Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 1 of 18
`
`Adam M. Apton (State Bar No. 316506)
`LEVI & KORSINSKY, LLP
`388 Market Street, Suite 1300
`San Francisco, CA 94111
`Telephone: 415-373-1671
`Facsimile: 212-363-7171
`Email: aapton@zlk.com
`
`Mark S. Reich (pro hac vice to be filed)
`Courtney E. Maccarone (pro hac vice to be filed)
`LEVI & KORSINSKY, LLP
`55 Broadway, 10th Floor
`New York, NY 10006
`Telephone: 212-363-7500
`Facsimile: 212-363-7171
`Email: mreich@zlk.com
` cmaccarone@zlk.com
`
`Attorneys for Plaintiff and the Proposed Class
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
`
`A.B., a minor, represented by her mother and
`next friend, AUDREY BURTON, individually
`and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
`
`Case No. 3:21-cv-05683
`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`
`ROBLOX CORPORATION,
`
`Defendant.
`
`(1) Violations of Cal. Bus. & Bus. Prof. Code §
`17200, et seq.
`(2) Violations of Cal. Civ. Code. § 1750, et seq.
`(3) Breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and
`Fair Dealing
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
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`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 2 of 18
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`
`
`Plaintiff A.B., a minor, represented by her mother and next friend, Audrey Burton
`(“Plaintiff”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, makes the following
`allegations pursuant to the investigation of her counsel and based upon information and belief,
`except as to allegations specifically pertaining to herself and her counsel, which are based on
`personal knowledge, against defendant Roblox Corporation. (“Roblox” or “Defendant”).
`NATURE OF THE ACTION
`1.
`Roblox is an online, multiplayer virtual creation platform where users play games
`that were created, along with its for-sale content, by other users. Roblox is predominantly used by
`children and saw a huge surge in usage from children during the COVID-19 pandemic. According
`to the company, as of April 2020, two-thirds of all children in the United States between ages 9
`and 12 used Roblox, and Roblox was played by a third of all Americans under the age of 16.1
`2.
`Roblox is initially free to join and download. Users can then purchase “Robux”
`which is the in-game currency that allows its users to make in-game purchases. Roblox’s revenue
`is dependent upon user-created content, boasting more than 8 million developers and more than 2
`million developers releasing monthly content from the Roblox Studio.2 Users purchase content
`from Roblox’s Avatar Shop, which is the user-to-user marketplace, to personalize their avatars and
`gaming experience. Roblox takes a commission from the user-to-user transaction and generates
`revenue from these sales.
`3.
`Roblox has the ability and retains discretion to delete content from its users’
`inventories, without notice, even after the items have been purchased. Roblox does not provide
`refunds for the content it removes and retains the money it earns as commissions through those
`sales.
`
`4.
`This is the result of Roblox’s lax control policies and practices – both by allowing
`potentially inappropriate or infringing products to be added to its Avatar Shop and sold to users,
`
`
`1 Olga Kharif, Kids Flock to Roblox for Parties and Playdates During Lockdown, BLOOMBERG
`(April 15, 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-15/kids-flock-to-roblox-for-
`parties-and-playdates-during-lockdown (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`2 About Us, ROBLOX, https://corp.roblox.com/(last accessed July 2, 2021).
`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 3 of 18
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`as well as a failure to have a refund policy in place so that users can be reimbursed for content lost
`or deleted due to circumstances out of their control.
`5.
`In essence, Roblox makes content available for purchase on the Roblox Avatar
`Shop without adequately scrutinizing the content to ensure that it complies with Roblox’s policies.
`If Roblox later determines that the content violates its policies (e.g., includes a trademarked logo),
`Roblox will delete the content. Rather than performing adequate oversight before content is
`offered for sale in its marketplace, Roblox waits until items are purchased, collects commissions,
`and then deletes the content. Roblox keeps its commissions and associated revenue, yet refuses to
`refund its users for the deleted content.
`6.
`This “sell without regard to users” approach unfairly benefits Roblox because it
`allows Roblox to retain all monetary benefit after deleting content. Users, who are predominantly
`children, are left with nothing. Users are then forced make new purchases to replace their items,
`on which Roblox then collects additional commissions.
`7.
