Unfair Competition Law: enforcement powers: investigatory subpoena.

The Unfair Competition Law (UCL) establishes a statutory cause of action for unfair competition, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Under this law, actions for relief are required to be prosecuted exclusively by the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel authorized by agreement with the district attorney in actions involving violation of a county ordinance, a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000 or by a county counsel of any county within which a city has a population in excess of 750,000, or a city attorney in a city and county, or, with the consent of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in a city having a full-time city prosecutor in the name of the people of the State of California, as specified, or by a person who has suffered injury in fact and has lost money or property as a result of the unfair competition. Existing law authorizes a district attorney, upon reasonable belief that there has been a violation of the UCL or various other laws related to unfair business practices, to exercise all of the powers granted to the Attorney General as a head of a department to investigate the potential violation, including the authority to issue subpoenas. This bill would grant the investigatory power granted to the Attorney General as a head of a department to the city attorney of any city having a population in excess of 750,000, to the county counsel of any county within which a city has a population in excess of 750,000, or to a city attorney of a city and county, when the city attorney or county counsel reasonably believes that there may have been a violation of the UCL. The bill would require the recipient of a subpoena issued pursuant to those investigatory powers granted to a city attorney or to a county counsel who objects to the request, to serve their objection and to meet and confer with the issuer of the subpoena to attempt to address their objection. The bill would authorize the recipient of the subpoena to petition the superior court for an order quashing or modifying the subpoena, if, after meeting and conferring, the issuer and recipient cannot reach agreement.