Crocs Fails to Fend Off California Speech Rights Class Action

Crocs Retail LLC can’t shed a suit brought by California plaintiffs alleging the footwear company chilled their free speech rights by illegally prohibiting them from mentioning the company’s name without permission, a federal judge ruled, remanding the case to state court.

“Plaintiffs have deliberately pleaded their case in a weak form to evade this Court’s jurisdiction,” said Stephen V. Wilson in an opinion for the US District Court for the Central District of California Thursday.

“It is up to the state court to determine if Plaintiffs’ watered-down allegations are sufficient to sustain a claim” under California civil law, he said, ...