Consumer Protection

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general, successfully blocked an attempt by Meta to dismiss the coalition’s lawsuit against the company for its part in harming children’s mental health and for allowing young children on its platforms in violation of federal law. In October 2023, Attorney General Bonta co-led a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that Meta, among other things, deceived the public regarding its design and deployment of harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment.

“Meta needs to be held accountable for the very real harm it has inflicted on children here in California and across the country,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Along with legislation providing for market-wide changes, this litigation will help determine how social media companies can be held accountable and how these companies can treat our children for decades to come. I have an immense amount of hope for the future. As the home to the greatest innovators in the world and a robust technology sector, California has a particular opportunity and obligation to be a catalyst for change. Meta can and must do better. Our children deserve their childhoods back.”

ABX2-1 protects consumers from avoidable gas price spikes that pad big oil profits

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement today after ABX2-1 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and co-sponsored by Attorney General Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom, ABX2-1 would stabilize California's oil market by ensuring refineries have adequate fuel reserves to avoid supply shortages that hike gas prices and harm consumers.

“Californians have been paying too much for gas, while year after year, oil companies report record profits at their expense. Let’s be clear – the price spikes consumers see at the pump are profit spikes for big oil,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Enough is enough. ABX2-1 will save Californians billions of dollars and reduce opportunities for Big Oil to manipulate the market.”

“Price spikes have cost Californians billions of dollars over the years, and we’re not waiting around for the industry to do the right thing — we’re taking action to prevent these price spikes and save consumers money at the pump,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Now, the state has the tools to make sure they backfill supplies and plan ahead for maintenance so there aren’t shortages that drive up prices. I’m grateful to our partners in the Senate and Assembly for acting quickly to push this forward and help deliver relief for Californians.”

“This landmark legislation is a win for consumers, and a win for accountability in the state’s gasoline market,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D- Santa Barbara. “ABX2- 1 will save working California families billions at the gas pump. This common sense solution has received broad public support because consumers know that when gas prices spike in California, the oil industry unfairly profits.”

“ABX2-1 was the subject of an extensive amount of scrutiny, testimony and participation by Members of the Legislature in over 18 hours of hearings. I am proud of the work done by our Assembly Policy Chair, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, and my colleagues and Joint Authors Assemblymember Hart and Senator Skinner on this critical issue,” said Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar Curry, D-Winters. “This bill clearly states that no regulations will move forward unless there is a tangible benefit to California gas consumers, and that the safety of our refinery workers and the public is paramount in any action taken by the State. Our work is not done when the Governor signs ABX2-1. We owe it to all Californians to remain actively engaged in the regulatory process to assure those goals and values are met.”

California's oil market is uniquely vulnerable to manipulation from oil companies. California’s isolated fuel market makes it so supply disruptions including planned maintenance outages can dramatically impact prices. Because nearly all in-state supply comes from a handful of refineries, a single refinery outage could drastically reduce refining capacity. This volatility places an undue burden on California consumers, especially consumers with fixed or limited incomes.

To stabilize California's oil supply and prevent price spikes, ABX2-1 requires refineries to maintain adequate reserves and properly plan for refinery shutdowns. ABX2-1 would authorize the California Energy Commission to adopt regulations requiring refiners to maintain minimum inventory levels and establish effective penalties to ensure the law is enforceable and Big Oil follows the rules. The Commission can only adopt these regulations if it determines that they will lead to lower average retail prices, increase the fuel supply, and reduce price instability for consumers.

Attorney General Bonta is steadfast in his commitment to protect consumers at the pump and hold bad actors accountable. This month, Attorney General Bonta urged California residents who purchased gas in Southern California in 2015 to submit a claim for a payment under the state’s $50 million settlement with gas trading firms for tampering with and manipulating prices for California gasoline. Last year, Attorney General Bonta co-sponsored SBX1-2, which increases transparency in the oil industry to help identify causes of price irregularities. Authored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), co-sponsored by Governor Newsom, and approved by a supermajority in both the Senate and Assembly, SBX1-2 created a dedicated independent watchdog to root out market manipulation and price gouging by oil companies. The law went into effect on June 26, 2023.  

Platform designed to promote excessive, compulsive, and addictive use

SAN FRANCISCO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James today co-led a bipartisan coalition of 14 attorneys general in filing separate enforcement actions against TikTok for violations of state consumer protection laws. Filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Attorney General Bonta’s action alleges that TikTok exploits and harms young users and deceives the public about the social media platform’s dangers. The action seeks significant penalties, as well as injunctive and monetary relief, to address TikTok’s misconduct.

