Morgan v. Ygrene Energy Fund, Inc.

BARBARA MORGAN et al.,

Plaintiffs and Appellants,

v.

YGRENE ENERGY FUND, INC. et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

No. D079364

(Super. Ct. No. 37-2019-00052045-

CU-OR-CTL)

ORDER MODIFYING OPINION

AND DENYING REHEARING

NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT

JANET ROBERTS et al.,

Plaintiffs and Appellants,

v.

RENEW FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

No. D079369

(Super. Ct. No. 37-2019-00059601-

CU-OR-CTL)

California Court of Appeal

Fourth Appellate District

Division One

Filed November 21, 2022

THE COURT:

It is ordered that the opinion filed November 1, 2022 be modified as follows:

1. On page 10, at the end of the top paragraph, after the words " 'and possibly the entire balance if the violation is found to have been "willful," ' " add the following sentence:

In what plaintiffs have styled as their "fourth cause of action" alleging violations of Financial Code section 22750, and the "fifth cause of action" invoking Business and Professions Code section 7159.2, plaintiffs seek "public injunctive relief"---that is, an order (1) prohibiting defendants from "engaging in the business of making consumer loans unless and until each is property licensed as a Finance Lender," and (2) requiring each program administrator to include a joint check requirement in any future agreement.

2. The last paragraph on page 14 and ending on page 15, after the words " 'No other persons may bring such an action . . . .' (Ibid.)"---insert the following paragraph:

This same analysis applies to what plaintiffs have labeled as their fourth and fifth causes of action for public injunctive relief. The underlying premise of each is that defendants are either sellers of home improvement services or are engaged in the business of making loans. Public injunctive relief is, as its name suggests, a remedy, not a theory of liability. These remedial requests are based on the same legal theories, arise from the same alleged operative facts, and involve the same alleged primary rights as the first three causes of action. The only difference is the nature of the remedy sought. (See McGill v. Citibank, N.A. (2017) 2 Cal.5th 945, 961 [public injunctive relief is a remedy under the Unfair Competition Law].) "Injunctive relief is a remedy, not a cause of action. [Citations.] A cause of action must exist before a court may grant a request for injunctive relief." (Allen v. City of Sacramento (2015) 234 Cal.App.4th 41, 65.) Here, because the first three causes of action fail as a matter of law, the fourth and fifth, seeking additional remedies, necessarily fail as well.

The petition for rehearing is denied.

There is no change in judgment.

McCONNELL, P. J.

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