McGill Lives On When California Law Applies.
In Kramer v. Coinbase, Inc., A167779 (1/3 pub. 10/4/24) (Petrou, Tucher, Fujisaki), plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, Inc. for public injunctive relief under California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law. Plaintiffs alleged Coinbase misrepresented the security of its platform, misleading the public and leading it to believe it was highly secure. This lawsuit seeks to stop Coinbase's alleged deceptive security claims directed at the public. Coinbase moved to compel arbitration based on the user agreement’s arbitration clause, arguing plaintiffs' relief was private and thus arbitrable. The trial court denied Coinbase’s motion, interpreting plaintiffs' request as public injunctive relief, which is non-arbitrable under California’s McGill rule, allowing claims for public injunctive relief to remain in court rather than arbitration. Coinbase appealed, contending the claims were private.
Affirmed.The appellate court upheld the trial court's decision, agreeing that the complaint seeks public injunctive relief as it aims to prevent future public deception about Coinbase's security measures rather than solely benefiting existing users.
Comment: Coinbase continues to generate published opinions. See our Sept. 27, 2024 post.