“Our investigation has revealed that TikTok cultivates social media addiction to boost corporate profits. TikTok intentionally targets children because they know kids do not yet have the defenses or capacity to create healthy boundaries around addictive content,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “When we look at the youth mental health crisis and the revenue machine TikTok has created, fueled by the time and attention of our young people, it’s devastatingly obvious: Our children and teens never stood a chance against these social media behemoths. TikTok must be held accountable for the harms it created in taking away the time — and childhoods — of American children.” 

“Young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true. In New York and across the country, young people have died or gotten injured doing dangerous TikTok challenges and many more are feeling more sad, anxious, and depressed because of TikTok’s addictive features. Today, we are suing TikTok to protect young people and help combat the nationwide youth mental health crisis. Kids and families across the country are desperate for help to address this crisis, and we are doing everything in our power to protect them.”

Use of TikTok is pervasive among young people in the United States. In 2023, 63% of all Americans aged 13 to 17 who responded to a Pew Research survey reported using TikTok, and most teenagers in the U.S. were using TikTok daily; 17% of American teens said that they were on TikTok “almost constantly.”

In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta alleges TikTok violated California’s consumer protection statutes, the Unfair Competition Law (UCL), and the False Advertising Law (FAL).

According to the complaint, TikTok’s misconduct arises from its underlying business model that focuses on maximizing young users’ time on the TikTok platform so as to enable the company to boost revenue from selling targeted advertising space. TikTok’s misconduct includes: 

Deploying a content-recommendation system designed to be addictive in order to maximize the time young users spend on the platform. TikTok’s algorithmic features are designed to keep minors on the platform as long as possible and as often as possible, despite the dangers of compulsive use.

Using manipulative features to addict young users and maximize their time on its platform. These features exploit children's psychological vulnerabilities and are deployed to keep kids and teens on the platform for longer. 

BEAUTY FILTERS

Beauty filters and effects are deeply harmful to young users; they foster unrealistic beauty standards, harm self-esteem, and can induce negative body image issues and related physical and mental disorders. TikTok knows these filters and effects significantly increase platform use, particularly among young users, and retains these features despite their harms.

AUTOPLAY

To manipulate users into compulsively spending more time on the platform, TikTok does not allow them to disable Autoplay. TikTok uses Autoplay to continuously play new and temporary posts; this exploits young users’ novelty-seeking minds and eliminates their autonomy to choose to stop.

ENDLESS/INFINITE SCROLL

Endless scrolling compels young users to spend more time on the platform by making it difficult to disengage. It strips away a natural stopping point or opportunity to turn to a new activity and distorts users’ perception of time.

TIKTOK STORIES AND TIKTOK LIVE

Content on these features is only available temporarily — users must tune in immediately or lose the opportunity to interact. These time-sensitive features are designed to encourage young users to compulsively return to the platform by exploiting their uniquely sensitive fear of missing out. 

PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Push notifications unfairly entice young users by overloading and overwhelming them to return to the platform. Some pushes are designed to keep young users from quitting the platform altogether, and others encourage young users to open the application. TikTok has even used fake notifications to manipulate users into opening its platform. 

LIKES AND COMMENTS

At key development states it can be overwhelmingly important for children and teens to be accepted by their peers. TikTok’s design and display of highlighting “likes” as a form of social validation has an especially powerful effect on young users and can neurologically alter teenagers’ perception of online posts, in addition to driving compulsive use.

Engaging in a scheme that deceptively markets the platform and platform features as promoting young users’ safety and well-being. TikTok employs a coordinated array of features, tools, content moderation efforts, community guidelines, and public assurances intended to promote a public narrative that the platform is appropriate and safe for young users and that TikTok prioritizes user safety. In truth, such features and efforts do not work as advertised, the harmful effects of the platform are far greater than acknowledged, and TikTok does not prioritize safety over profit.

Exploiting children’s data without parental notice or consent. Despite knowing certain users are under 13 years old and despite the platform being directed toward children, TikTok has collected and used personal information from children's accounts without parental consent or notice. Doing so is both unfair and fails to satisfy TikTok’s obligations under federal law. 

Attorneys general from the following states join Attorney General Bonta today in filing separate enforcement actions against TikTok to hold it accountable for its role in the children's mental health crisis: New York, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. As of today, 23 attorneys general have filed actions against TikTok for its conduct toward youth, including existing actions filed by the attorneys general of Utah, Nevada, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas. 

