Heryford
American Bankers Management Co. v. Heryford
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Mueller, J.
' ORDER
This case challenges the constitutionality of contingency-fee agreements between private counsel and county district attorneys who. bring cases against corporate defendants. Plaintiff American Bankers Management Company, Inc. (“plaintiff” or “ABMC”), filed this action, alleging one such agreement infringes on its Four *949 teenth Amendment due process right to a neutral and impartial trial. First Amended Compl. (FAC), ECF No. 12. Defendant Eric Heryford, the District Attorney (DA) of Trinity County, California, filed a motion to dismiss ABMC’s claim. Mot., ECF No. 21. The court held a hearing on April 22, 2016, at which Brian Perryman appeared for ABMC and Roland Tellis appeared for DA Heryford. ECF No. 32.
For reasons explained below, the court GRANTS defendant’s motion to dismiss, with leave to amend.
I. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
A. Separate UCL Suit
On September 4, 2015, DA Heryford filed suit on behalf of the People of the State of California against several corporations, including ABMC, alleging violations of the “fraudulent,” “unlawful,” and “unfair” prongs of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq. (the UCL Suit). FAC ¶4. The UCL…