Chavez

Plaintiff Bill Chavez appeals a judgment dismissing his complaint against defendants Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool) and Howard’s after the court sustained a demurrer without leave to amend. He alleges that Whirlpool has required Howard’s and other retailers to maintain minimum resale prices for its products and contends the practice constitutes *367 an unlawful combination under the Cartwright Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 16700 et seq.) and an unlawful and unfair business practice under the unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.).

We conclude that the complaint fails to state a cause of action for violation of the Cartwright Act because the alleged conduct is permissible under the Colgate doctrine (United States v. Colgate & Co. (1919) 250 U.S. 300 [ 39 S.Ct. 465 , 63 L.Ed. 992 , 7 A.L.R. 443 ] (Colgate)), and the facts pleaded are insufficient to establish a coerced agreement. We also conclude that conduct that is permissible under the Colgate doctrine is neither unlawful nor “unfair” under the unfair competition law, so the complaint fails to state a cause of action for violation of the unfair competition law. We therefore affirm the…