`There is no question that Roblox users are harmed as a result of Roblox’s practice
`of deleting content from its platform and refusing to refund its users for those purchases. In order
`to substantially reduce the amount of content deleted from the Roblox platform after users
`purchase the items and more robustly protect Roblox users, Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief,
`requiring Roblox to:
`(a) Implement changes to Roblox’s content moderation practices to require adequate oversight
`before content is offered for sale on the Avatar Shop;
`(b) Implement policies and practices to create additional oversight mechanisms for Roblox to
`monitor developers who regularly create content that ultimately gets deleted (i.e., extra
`oversight over “repeat offenders”);
`(c) Implement policies and practices to create additional oversight mechanisms to help prevent
`content that Roblox deletes from the Avatar Shop to be re-introduced and offered for sale
`again; and
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 4 of 18
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`(d) Implement a comprehensive refund program to provide users with prospective refunds for
`content purchased in the Avatar Shop and deleted by Roblox (the “Proposed Injunctive
`Relief”).
`8.
`On June 2, 2021, Audrey Burton, acting on behalf of Plaintiff A.B. and all others
`similarly situated, sent a pre-suit demand to Roblox to immediately address its unlawful and unfair
`practice of deleting content purchased by users from its platform and failing to issue refunds for
`that content. In her letter, Ms. Burton requested the Proposed Injunctive Relief as outlined above.
`9.
`Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against Roblox on behalf of herself
`and other similarly situated Roblox users by asserting claims for violations of California’s Unfair
`Competition Law (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq.) (“UCL”); violations of California’s
`Consumers Legal Remedies Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq.) (“CLRA”), and breach of the
`covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
`
`PARTIES
`10.
`Plaintiff A.B. is a resident of the state of Virginia.
`11.
`Plaintiff is a Roblox account holder who has used Roblox for the last two to three
`years. She spent approximately 200 dollars to purchase items from Roblox’s store, Avatar Shop
`and/or Game Shop only to then experience the deletion of many of the purchased items from her
`inventory. Since opening her current account in September of 2020, approximately seven shirts
`and fifteen pairs of pants have been deleted without refund. When Plaintiff purchased items, there
`was an expectation that the items would remain in her inventory. She would not have purchased
`the items had she known that they would later be deleted and she would not receive a refund for
`the content.
`12.
`Defendant Roblox Corporation is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place
`of business located at 970 Park Place, San Mateo, California 94403. Roblox regularly conducts
`business in this District and throughout the United States.
`
`
`
`
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 5 of 18
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`JURISDICTION, VENUE AND CHOICE OF LAW
`13.
`The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
`§ 1332(d) because there are more than 100 Class members and the aggregate amount in
`controversy exceeds $5,000,000, exclusive of interest, fees, and costs, and at least one Class
`member is a citizen of a state different from Roblox.
`14.
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Roblox because it transacts business in
`this State, and because the tortious conduct alleged in this Complaint occurred in, was directed to,
`and/or emanated from this State.
`15.
`Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 because Defendant is
`headquartered in this District, and a substantial part of the events and omissions giving rise to
`Plaintiff’s claims occurred in this District.
`FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
`Roblox’s Online Platform
`16.
`Roblox is an online, multiplayer virtual creation platform that was founded in
`2006.3 Roblox is a platform where users play games created by other users, known as developers.
`The platform contains over 20 million games.4 Roblox is dependent upon user-created content,
`boasting more than 8 million developers and more than 2 million developers releasing monthly
`content from the Roblox Studio.5 Roblox has over 150 million monthly users,6 with more than
`half of the users being children under the age of 16. In April 2020, Roblox stated that “two-thirds
`of all U.S. kids between 9 and 12 years old use Roblox, and it’s played by a third of all Americans
`
`A.
`
`
`(March 11, 2021),
`talking about Roblox?, POLYGON,
`3 Why
`everyone
`is
`https://www.polygon.com/22326123/what-is-roblox-explainer-public-offering (last accessed July
`2, 2021).
`4 Id.
`5 About Us, ROBLOX, https://corp.roblox.com/ (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`6 Sarah Perez, Roblox jumps to over 150M monthly users, will pay out $250M to developers in
`2020,
`TECHCRUNCH.com
`(Jul.
`28,
`2020,
`10:23
`AM),
`https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/28/roblox-jumps-to-over-150m-monthly-users-will-pay-out-
`250m-to-developers-in-2020/ (last accessed July 2, 2021).
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`under the age of 16.”7 Just three months later, Roblox reported to The Verge an increase from
`two-thirds to “over half of US kids and teens under the age of 16 play the game[.]”8
`17.