Attorney General Bonta is a steadfast leader in protecting children against the mental health harms of using social media. In March 2022, Attorney General Bonta announced a nationwide investigation into TikTok, and in March 2023, he filed an amicus brief demanding TikTok comply with state investigations. In October 2023, Attorney General Bonta co-led a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit against Meta alleging the company designed and deployed harmful features that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment, and in November 2023, he announced the public release of a largely unredacted copy of the federal complaint. Last month, Attorney General Bonta issued a statement after Senate Bill 976 (SB 976) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. SB 976 provides important new protections for young people in California by resetting the defaults on social media platforms to disfavor addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features that lead children and teens to spend hours and hours on their platforms. 

A copy of the redacted complaint can be found here. 

Eligible drivers can submit claims at Calgaslitigation.com

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Bonta today urged California residents who purchased gas in Southern California between February 20, 2015 and November 10, 2015 to submit a claim for a payment under the state’s settlement with gas trading firms for tampering with and manipulating prices for California gasoline. Eligible Californians may submit a claim online at www.CalGasLitigation.com.

“Market manipulation and price gouging are illegal and unacceptable, particularly during times of crisis when people are most vulnerable,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I am proud to deliver money back to Californians who were victims of gas price manipulation. As the People’s Attorney, I am committed to combating corporate greed and ensuring justice for the people of California.”

In July, Attorney General Bonta announced a $50 million settlement with gas trading firms, resolving allegations that Vitol, Inc. and SK Energy Americas, Inc., along with its parent company SK Trading International, secretly worked together to tamper with and manipulate spot market prices for California gasoline. If you purchased gasoline in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and/or Imperial counties in California between February 20 and November 10, 2015, you may be eligible for a payment.

The Attorney General's settlement is in addition to a settlement of a private class action lawsuit filed in federal court. 

To submit a claim, learn full details about your rights and options, and access frequently asked questions, visit www.CalGasLitigation.com.

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert following Governor Newsom’s declaration of a state of emergency in Lake County to support communities recovering from the Boyles Fire. The Boyles Fire, now contained, spread through the City of Clearlake, threatening structures, homes, and critical infrastructure. The fire ultimately damaged or destroyed over 30 structures.

In today’s alert, Attorney General Bonta reminds all Californians that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396. Californians who believe they have been the victim of price gouging should report it to their local authorities or to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report. To view a list of all price gouging restrictions currently in effect as a result of proclamations by the Governor, please see here.

“As the community of Clearlake recovers from the Boyles Fire, I want to remind folks that California’s price gouging law protects people impacted by an emergency from illegal price gouging on housing, gas, food, and other essential supplies,” said Attorney General Bonta. “If you see price gouging, please file a complaint with my office online at oag.ca.gov/report or contact your local police department or sheriff’s office.” 

California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10%, the price a seller charged for an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. For items a seller only began selling after an emergency declaration, the law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds the seller's cost of the item by more than 50%. This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, transportation, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business.

Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution. The Attorney General and local district attorneys can enforce the statute.

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to Senate Bill 1061 (SB 1061) being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Authored by Senator Monique Limón (D- Santa Barbara) and cosponsored by the Attorney General, and many prominent advocacy organizations including the California Nurses Association, Health Access California, CALPIRG, Consumer Federation of California, and the National Consumer Law Center, SB 1061 will protect consumers from having their credit ruined by prohibiting medical debt from being reported on credit reports. Credit reports are meant to gauge an individual’s ability to repay future debt. Medical debt is often unforeseen and not a reliable indicator of financial risk, yet it can unfairly prevent consumers from getting loans, renting an apartment, or getting a job. This kind of debt on a credit report reflects the financial burden of illness, not an inability to manage finances, including payment of other bills, or posing a credit risk. 

"When someone is scared and in pain, the last thing they should think about is whether seeking care will take away their ability to buy a house or land a job. Unfortunately, medical debt appearing on credit reports makes this a common experience for far too many people,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “California today chose to put a stop to this unnecessary and outdated practice. SB 1061 supports Californians’ fair access to essential economic opportunities and a brighter future.” 

“I am proud to author legislation to provide relief to Californians suffering from the burden of medical debt,” said Senator Monique Limón. “No Californian should be unable to secure housing, a loan, or even a job because they accessed necessary medical care. California is stepping up to protect consumers impacted by the effects of medical debt." 

