Section 17203

Citation: Section 17203
Parent Document: Kraus v. Trinity Management Services, Inc., 999 P.2d 718 (2000)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2000-06-05
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1159700/kraus-v-trinity-management-serv... ↗

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In sum, the Legislature has not expressly authorized monetary relief other than restitution in UCL actions, but has authorized disgorgement into a fluid recovery fund in class actions. Although the Legislature is well aware of the distinction between class actions and representative actions, it has not done so for representative UCL actions. Inasmuch as the Legislature has spoken, any further extension of the fluid recovery remedy should come from the Legislature, not, as the dissent argues, from this court. Therefore, we decline to read the grant of equitable power in section 17203 as encompassing the authority to fashion a fluid recovery remedy when the action has not been certified as class action. We cannot conclude that this is a proper exercise of the court's inherent equitable powers. Moreover, allowing fluid recovery in representative UCL actions might implicate the due process concerns raised by defendants here and noted by the Court of Appeal in Bronco Wine Co., supra, 214 Cal.App.3d at page 717, 262 Cal.Rptr. 899. In addition, because a representative UCL action is not subject to the same level of judicial supervision as a class action, a UCL action seeking disgorgement into a fluid recovery fund on behalf of absent persons may not, in fact, serve the public.

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