`The Roblox platform consists of the Roblox Client and the Roblox Studio. The
`Roblox Client is the system that allows users to “explore millions of immersive 3D experiences”
`with friends, via a customizable avatar.9 The Roblox Studio is the tool used by developers to
`create, release, and operate the “immersive 3D experiences” within the Roblox Client.10
`18.
`“Robux” is Roblox’s virtual, in-game currency that allows its users to make in-
`game purchases.11 Robux of various quantities are available for purchase through Roblox.com.
`Users can purchase 400 Robux for $4.99, 1,700 Robux for $19.99, or 10,000 Robux for $99.99.
`Prices for content on the Avatar Shop vary, with “Premium” items ranging from 20 Robux to 5,000
`Robux.12 Users that create the content and sell it to other users receive the in-game currency in
`return. Robux can then be converted into real-world currency through the Developer Exchange
`Program, known as DevEx.
`19.
`In addition to selling Robux in-game currency in exchange for real currency,
`Roblox makes a 30% commission from every user-to-user transaction in the Avatar Shop.13
`20.
`As such, Roblox benefits financially from every transaction made on its platform.
`
`
`7 Taylor Lyles, Over half of US kids are playing Roblox, and it’s about to host Fortnite-esque
`too,
`THE
`VERGE
`(Jul.
`21,
`2020,
`7:16pm),
`virtual
`parties
`https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/21/21333431/roblox-over-half-of-us-kids-playing-virtual-
`parties-fortnite (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`8 Id. See also Roblox: a parents’ guide, PARENT INFO (https://parentinfo.org/article/roblox-a-
`parents-guide (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`9 About Us, ROBLOX, https://corp.roblox.com/ (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`10 Roblox Support, Roblox Studio, ROBLOX, https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-
`us/articles/203313860-Roblox-Studio (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`11 “Roblox Privacy and Safety Checklist”, SWGfL.org.uk,
`https://swgfl.org.uk/assets/documents/roblox-checklist-new.pdf.
`12 Avatar Shop, ROBLOX, https://www.roblox.com/catalog/?Category=1&SortType=5 (last
`accessed July 2, 2021).
`13 Unified Marketplace Fee for Dev Products and Game Passes, DevForum.Roblox.com (Apr.
`2020), https://devforum.roblox.com/t/unified-marketplace-fee-for-dev-products-and-game-
`passes/507109; see also Upcoming Changes to Affiliate Fees & Catalog Item Configuration
`Options, DevForum.Roblox.com, https://devforum.roblox.com/t/upcoming-changes-to-affiliate-
`fees-catalog-item-configuration-options/1066940 (last accessed July 2, 2021).
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 7 of 18
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`B.
`
`Roblox’s Inadequate and Unfair Content-Control Practices
`21.
`The Avatar Shop, formerly known as the Catalog, is where users can purchase
`content created by developers, such as virtual clothing and other items for their avatar, including
`new heads, faces, gear, accessories, T-shirts, shirts, pants, bundles, and animation packs.
`22.
`Reasonable consumers expect that items purchased from the Avatar Shop will
`appear in their inventories and be available for use, forever.
`23.
`However, users have discovered that Roblox deletes content from their inventories
`without notice, and then refuses to provide refunds for that content. This is the result of Roblox’s
`lax control policies and practices over the placement and retention of content in its Avatar Shop.
`24.
`Roblox makes content available for purchase on the Roblox Avatar Shop without
`adequately scrutinizing the content to ensure that it complies with Roblox’s policies. If Roblox
`later determines that the content violates its policies (e.g., includes a trademarked logo), Roblox
`deletes the content. In other words, rather than performing adequate oversight before content is
`offered for sale in its marketplace, Roblox waits until items are purchased, collects commissions,
`and then deletes the content. Roblox then refuses to refund its users for the deleted content, as the
`company does not have a refund policy in place so that users can be reimbursed for content lost or
`deleted due to circumstances out of their control.
`25.
`This business practice and approach unfairly benefits Roblox because it allows
`Roblox to retain all monetary benefit after deleting content.
`26.
`Users, who are predominantly children, who have been impacted by this practice,
`are left without the purchased items, the money spent, or any means to recover either. Users are
`then faced with the decision to either accept the loss of the items without reimbursement, or forced
`make new purchases to replace their items. Roblox earns and keeps its commissions either way.
`27.
