COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN'S TELEVISION, INC., et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. GENERAL FOODS CORPORATION et al., Defendants and Respondents, 35 Cal. 3d 197

Summary

Plaintiffs' complaint alleged that defendants' advertising of certain sugared breakfast cereals was fraudulent, misleading, and deceptive. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and plaintiffs appealed. On appeal, the court held that plaintiffs stated valid claims for violations of California's unfair competition and false advertising statutes. It was not required that the complaint specifically plead the exact language of every deceptive statement; it was sufficient that plaintiffs described defendants' scheme to mislead customers. In addition, the organizational plaintiffs had standing because the statutes permitted a complaint by any person on behalf of the general public. With regard to the fraud claims, the court held that the organizational plaintiffs could not prove the damages element of fraud; therefore, their fraud claims were properly dismissed. However, the individual plaintiffs, parents and their children, could prove damages: they sought restitution of the cereals' ...