Churchill Village, L.L.C. v. General Electric Co.

In November 1999, plaintiffs Churchill Village, Barbara Dorsett, and A1 Dorsett, individually and on behalf of the public (“plaintiffs”), brought this action against General Electric Company (“defendant”), premised on this court’s diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiffs allege two causes of action: (1) violation of unlawful, fraudulent, and unfair business acts and practices under California Business and Professions Code sections 17200 et seq. (“UCL”); and (2) violation of false advertising acts under California Business and Professions Code Sections 17500 et seq. (“FAA”). Now before the court is plaintiffs’ motion for the issuance of a preliminary injunction.

BACKGROUND

Between April 1983 and January 1989, defendant manufactured approximately 3.1 million “low end” dishwasher units. Approximately 900,000 units remain in the market today. Plaintiffs allege that defendant first learned of fires in the subject dishwashers in the late 1980s but did not report them until 1998. In November 1998, defendant filed a voluntary report with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”), the federal agency responsible for “protect[ing] the public against unreasonable…