`The internet is replete with consumer complaints relating to Roblox’s unfair and
`unlawful policy of refusing to refund users for content that it made available for sale but then later
`deleted. Sample complaints have been reproduced below:
`
`
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`I literally bought shirts and pants and in like 5 days they got deleted. I feel
`like roblox is removing copied clothing but mine wasn't copied so uh-. I feel
`like roblox is doing the bad thing and should stop bc they ARENT EVEN
`REFUNDING US. What do you think about this?14
`
`I came back to Roblox after a while to see a lotta stuff in my inventory that
`I bought in the past be deleted off the catalog, without any form of
`compensation (such as Robux back) at no fault of my own. Who else thinks
`they should give back Robux to Players who bought now-deleted things off
`the Catalog?15
`
`Company refuses to help recover account items worth hundreds of dollars.
`This is a corporate plot intent on draining my wallet further with a brick
`wall and a U-Turn sign every time I try to contact them. I am reaching out
`to BBB because the corporation is sending scripted messages and
`unprofessionally handling this. Having a bad community is not a reason to
`have unhelpful responses to issues. The company policy says we can only
`be recompensated once ever if anything happens to our account and states
`that they expect our accounts to be safe, but I have experienced coercion
`and blackmail and there was no way to solve this issue. I sought help, and I
`got ignored. I wish for a response.16
`
`We should be able to get refunds for clothing we’ve bought that was
`moderated and deleted later. Earlier today, i went to the customize avatar
`page on roblox, and saw that one of the shirts i bought was deleted. So i
`observed it, and it was indeed deleted (the reason why it was deleted was
`that had been moderated, which it wasnt really that bad, since it was one of
`those Lightning Blue Adidas shirts). So, i decided to remove it from my
`inventory, but then after I did that, it got me thinking. When something you
`own thats been created by users(UGC Accessories, Shirts, Pants, etc) that
`has been deleted from the catalog, shouldn’t you be given the promt to get
`a refund after it has been deleted?17
`
`
`
`You purchase items virtually with hard earned money and they steal the
`items back so you have to repurchase them. This company rips off under
`age children and deceives them. I sent them this email and they replied with
`multiple auto responses. They don't care and don't want to come up with
`resolutions. I know there are hundreds of parents wanting to file a class
`action suit against them.18
`
`14 Yall why is roblox banning random shirts/pants, ROBLOX FORUM (January 11, 2021)
`https://robloxforum.com/threads/yall-why-is-roblox-banning-random-shirts-pants.62673/ (last
`accessed July 2, 2021).
`15 Players should be reimbursed for deleted items from Catalog…, REDDIT
`https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/j30x8b/players_should_be_reimbursed_for_deleted_
`items/ (last accessed July 2, 2021).
`16 Roblox Corporation, BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-
`mateo/profile/online-gaming/roblox-corporation-1116-316031/complaints (last accessed July 2,
`2021).
`17 Get a Refund if clothing item is Deleted, DEVELOPER (March 2020)
`https://devforum.roblox.com/t/get-a-refund-if-clothing-item-is-deleted/486384 (last accessed
`July 2, 2021).
`18 Roblox Corporation, BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/san-
`mateo/profile/online-gaming/roblox-corporation-1116-316031/complaints (last accessed July 2,
`2021).
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`28.
`Consumers have also complained that it often appears that the deleted content is
`unconnected to any type of policy violation and that Roblox removes content arbitrarily. For
`example, one consumer wrote:
`
`
`
`C.
`
`That is complete BS. My daughter paid 84 Robux for pants and they were just
`deleted. There was nothing inappropriate about them to get them deleted. There
`should be a warning or refund system. Otherwise, they could just keep deleting
`everything for no reason to force people to buy more things.19
`
`Roblox Benefits From Nonexistent Content-Control Measures
`29.
`Roblox benefits from its failure to implement content-control procedures to prevent
`items, which must later be removed from its Avatar Shop, from being sold in the first instance.
`Roblox generates revenue from the sale of each item sold in the Avatar Shop, whether or not it
`ultimately gets deleted. As such, Roblox has no incentive to perform quality control to preclude
`such content from being offered for sale.
`30.
`Instead, Roblox waits until items are purchased, collects commissions, and then
`deletes the problematic content.
`31.
`As one user put it, “it’s basically the same as scamming (paying money for
`something and getting nothing in return as promised).”20
`32.
`To make matters worse, users and developers are able to reintroduce into the
`marketplace items that Roblox previously removed. As a result of Roblox’s inadequate control
`practices, Roblox continues to collect commissions from new sales of content that it previously
`removed for violating policies.
`33.
