Although Bus. & Prof. Code 17204 and 1720 confer standing on district attorneys to sue under the UCL for restitution and civil penalties in the name of the people of the State of California, it does not grant the District Attorney power to seek and recover those remedies for violations occurring outside the jurisdiction of the county in which he was elected. By constitution, a district attorney’s powers are confined to the county in which he is elected, while the Attorney General represents the state as a whole. To permit one district attorney to recover restitution and civil penalties with respect to injuries suffered by residents of other counties would allow that district attorney to usurp the functions constitutionally delegated to the Attorney General and to the district attorney in each other county for which remedies were sought. Absent those officers’ consent, a district attorney cannot pursue restitution or civil penalties for residents of counties other than his own. Accord: People v. Hy-Lond Enterprises, Inc. (1979) 93 Cal.App.3d 734, 751.
California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1 (O’Rourke, J.; Dato, J., dissenting); May 31, 2018; 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 507