Consumerist
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aquafina
$1.26 Billion Glorified Tap Water Judgment Against Pepsi Thrown Out
Good news for Pepsico: the lawsuit two Wisconsin men filed, accusing the company of stealing from them the idea that eventually became Aquafina, will have to be judged on its actual merits. The default judgment of $1.26 billion that they received when Pepsi failed to acknowledge the suit has been vacated. More » -
privacy concerns
Gmail Account Shut Down For Receiving Errant Bank Spreadsheet
The judicial system has spoken in the case of the spreadsheet full of personal data accidentally e-mailed to a random Gmail user by an employee of Rocky Mountain Bank. Google must reveal the account holder's identity, and the account has been deactivated. More » -
forced arbitration
No Arbitration For Halliburton Sexual Assault Case, Court Holds
A woman who was allegedly raped while working for Halliburton/Kellogg Brown & Root in Iraq will have her civil claims heard in court, not by a company-selected arbitrator, thanks to a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. More » -
mortgages
Brooklyn Judge Rejects Improperly Documented Foreclosure Motions, Shocks Banking Industry
There's a judge in Brooklyn, NY, who has tossed out nearly half of the foreclosure cases brought before him over the past year, because the lenders have such messy paper trails that they can't prove ownership anymore. More » -
patents
Judge Tells Microsoft It Can't Sell Word In U.S.
Thanks to a Texas judge's ruling earlier this week, Microsoft has been prohibited from selling or supporting any more copies of Word that can edit XML-based documents. A Toronto-based company, i4i, sued Microsoft in 2007 over its XML editing patent, and the judge ruled in i4i's favor. The ruling kicks in 60 days from now, unless Microsoft decides to appeal. We have a feeling it will. More » -
arbitration
Arbitration May Be Dead, But Courts Offer Imperfect Alternative
Last month, the Minnesota Attorney General brought an oppressive arbitration regime to its knees. Nation Arbitration Forum handled over 200,000 arbitrations per year. But many of those cases will end up in the 50 states' district courts, where consumers may fare no better. More » -
forced arbitration
Arbitration Fairness Act On "All Things Considered"
The perils of forced arbitration and the need for the Arbitration Fairness Act were recently featured on an NPR piece. The story discusses the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, the former Halliburton employee who was gang raped in Iraq by her coworkers, then was sent to arbitration when she tried to sue her employer. More » -
arbitration
"We Build In Middle Class Neighborhoods Because You Can't Afford To Fight Us"
Meet Michelle. We met Michelle at Arbitration Fairness Day and she told us about being forced into arbitration when she tried to get her poorly constructed home repaired. Now she'd like to share her story with you. More » -
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preemption
End Pre-Emption, Support The Medical Device Safety Act
Two recent Supreme Court cases on federal pre-emption have made a mess of tort law, confusing and endangering consumers by holding that a patient who is injured by a dangerous drug can sue the manufacturer, but a patient injured by a dangerous medical device cannot. How this happened, and what to do about it, inside. More » -
arbitration
Mandatory Binding Arbitration Isn't Just Bad For Consumers, It's Bad For Small Businesses
Mother Jones has an excellent writeup of Deborah Williams and Richard Welshans, the Maryland couple whose horrific experience with franchising a Coffee Beanery we've covered before. Inside, MoJo breaks down the arbitration award to show just how much more expensive arbitration is than litigation. More » -
privacy
Korbel Sues To Force Comcast To Reveal Identities Of Anonymous Critics
The Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat says that Korbel Champagne Cellars will ask a Sonoma County judge to force Comcast to reveal the names of anonymous Craigslist posters who criticized the company. More » -
arbitration fairness act
The Arbitration Fairness Act Is In The House
The Arbitration Fairness Act, which will ban binding mandatory arbitration clauses from consumer, employment, and franchise contracts, was reintroduced in the House yesterday. More » -
your rights
Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever
Mandatory binding arbitration agreements are bad for consumers for so many reasons that, unless you're the victim of one, it's hard to keep track of the various ways you can be screwed. So we've come up with this helpful illustration: a choose-your-own-adventure-styled trip through the arbitration process. More »
4:49 PM on Tue Feb 10 2009
By Alex Chasick
68,512 views, 76 commentsMost discussed Tiki McTikatron: So if you are handed a paper contract (say from a daycare center) and see this clause, are you more »
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arbitration
Court Strikes Arbitration Clause In Case Against Nursing Home That Let Resident Freeze To Death
A Michigan court has struck an arbitration clause in a wrongful death case against a nursing home that allegedly allowed one of its senile residents to wander outside and freeze to death. More » -
amazon
Amazon Loses Challenge On NY State Sales Tax
A New York state Supreme Court justice threw out Amazon's sales tax lawsuit earlier today, opening the way for New York to begin collecting sales taxes on Amazon purchases. More » -
timberland
Timberland Offering Up To $150 To Recipients Of Its Text Message Spam
Did you receive text message spam from Timberland between 2003 and last month? If so, you may be eligible for $150 in we're-not-admitting-guilt apology money from them, according to Info World:
Under the terms of a preliminary settlement agreement, [Timberland and e-commerce company GSI] will pay $7 million into a cash fund to reimburse those who received the messages, according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit.
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arbitration
Sixth Circuit Overturns Arbitrator Who "Showed A Manifest Disregard Of The Law"
Earlier this week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an arbitration decision in a dispute between Coffee Beanery and a franchisee. The court found that the arbitrator, hired by the American Arbitration Association, "showed a manifest disregard of the law" by siding with Coffee Beanery. More » -
zombie debt
Third-Party Debt Collectors Misusing Courts To Increase Profits
The Chicago Tribune writes that "More than 119,000 civil lawsuits against alleged debtors are clogging [Chicago] courtrooms," but since collection agencies make money off of volume business, the suits filed are based on too little information. The result: cases based on mistaken identities, or for debts already settled, or against debtors who have made good-faith efforts to work out repayment plans. "The system is out of control," one attorney tells the paper. More »
courts
New York, 12:06 PM
Tue Nov 10
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