`Roblox does not remove developers who repeatedly have content removed for
`violations. These “repeat offender” developers continue to profit off of Roblox users, generate
`income for Roblox, and suffer no repercussions.
`
`
`19 Can you refund deleted items?, REDDIT
`https://www.reddit.com/r/roblox/comments/i0qenv/can_you_refund_deleted_items/ (last
`accessed July 2, 2021).
`20 The Roblox Clothing Moderation, ROBLOX FORUM (February 24, 2021),
`https://robloxforum.com/threads/the-roblox-clothing-moderation.66425/ (last accessed July 2,
`2021).
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`34.
`Roblox users are harmed as a result of Roblox’s lack of policies and practices
`associated with the process by which content is initially uploaded to the Avatar Shop.
`35.
`Roblox benefits from its refusal to adopt any form of refund program to address the
`out-of-pocket losses incurred by its users. Instead, Roblox keeps its commissions, and refuses to
`refund its users for the deleted content.
`36.
`Roblox must be held accountable and ordered to take affirmative actions to protect
`its users through adequate oversight before content is offered for sale on the Avatar Shop. As such,
`Plaintiff seeks the Proposed Injunctive Relief.
`CLASS ALLEGATIONS
`37.
`Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of herself and as a class action pursuant to
`Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a), 23(b)(2), and 23(c)(4) on behalf of the following proposed
`Class:
`
`All individuals who purchased content on the Roblox platform (the “Class”).
`38.
`Specifically excluded from the Class are Roblox, its officers, directors, agents,
`trustees, parents, children, corporations, trusts, representatives, employees, principals, servants,
`partners, joint venturers or entities controlled by Roblox, and their heirs, successors, assigns, or
`other persons or entities related to or affiliated with Roblox and/or its officers and/or directors, the
`judge assigned to this action, and any member of the judge’s immediate family.
`39.
`Plaintiff reserves the right to amend the Class definition above if further
`investigation and/or discovery reveals that the Class should be expanded, narrowed, divided into
`subclasses, or otherwise modified in any way.
`40.
`This action may be certified as a class action under Federal Rules 23(a) because it
`satisfies the numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy requirements therein.
`Numerosity. Class members are so numerous and geographically dispersed that
`41.
`individual joinder of all Class members is impracticable. Plaintiff is informed and believes that
`there are millions of Class members throughout the country, making joinder impracticable.
`
`
`
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 11 of 18
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`Common questions of law and fact. Common questions of law and fact exist as to
`42.
`all members of the Class. The common factual and legal questions include, but are not limited to,
`the following:
`
`(a) Whether Roblox’s practice of deleting content purchased by users from its
`platform and failing to issue refunds for that content is an unfair business practice
`under the UCL;
`(b) Whether Roblox’s practice of deleting content purchased by users from its
`platform and failing to issue refunds for that content is an unlawful business
`practice under the UCL;
`(c) Whether Roblox practice of deleting content purchased by users from its
`platform and failing to issue refunds for that content violates the CLRA;
`(d) Whether Roblox adequately and effectively reviews content for policy
`violations before content is offered for sale to its users;
`(e) Whether Roblox breached its covenant of good faith and fair dealing with
`Class members;
`(f) Whether Roblox’s misconduct alleged herein caused harm to Class
`members;
`(g) Whether Roblox has the capability to implement changes to Roblox’s content
`moderation practices to require adequate oversight before content is offered for sale on
`the Avatar Shop;
`(h) Whether Roblox has the capability to implement policies and practices to
`create additional oversight mechanisms for Roblox to monitor developers who
`regularly create content that ultimately gets deleted;
`(i) Whether Roblox has the capability to implement policies and practices to
`create additional oversight mechanisms to help prevent content that Roblox deletes
`from the Avatar Shop to be re-introduced and offered for sale again;
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 12 of 18
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`(j) Whether Class members are entitled to injunctive relief, including, but not
`limited to, the Proposed Injunctive Relief, to prevent future harm;
`(k)
` Whether Class members are entitled to declaratory relief to prevent future
`harm.
`Typicality. Plaintiff’s claims are typical of the claims of the other Class members
`43.
`in that the claims of Plaintiff and other Class members are reasonably co-extensive, and arise from
`the same course of wrongful conduct.
`Adequacy of representation. Plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the
`44.
`interests of the Class. Plaintiff has retained counsel highly experienced in complex consumer class
`action litigation, and Plaintiff intends to vigorously prosecute this action. Further, Plaintiff has no
`interests that are antagonistic to those of the other Class members.
`45.
