform to the above warranties due to the Defective Condition, thereby breaching both express and implied warranties.
5. COVENANTS & RESTRICTIONS (ALLEGED DUTIES)
5.1 Statutory Duty of Honesty. Defendant owed a duty under the CLRA, UCL, and the False Advertising Law to refrain from unfair, unlawful, and deceptive business practices.
5.2 Compliance Covenant. Defendant covenanted—by operation of law and corporate policy statements—to comply with all applicable consumer protection statutes.
5.3 Monitoring and Quality Control. Defendant failed to implement reasonable quality-control procedures sufficient to detect and correct the Defective Condition.
6. DEFAULT & REMEDIES (CAUSES OF ACTION)
COUNT I Violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act
(Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750 – 1785)
6.1 Plaintiff realleges §§ 1–5 as though fully set forth herein.
6.2 Defendant’s acts constitute unfair or deceptive practices in violation of Cal. Civ. Code § 1770(a)(5), (7), and (9).
6.3 Pursuant to Cal. Civ. Code § 1780, Plaintiff seeks:
a. Actual damages;
b. An order enjoining the unlawful practices;
c. Restitution;
d. Punitive damages;
e. Reasonable attorney fees and costs; and
f. Any other relief the Court deems proper.
COUNT II Violation of the Unfair Competition Law
(Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq.)
6.4 Defendant engaged in unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business acts and practices as set forth herein.
6.5 Plaintiff seeks restitution, disgorgement of profits, and injunctive relief prohibiting further violations.
COUNT III Violation of the False Advertising Law
(Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17500 et seq.)
6.6 Defendant disseminated misleading advertisements likely to deceive a reasonable consumer.
6.7 Plaintiff seeks restitution, injunctive relief, and any enhanced or treble damages permitted by law.
COUNT IV Common-Law Fraud / Intentional Misrepresentation
6.8 Defendant made intentional misrepresentations of material fact with knowledge of falsity and intent to induce reliance.
6.9 Plaintiff justifiably relied and suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, including exemplary damages under Cal. Civ. Code § 3294.
[// GUIDANCE: Add additional counts (e.g., breach of warranty) as warranted by facts.]
7. RISK ALLOCATION (REQUESTED RELIEF)
7.1 Indemnification / Fee Shifting
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1780(e) (CLRA) and the equitable powers of this Court, Plaintiff seeks recovery of reasonable attorney fees, litigation costs, and expert fees.
7.2 Limitation of Liability—Statutory Enhancements
Plaintiff expressly seeks treble, exemplary, and/or statutory damages to the maximum extent permitted under Cal. Civ. Code § 3345 and any other applicable statutes addressing consumer fraud directed at senior or disabled persons.
7.3 Injunctive & Declaratory Relief
Plaintiff seeks a permanent injunction requiring Defendant to:
a. Cease the unlawful practices;
b. Issue corrective advertising; and
c. Implement a comprehensive compliance program.
8. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
8.1 Governing Law. All claims are governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
8.2 Forum Selection. Plaintiff designates the Superior Court of California, County of [COUNTY], as the proper forum.
8.3 Limited Arbitration Carve-Out. To the extent any agreement purports to compel arbitration, Plaintiff invokes Cal. Civ. Code § 1751 (CLRA) which renders any waiver of class-wide or public injunctive relief unenforceable.
8.4 Jury Waiver. Any contractual jury waiver is invalid under Cal. Const. art. I, § 16; Plaintiff expressly preserves the right to jury trial.
8.5 Reservation of Equitable Relief. Nothing herein shall preclude Plaintiff from seeking provisional remedies (e.g., temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction) as necessary to prevent immediate and irreparable harm.
9. GENERAL PROVISIONS
9.1 Severability. If any provision of this Complaint is adjudged invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force to the maximum extent permitted by law.
9.2 Integration. This pleading supersedes all prior drafts and incorporates all statutory notices required under Cal. Civ. Code § 1782.
9.3 Amendment. Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this Complaint pursuant to Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 472, including to add additional parties or claims upon discovery of new facts.
9.4 Notice. A CLRA Demand Letter was transmitted to Defendant on [DATE], more than 30 days prior to filing this Complaint, satisfying the prerequisites of Cal. Civ. Code § 1782(a).
10. EXECUTION BLOCK
Respectfully submitted,
DATED: ___ , 20_
[ATTORNEY NAME]
[LAW FIRM NAME]
Attorneys for Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME]
State Bar No.: _
Address: ____
Telephone: () -
Email: _________
VERIFICATION
I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that I have read the foregoing Complaint and that the factual allegations therein are true and correct of my own knowledge, except as to matters stated on information and belief, which I believe to be true.
Executed on ___ , 20_, at [CITY], California.
[PLAINTIFF NAME]
[// GUIDANCE: Some California counties require notarized verifications—confirm local rules.]