Consumer Protections

Action brought by a former patient against her therapist seeking recovery of fees paid to the therapist and for injunctive relief. Plaintiff alleges that from 2006 to 2014, the defendant, a licensed therapist, told her that her homosexuality was a pathological disorder resulting from past sexual abuse and that plaintiff should and would be able to change her sexual orientation by participating in a form of conversion therapy he provided. It is also alleged that the defendant claimed his therapy could rewire her brain and allow her to recover lost memories of past sexual abuse. Plaintiff's complaint alleges that it is the consensus of current scientific opinion that lesbianism is not a pathological disorder and that "conversion therapy" is without scientific validity and is, in fact, harmful. The complaint stated four causes of action: (1) violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) under Civil Code section 1770(a), (2) violation of the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) under Business and Professions Code section 1720, (3) Intentional Misrepresentation, and (4) Breach of Fiduciary Duty. Defendant demurred arguing that plaintiff's complaint is essentially a claim for breach of professional negligence and therefore barred by the statute of limitations under MICRA (Civil Code section 340.5). Defendant also argued that "conversion therapy" while controversial, is not illegal under Business & Professions Code section 865 and under the "safe harbor" defense, he is immune from liability.