`The Class may be certified under 23(b)(2) because Roblox has acted or refused to
`act on grounds generally applicable to the Class as a whole, thereby making appropriate final
`declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to Class members as a whole.
`46.
`Alternatively, at a minimum, particular common issues are appropriate for class
`treatment under Rule 23(c)(4).
`
`COUNT I
`Violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law
`On Behalf of Plaintiff and the Class
`Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq.
`Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations set
`
`47.
`forth above.
`48.
`In accordance with the liberal application and construction of the Unfair
`Competition Law (“UCL”), application of the UCL to all Class members is appropriate, given that
`Roblox’s headquarters is in San Mateo, California; Roblox’s conduct as described herein
`originated from California; and the decisions regarding Roblox’s content moderation emanated
`from California.
`49.
`Roblox is a “person” as defined by Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17201.
`
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 13 of 18
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`50.
`Roblox violated Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq. by engaging in unlawful
`and unfair business acts and practices.
`51.
`Roblox engaged in “unfair” business acts or practices by failing to adequately and
`effectively review content for policy violations before the content could be purchased, and
`thereafter deleting the content and refusing to issue refunds for the content purchased.
`52.
`Roblox’s practices constitute unfair business practices in violation of the UCL
`because, among other things, they are immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, or
`substantially injurious to consumers and/or any utility of such practices is outweighed by the harm
`caused to consumers. Roblox’s practices violate the legislative policies of the underlying statutes
`alleged herein: namely, protecting consumers and preventing persons from being injured. Roblox’s
`practices caused substantial injury to Plaintiff and absent members of the Class and are not
`outweighed by any benefits, and Plaintiff and absent members of the Class could not have
`reasonably avoided their injuries.
`53.
`Roblox also engaged in “unlawful” business acts or practices under the UCL. “By
`proscribing any unlawful business practice, section 17200 borrows violations of other laws and
`treats them as unlawful practices that the UCL makes independently actionable.” Cel-Tech
`Communications, Inc. v. Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Co., 20 Cal. 4th 163, 180 (1999)
`(citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
`54.
`Virtually any law or regulation – federal or state, statutory, or common law – can
`serve as a predicate for an UCL “unlawful” violation. Klein v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 202 Cal. App.
`4th 1342, 1383 (2012).
`55.
`Roblox engaged in unlawful business acts or practices by violating state law,
`including the CLRA, Cal. Civ. Code § 1780 et seq., and common law, as alleged herein.
`56.
`As a direct and proximate result of Roblox’s unfair acts or business practices,
`Plaintiff and Class members have suffered injury in fact and lost money or property.
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 14 of 18
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`57.
`Plaintiff and Class members seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief; reasonable
`attorneys’ fees and costs under California Code of Civil Procedure § 1021.5; and other appropriate
`equitable relief.
`58.
`Specifically, Plaintiff and other Class members are entitled to injunctive relief
`against Roblox under the UCL, including, without limitation, directing Roblox to:
`59.
`Implement changes to Roblox’s content moderation practices to require adequate
`oversight before content is offered for sale on the Avatar Shop;
`60.
`Implement policies and practices to create additional oversight mechanisms for
`Roblox to monitor developers who regularly create content that ultimately gets deleted (i.e., extra
`oversight over “repeat offenders”);
`61.
`Implement policies and practices to create additional oversight mechanisms to help
`prevent content that Roblox deletes from the Avatar Shop to be re-introduced and offered for sale
`again; and
`62.
`Implement a comprehensive refund program to provide users with prospective
`refunds for content purchased in the Avatar Shop and deleted by Roblox.
`COUNT II
`Violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act
`(On Behalf of Plaintiff and the Class)
`Cal. Civ. Code. § 1750 et seq.
`Plaintiff re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations set
`
`63.
`forth above.
`64.
`The Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq. (“CLRA”), is
`a comprehensive statutory scheme that is to be liberally construed to protect consumers against
`unfair and deceptive business practices in connection with the conduct of businesses providing
`goods, property or services to consumers primarily for personal, family, or household use.
`65.
`In accordance with the liberal application and construction of the CLRA,
`application of the CLRA to all Class members is appropriate, given that Roblox’s headquarters is
`
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`Case 3:21-cv-05683-WHO Document 1 Filed 07/23/21 Page 15 of 18
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`in San Mateo, California; Roblox’s conduct as described herein originated from California; and
`the decisions regarding Roblox’s content moderation emanated from California.
`66.
`Ro