Cepelak

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JOHN CEPELAK, et al., Case No. 20-cv-02450-VC

Plaintiffs,

ORDER DENYING CLASS

v. CERTIFICATION

HP INC., Re: Dkt. No. 106 Defendant.

The plaintiffs seek certification of eight classes across four states. For each state, they first define a Rule 23(b)(3) damages classes of all buyers of any HP printer, on the theory that all HP printers use color ink when printing what seem to be black and white or grayscale documents. (The plaintiffs also ask for these classes to be certified for injunctive relief under Rule 23(b)(2) and alternatively request certification of issue classes under Rule 23(c)(4), with damages to be figured out later.) Second, the plaintiffs define injunctive relief classes of all buyers of 28 models of HP printers that stop all printing when any ink cartridge is empty. The plaintiffs term the first set of classes the “underprinting” classes and the latter set the “print-to- stop” classes, though neither label has much connection to the conduct they complain of. This order addresses only some of the glaring problems with these proposed…