Medical debt continues to increase and is a barrier to employment, housing, and the promotion of healthcare access and equity. The Urban Institute reported 7.8% of California consumers with a credit report had a medical debt listed on it, increasing to 8.5% for Black Californians. People with medical debt are more likely to say debt has caused them to be turned down for a rental or a mortgage than people with student loans or credit card debt, increasing their risk of homelessness or being forced to live in substandard housing. Debt can also create barriers for finding employment as employers often use credit reports as a basis for hiring decisions, which in turn, makes it even more difficult to pay off medical debt. Many consumers are also forced to postpone important medical care due to medical debt, which may lead to further illness. In September 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a rulemaking process to remove medical bills from consumers' credit reports. In August 2024, Attorney General Bonta sent a letter to CFPB in support of the Bureau’s Proposed Rule which would prohibit the reporting of medical debt on credit reports. With the enactment of SB 1061, California now joins seven other states in supporting the CFPB and the Biden Administration by enacting state-level legislation against medical debt credit reporting. 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a settlement with U.S. Healthworks (USHW), a nationwide chain of occupational and urgent care clinics. The $7.7 million settlement resolves allegations that USHW knowingly kept millions of dollars from the State of California in unclaimed property, in violation of the Unclaimed Property Law (UPL) and the California False Claims Act (CFCA). The unclaimed property in question included patient balances due to overpayment. As part of the settlement, USHW must hand over unclaimed property totaling $1.5 million to the State Controller’s Office.

“When companies cheat the State of California, they cheat the people of California,” said Attorney General Bonta. “U.S. Healthworks knowingly and repeatedly chose not to comply with the law by retaining millions of dollars that did not rightfully belong to them. This $7.7 million settlement signals my office is vigorously committed to protecting California against corporate fraud and financial misconduct.”

At times, urgent care centers carry patient balances due to overpayment. This happens when an insurance payment is more than was anticipated after patients pay out-of-pocket costs. While the urgent care should issue a refund in these situations, sometimes refund checks mailed to patients are returned or are never cashed.

In March 2022, Attorney General Bonta filed a complaint alleging that USHW possessed unclaimed property as early as 2001, and did not file mandated reports with the State of California until 2018 after being notified of the Attorney General’s investigation.

Under the UPL, all intangible property that remains unclaimed by the true owner for more than three years after it became payable or distributable must be reported and then remitted to the state. The UPL also mandates 12% interest per year on property that should have been reported or remitted to the state. The CFCA permits the Attorney General to bring a civil law enforcement action to recover treble damages and civil penalties against any person who knowingly makes or uses a false statement or document to either obtain money or property from the State or avoid paying or transmitting money or property to the State.

Even when USHW filed reports with California, the company underreported the unclaimed property it held in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. USHW violated the CFCA when it chose not to report its unclaimed property holdings, thereby knowingly concealing millions of dollars due to the State of California. Although USHW’s unreported property claims were repeatedly brought to management’s attention, management declined to comply and report the property to avoid an audit by state authorities. 

A copy of the final judgment can be found here.

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after Senate Bill 976 (SB 976) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Authored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), SB 976, also known as the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act, interrupts the ability of social media companies and other website operators to use addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features to coerce children and teens to spend hours and hours on their platforms. The law will require parental consent for these features, empowering families to create healthy boundaries around kids’ social media use. 

“Kids use the internet to find community and learn about themselves and the world. We must protect their ability to do this safely,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Social media companies have shown us time and time again that for profit, they are willing to use addictive design features, including algorithmic feeds and notifications at all hours of the day and night, to target children and teens. SB 976 changes this and puts families in control.”

“Social media companies have designed their platforms to addict users, especially our kids. Studies show that once a young person has a social media addiction, they experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicide. But social media companies have been unwilling to voluntarily change their practices,” said Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), author of SB 976. “With the passage of SB 976, the California Legislature has sent a clear message: When social media companies won’t act, it’s our responsibility to protect our kids.”

SB 976 would give parents and guardians the choice of whether users under the age of 18 would receive an algorithmically determined feed of content on social media platforms and other websites. The law does not restrict content in any way, and young users could still search for content, follow or block content from specific sources, and see a chronological feed of posts and content. Algorithmic feeds can be addictive and heavy social media is associated with harms to the mental health of young users. Some social media companies knowingly design platforms in a way that contributes to social isolation and loneliness and harms kids’ mental health during a time that is critically important for brain development.

SB 976 prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to users who are not established to be over age 18 unless a parent or guardian has provided consent.

The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act also requires social media platforms to provide parents and guardians the ability to: 

• Prevent notifications during other hours – for example, when the child should be at school or doing homework.
• Limit the child’s access to any addictive feed from the platform to a length of time per day determined by the parent or guardian, with a default of one hour per day.
• Limit the visibility of likes and other engagement metrics that contribute to an addictive social media experience.
• Select a private mode, where only the user’s connections can view or respond to content posted by the child.
• Select a feed that’s not recommended, selected, or prioritized based on information collected from that child. 

SB 976 requires the majority of the above safeguards to be turned on by default because safety should always be the default.

The text of the legislation is available here.

