class-actions

Microsoft has declared that the owners of banned Xbox consoles have no recourse and no choice but to buy new consoles. Some users see this as unfair and a vast Redmond conspiracy, and law firm AbingtonIP is fighting back with a class-action lawsuit. God bless America.  More »

For secretly stealing users' phone number by exploiting a backdoor iPhone vulnerability, app developer Storm8 got slapped with a class action lawsuit.  More »

A class action lawsuit (PDF) was filed against Cash4Gold in California federal court last Friday, accusing the company of a "massive scheme to defraud tens of thousands of consumers throughout the nation," and racketeering.   More »

If a retailer doesn't protect your credit card data and it gets stolen, should you be compensated? Not for any unauthorized charges, which are already covered under banks' zero-liability protection, but for the time lost dealing with the problem, for the anxiety it causes, and for any future credit history/score issues it might cause?  More »

Banks don't believe in first come, first served, when it comes to processing your transactions. Instead, it's biggest appetite, first served. In other words, they process a batch of debits on your account by order of largest to smallest. The result, critics, and now, several lawsuits, charge that it maximizes the overdraft fees they can harvest.  More »

Denny's entrees are loaded with dangerous amounts of salt, according to a class action suit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The CDC recommends consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day, but some Denny's entrees contain a whopping 5,500 milligrams.  More »

If you feel like had to pay too much for baby supplies this past decade, look to Babies R Us. Time reports that last week, "the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia granted class-action status to a complaint that Babies 'R' Us coerced manufacturers of high-end strollers, car seats, high chairs, strap carriers and breast pumps into preventing Internet retailers from discounting their products."  More »

If you let your Costco membership lapse, then 2 months later renew it, Costco will backdate it to day it lapsed instead of the day you renew. The result: your 12 month membership suddenly shrinks to 10 months for the same price. Consumer Reports notes that Costco used to backdate renewals by as much as 5 months before a recent class-action settlement.  More »

The California Supreme Court has effectively reversed a 2004 San Francisco trial court decision that ordered BofA to pay $284.4 million in damages to more than 1.1 million customers. The California Supreme Court ruled that banks can tap Social Security benefits in bank accounts to cover bounced-check fees, a practice consumer advocates say is abusive because Federal law prohibits Social Security benefits from being seized to pay a debt. California law apparently doesn't consider overdraft fees to be debt, so the fee party will be allowed to rock on indefinitely.   More »

A settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild for sending and charging customers for DVDs they didn't order. After ordering one DVD, defendants Mantra Films, Inc., MRA Holdings LLC and Joe Francis were alleged to enroll customers in a monthly video club plan without the member's knowledge or consent and charge their credit card without authorizations. Depending on how much proof of purchase they have, class members can get a refund for the videos, shipping costs, or a discount on future jug-jiggling videos. More info at the settlement website, ggwsettlement.com.  More »

A settlement has been proposed in a class action against Nationwide Insurance. The suit says Nationwide should pay for both the car's repair and depreciated value for policyholders hit by underinsured drivers or involved in hit-and-run accidents. For those who qualify and file, it could mean thousands.  More »

Apple has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a class action suit brought by owners of the notoriously scratchy first-generation iPod Nanos. Under the agreement, owners of the scratch magnets will be entitled to either a $25 or $15 cash refund, depending on whether or not their Nano included a carrying case.  More »

Bank of America has settled a class action lawsuit over its dirty overdraft tricks—things like approving transactions that generate overdraft fees, for example, or clearing transactions in high-to-low order to increase the number of overdrafts. If you're a former customer of BoA, Fleet, LaSalle Bank or United Trust Company, you can claim your part of the settlement fund.   More »

Americans face a tough choice Tuesday morning: watch Barack Obama's historic inauguration, or storm department stores to take advantage of a first-come, first-serve cosmetics giveaway worth $175 million.   More »