Consumerist
kindle 2
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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 » -
storm8
iPhone App Developer Sued For Stealing Users' Phone Numbers
For secretly stealing users' phone number by exploiting a backdoor iPhone vulnerability, app developer Storm8 got slapped with a class action lawsuit. More » -
we all live in a yellow boat
Company Sued For Selling Beatles MP3s Says They're Original Works, So It's Okay
Since the Beatles are notorious for refusing to release their music online, the mere fact that BlueBeat.com was selling them was kind of strange, which probably explains why EMI just sued them for copyright infringement. But BlueBeat has come up with a perfectly reasonable explanation. The songs aren't really Beatles songs, you see, but "psycho-acoustic simulations" and therefore original works. More » -
lawsuits
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Payless Shoesource For Text Message Spamming
Peter, who wrote in last month to complain about being text-spammed by Payless Shoesource on his phone, wasn't the only customer they annoyed. A man in California has filed a class action lawsuit against the shoe company and Voice & Mobile Broadcast Corporation, which is the marketing company it hired to run the campaign. More » -
lawsuits
NY AG: Intel Is An Illegal Monopoly That Uses "Bribery And Coercion"
Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General of New York, has filed a lawsuit against Intel, claiming that the company is an illegal monopoly that engages "in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct - revealed in e-mails - in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for microprocessors." More » -
lawsuits
AT&T Sues Verizon Over "There's A Map For That" Ads
AT&T has had it with Verizon's "there's a map for that ads" and have filed a lawsuit. The big blue death star says that the ad is misleading because while the blank spaces in Verizon's map actually show places where there is no Verizon service at all — the blank spaces in the AT&T map may still have voice and data coverage — just not "3G" coverage. More » -
privacy
Baby Too Boring? Watch The Neighbor's Baby With This Monitor
If you buy the Summer Infant Day and Night Video Monitor, you might want to make sure your neighbors haven't also got one, or else they'll have a secret window into your newborn's room. More » -
can-spam
Facebook Sues Spammer; Wins $711 Million
Facebook won $711 million in a lawsuit against a notorious spammer. Don't cheer too hard, though. The same spampresario owes MySpace $234 million for the same thing. More » -
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product safety
Blair Sued For $30 Million Over Bath Robe Death
Among the nine people who have died from injuries sustained after their chenille bath robes caught fire was 80-year-old Atwilda Brown. Now her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that sold (and twice recalled) the robes, Blair LLC. More » -
aquafina
Misplaced Letter Costs PepsiCo $1.26 Billion In Bottled Water Lawsuit
It's easy to joke about PepsiCo's Aquafina. After all, it's purified municipal tap water, bottled and sold at prices comparable to juices and soda. But the product is no joke to two men in Wisconsin. In 1981, they discussed their idea to bottle and sell purified tap water with some of PepsiCo's regional bottlers. Allegedly, the idea made its way back to PepsiCo and eventually became Aquafina.
This year, they sued PepsiCo. But the paperwork was lost in layers of corporate bureaucracy, and PepsiCo failed to send a representative, winning the men a default judgment of $1.26 billion. Yes, with a B. More »
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legal battles
Copycat Company Sues Original Artist To Void Copyright Claims
It's a natural impulse to want to support the little guy, the David who faces down a powerful Goliath. That's why it's easy to get behind this guy's claims that a copycat business is suing him to force him to abandon his own copyrights. Wtf!, you might say when you read something like that. Is that even possible? It is, and the story is more nuanced when you look at both sides, which makes it a good example of why it's sometimes hard to be a "good consumer" when deciding where to spend your money. More » -
nice work if you can get it
Company Pays Man It Never Employed For More Than 4 Years, Sues To Get Money Back
Anthony accepted a job at New Jersey telemarketing company Avaya Inc. in September 2002 but decided at the last minute not to start working for the company. More » -
best buy
Price Match Fraud Lawsuit Filed Against Best Buy
A class action lawsuit has been filed in Illinois against Best Buy. The suit's claims? That the company has an official policy against price-matching their own web site. You don't say. That claim of a special Intranet site to prevent price-matching against the chain's Web site sounds familiar. So do most of the suit's allegations, for loyal readers of Consumerist. More » -
memberships
24 Hour Fitness Sued For Charging Ex-Customers Fees
The gym chain made famous on NBC's "Biggest Loser" is being sued for continuing to debit the bank accounts of customers who have canceled their memberships. The US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, has given the green light to a class action lawsuit that says the chain is violating both the RICO Act and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by keeping these zombie memberships active. More » -
trademarks
Brewery Owner Stares Down, Whups Monster In His Closet
Score a victory for the little guy. Matt Nadeau, the owner of the Rock Art Vermont brewery, which was slapped with a lawsuit by the sue-happy makers of the Monster energy drink for brewing a beer called "Vermonster," has gotten the bullies to step off. More » -
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badvertising
Woman Sues Toyota For Convincing Her She Was Being Stalked
It's probably a bad idea to market to consumers by tricking them with practical jokes. It's definitely a bad idea to make a consumer fear for her safety over a five day period because she thinks a stalker is coming after her. That's why a woman in Los Angeles is suing Toyota for $10 million after being on the receiving end of a Punk'd-style stunt to promote the Toyota Matrix. More » -
follow-ups
Browns Fan's Case Against EA Dismissed, Will Probably Be Settled
It looks like Big Dawg is getting his. More »