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement following the conclusion of the preliminary injunction hearing in the state’s lawsuit challenging Kroger’s proposed $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons:

"This week, California’s antitrust hearing against Albertsons and Kroger came to an end. My office proudly joined the Federal Trade Commission, seven other states, and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit that we believe is critical to protecting California consumers, workers, and competitive markets here and across the country," said Attorney General Bonta. “If these two giants of the retail grocery industry combine forces, it’s likely that we’ll see reduced competition, a blow to unions looking to negotiate better working conditions, and higher food prices at a time when so many families are struggling to get food on the table. We must ensure corporations follow the rules — as the People’s Attorney, I am committed to fighting unlawful corporate consolidation that threatens to increase prices and reduce good jobs.”

Background

In February 2024, Attorney General Bonta joined the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan coalition of states in filing a lawsuit seeking to block the proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger, alleging that it is in violation of the federal Clayton Act. Businesses facing less competition have the ability to charge higher prices. Anticompetitive supermarket mergers can result in other harms, including reduced labor market competition, which may lower wages or slow wage growth, worsen benefits or working conditions.

In California, Kroger’s $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons is expected to further consolidate the highly concentrated retail grocery market in Southern California, leading to fewer choices and higher prices. The merger is also expected to reduce the ability of unions to negotiate working conditions at these stores, impacting thousands of employees in California. In August 2024, Attorney General Bonta issued a statement on the first day of trial. 

In October 2022, Attorney General Bonta and five other state attorneys general sent a letter to Albertsons and Kroger demanding that Albertsons delay a $4 billion payout to stockholders until state attorneys general and the FTC complete their review of its proposed merger with Kroger, to ensure that the proposed action would not result in higher prices for consumers, suppressed wages for workers, or other anticompetitive effects. In November 2022, Attorney General Bonta, along with the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Illinois, asked the D.C. District Court to temporarily block Albertsons' planned $4 billion payment amid concerns that the payment would dramatically hamper Albertsons' ability to compete. Also in November 2022, Attorney General Bonta, along with the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Illinois, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block Albertsons' planned $4 billion payment of a "special dividend" to shareholders.

Court order protects consumers, requires removal of illegal liens statewide

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced securing a preliminary injunction against MV Realty, a Florida-based company that engaged in a predatory scheme to lure vulnerable homeowners looking for financial help with an immediate payment and then locked them into so-called “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” — agreements that required homeowners to exclusively use MV Realty to sell their homes for the next 40 years or pay a penalty of 3% of the home’s value. MV Realty also placed illegal liens on homes and charged homeowners the 3% penalty to remove the lien. In addition to blocking home transfers, the lien could impede, delay, or prevent a homeowner from obtaining or refinancing home loans. The preliminary injunction, which offers important protections to affected consumers, was issued by the Los Angeles Superior Court and was sought by Attorney General Bonta and the Santa Barbara County and Napa County District Attorneys’ Offices as part of the lawsuit they filed against MV Realty on December 13, 2023. 

“To the nearly 1,500 California homeowners who were tricked into entering into the unlawful listing agreements with MV Realty, today is a good day,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The court found that we are likely to prevail on our claim that those homeowners were intentionally misled by MV Realty. The court also found that MV Realty’s conduct imposed ‘imminent irreparable harm’ to homeowners. As a result, the company is being ordered to stop violating state law, once again allowing homeowners the freedom to do with their property what they wish. While our legal battle is not yet over, we will continue fighting to hold MV Realty accountable.” 

“This court order provides necessary protections to homeowners in Santa Barbara County, and the entire state, so they will not be further victimized during the course of this litigation,” said Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch. “We strongly agree with the Court that affected homeowners would continue to suffer imminent irreparable harm in the absence of this injunction.” 

“I stand with Attorney General Bonta and my fellow prosecutors in condemning MV Realty’s deceptive business practices and will fight aggressively to hold them accountable and safeguard the rights of homeowners across California,” said Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley. “No family should be trapped in unlawful contracts or face illegal liens on their homes. This preliminary injunction is a critical step in ensuring justice for those impacted by this harmful business model.”  

The preliminary injunction requires MV Realty to: 

• Remove the liens it has recorded statewide within 30 days of the court’s order, or within 5 days of notification from a California homeowner, or his or her agent, who needs the termination to be able to move forward with a transaction related to the homeowner’s property. 
• Stop recording new liens. 
• Not enforce, during the pendency of the litigation, the “Homeowner Benefit Agreements” it signed with California homeowners.

A copy of the preliminary injunction can be found here. The motion for preliminary injunction was supported in part by a declaration from the California Department of Real Estate.