Unfair competition and false advertising: disgorgement.

Existing law generally regulates false advertising and makes it a crime for a person or a firm, corporation, or association, or any employee thereof, to engage in specified false or misleading advertising practices. Existing unfair competition laws make various unfair competition practices unlawful, including any unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising. Existing law authorizes certain public officials, including the Attorney General, to take specified actions upon failure of the advertiser to adequately substantiate a claim within a reasonable time or if the requesting official has reason to believe that an advertising claim is false or misleading. Existing law requires a person who engages or proposes to engage in unfair competition to be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $2,500, per violation, which is assessed and recovered in an action brought by certain public officials, including the Attorney General. This bill would authorize the court, in an action brought by the Attorney General under specified false advertising and unfair competition laws, to award the remedy of disgorgement, in addition to the other remedies provided under those false advertising and unfair competition laws. The bill would require the funds recovered by the Attorney General under these provisions to be deposited into the Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would make the funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, available to the Attorney General to provide restitution to victims of acts or practices for which consumer restitution has been ordered but not paid in an action brought by the Attorney General, as specified. The bill would authorize funds recovered by the Attorney General from a defendant after payment from the fund has been made to be used by the Attorney General to reimburse the fund. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to promulgate regulations in furtherance of these provisions.