Rutledge

This case is a class action brought by purchasers of notebook computers that were manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). Appellants are I Braun Degenshein (Degenshein), and Susanna Giuliano-Ghahramani (Giuliano-Ghahramani), both of whom are representative plaintiffs of a class of California residents who purchased certain HP notebook computers.

The basis of appellants’ consumer action against HP is that certain notebook computers manufactured by HP contained inverters that HP knew would likely fail and cause display screens to dim and darken at some point before the end of the notebook’s useful life.

Appellants alleged claims against HP for violation of the unfair competition law (UCL) (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.), violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.), unjust enrichment and breach of express warranty.

After years of litigation, the trial court ultimately made a “no merits” determination as to the CLRA claim, and granted HP’s motion for summary judgment as to appellants’ remaining claims.

On appeal, appellants challenge seven trial court orders: two summary adjudication orders related to two different class…