Briefs and Comments

Center Urges California Supreme Court: Don't Let Companies Dodge Fundamental Consumer Protections by Moving Cases Out of State

July 30, 2026

On Monday, the Center, along with the law firm Gibbs Mura, filed an amicus brief in the California Supreme Court in Lathrop v. Thor Motor Coach. The case centers on whether companies can use contract clauses to force consumers into another state’s courts, even when doing so strips away fundamental rights that California guarantees its residents.

Backstory: The Lathrops purchased a new...

The Federal Court of Appeals Agrees: The Administration Must be Stopped From Illegally Dismantling the CFPB

June 24, 2026

The Center applauds the en banc order of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in NTEU v. Vought. The June 19th order denied the Trump administration’s attempt to continue illegally dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB), an independent agency created to be free from political pressure or financial motivation.

Recognizing the need for...

A Major Victory for Latino Consumers in California

September 15, 2025

The Center applauds the California Court of Appeal’s decision this week in People v. Adir International (Curacao), affirming a win at trial for the California Attorney General’s long-running lawsuit against Curacao – a chain of department stores in Southern California and Arizona that has long preyed on low-income Latino immigrants. The Center, along with Public Counsel and Bet Tzedek, filed an amicus ...

Keeping the Courthouse Door Open: Appeals Panel Refuses to Import Restrictive Federal Standing Requirements into California Courts

September 9, 2025

The Center welcomes the decision by the First District Court of Appeal in Kashanian v. National Enterprise Systems, Inc., which empathically affirms that standing under California consumer protection laws arises from a defendant’s violation of those laws, not from a separate injury to the plaintiff. The ruling marks a signal victory for consumers.

The Kashanian case involves a consumer class action brought under California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection...

Another Door Stays Open: California Courts Say Statutory Violations Are Enough to Sue

February 4, 2026

Berkeley, California - The Center welcomes the decisions of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Parsonage v. Wal-Mart Associates, Inc. today and the Second District Court of Appeal’s decision in Yeh v. Barrington Pacific, LLC last month. Both courts categorically affirmed that, in California, statutory violations...

“Unilateral, Unlawful Dismantling” of the CFPB by the Administration is Unconstitutional and Will Leave Millions of Americans Vulnerable to Financial Harm, 41 Nonprofit Groups Tell Federal Court of Appeals

October 7, 2025

Amicus Brief Urges Federal Court of Appeals to Grant En Banc Review of NTEU v. Vought

October 7, 2025 | Washington, D.C. – The unilateral and unlawful dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by the Administration is unconstitutional and will leave millions of Americans vulnerable to financial harm, 41 nonprofit groups said in an amicus brief filed this week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The brief urges the court to grant en banc review of ...

Center and Partners Celebrate California Supreme Court’s Repudiation of Arbitrary Time Limit Curtailing Consumers’ Ability to Set Aside Void Judgments

November 19, 2024

The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice welcomes the California Supreme Court's unanimous decision in California Capitol Insurance Co. v....

A Key Step in the Fight to Keep California Courthouse Doors Open to All

March 26, 2026

The Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, representing ten organizations serving low-income consumers, workers, tenants, and the elderly, filed an amicus brief in Askins v. CRST Expedited, Inc. urging the California Court of Appeal to affirm that state courts remain accessible forums for people whose rights under federal law have been violated.

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The Center's Open Door Project Secures Another Major Victory

June 12, 2026
Appellate Court Reaffirms That Consumers Can Sue Over Legal Violations of Federal Statutes in State Court, Even Without Proving Personal Harm

Berkeley, CA — The Center’s Open Door Project has helped secure a fifth major appellate victory in a row in the fight to preserve California consumers’ access to the courts. In Askins v. CRST Expedited, Inc., the First District Court of Appeal reaffirmed that consumers do not need to show personal harm beyond a company’s violation of the law itself in order to sue in California state court. Crucially, the Court...

Consumer Protection Win in Oregon!

February 25, 2026

Consumer Protection Win in Oregon! Oregon consumer advocates defeated an industry bill, HB 4141, that aimed to gut Oregon's strong consumer protections against predatory debt settlement products. Center Policy Director Shelmun Dashan offered testimony in opposition to the bill, observing that the measure would have removed provisions that safeguard consumers from the worst practices of the industry.