The next time you decide to perform a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday To You” on TV, or in a movie or on your debut album, you won’t have to worry about paying anyone for the right to do so: after two years of legal wrangling over who owns the copyright to the classic tune, the parties involved have agreed to settle their differences. [More]
settlements
Samsung Agrees To Pay Apple $548M To Settle 5-Year Patent Battle
By 12.4.15
It’s been a long time coming, but Samsung and Apple’s ongoing patent battle has finally come to an end: a little under five years since the two technology giants first clashed in court over patents, Samsung has agreed to pay $548 million to settle the long-running dispute with Apple. [More]
Anthem Blue Cross Will Pay $8.3M To Customers To Settle Class-Action Suit Over Mid-Year Policy Changes
By 10.27.15
When you sign up for an insurance policy, you’re given a price for that plan for the year. So when California consumers discovered changes to their Anthem Blue Cross policies in the middle of the year that came with extra out-of-pocket costs, two policyholders filed a class-action lawsuit against the insurance provider in 2011. Anthem Blue Cross has now agreed to a settlement that includes reimbursing about 50,000 customers in California almost $8.3 million. [More]
Subway And Shortchanged Sandwich-Eaters Settle 2013 Lawsuit Over Footlong Sub Length
By 10.21.15
This news may shock you, but “footlong” sandwiches from the chain Subway have not historically been an entire foot long. Back in 2013, customers in different states filed class actions alleging that the sandwiches usually measure 11 to 11.5 inches. While most customers and many sandwich artists would say “close enough,” some literal-minded consumers were unable to abide 11.5-inch and 5.75-inch sandwiches. The lawsuit has finally been settled, and customers aren’t owed any money, because an extra half-inch of bread is apparently its own reward. [More]
Starkist Class Action Settlement Means Customers Get $25 In Cash Or $50 In Tuna
By 8.25.15
Two and a half years ago, a man who eats tuna filed a class action lawsuit against Starkist, a tuna company. His allegation was that the company was deliberately under-filling each can by a few tenths of an ounce. That might not make a difference to one consumer making one tuna salad, but would add up over millions of cans. While Starkist doesn’t admit fault, the case has been settled. [More]
Tom Selleck, Agency Reach Tentative Settlement In Water Theft Lawsuit
By 7.10.15
The world was shocked, simply shocked to hear this week that actor Tom Selleck was embroiled in a water hullabaloo out in California. After the Calleguas Municipal Water District filed a lawsuit accusing the Magnum P.I. star and his wife of stealing water by the truckload from a fire hydrant, the two sides have reportedly reached a tentative settlement. [More]
Marketers Of Memory Supplement Must Pay $1.4M To Settle Deceptive Advertising Charges
By 7.8.15
Using fake news stories and trumped-up, unsubstantiated claims, the marketers of a supplement that claimed to be the answer to memory loss problems sold nearly $100 million worth of the stuff in just a few years. Now they have to fork over $1.4 million to federal and state authorities for making these deceptive statements, and face millions more in penalties if they fail to comply. [More]
FCC, TracFone Reach Settlement: Provider Will Now Unlock Customers Phones’ Like They Said They Would
By 7.2.15
Unlocking your phone is legal, and the wireless industry agreed months ago to a set of conditions that went into effect earlier this year that allow consumers to do just that. Those companies all promised the FCC that they had a plan. And when you tell a federal agency that you have a plan, you probably actually should, and ought to follow it, too. One company didn’t, and that has landed them in some hot water with the commission. [More]
Kohl’s To Pay Nearly $1M To Settle Allegations It Overcharged Customers In California
By 6.29.15
Kohl’s Corporation must shell out nearly $1 million to settle lawsuits with four California counties over allegations the company charged customers more than the price advertised on shelves and signs. [More]
FTD, Classmates Inc. To Pay $11M To Resolve Multi-State Allegations Of Deceptive Advertising
By 5.26.15
The attorneys general from 22 states signed an $11 million settlement with a national flower delivery service and social networking site today to resolve allegations that the two companies misled consumers into buying subscription services they didn’t want. [More]
Credit Bureaus Must Pay $6M, Fix Errors More Quickly Under 31-State Agreement
By 5.21.15
The three largest companies to collect and disseminate credit information for millions of Americans – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – must significantly change the way they treat disputed information on credit reports as part of a massive multi-state settlement announced this week. [More]
Feds Take Issue With Pills Claiming To “Prevent & Reverse” Greying Hair
By 5.13.15
Although dyeing your hair an ashen color is apparently a fashion thing right now, some consumers will try just about anything to stall the steely tint from cropping up on their heads: including shelling out big bucks for dietary supplements that promise to prevent or reverse the presence of gray hair. Only, according to a new settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, those claims weren’t actually backed by science. [More]
Black & Decker To Pay $1.57M Penalty For Failing To Report Defects Of Lawnmower That Started On Its Own
By 5.1.15
Under federal law, manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report information regarding possible safety defects to the Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours of obtaining reasonable supporting evidence. That 24-hour window allegedly turned into 11 years for Black & Decker and now the company must pay a nearly $1.6 million fine for failing report safety issues related to an electric lawnmower that started spontaneously, injuring at least two consumers. [More]
Hey, AT&T Customers: If You Plan To Grab A Slice Of The Cramming Settlement, Do It Right Now
By 4.30.15
A friendly reminder to AT&T wireless customers: as a result of their $105m settlement with the FTC, the company has to pay refunds for cramming. The application deadline for refunds is May 1 — that’s tomorrow. You can visit the settlement website to see if you’re eligible or to submit a claim. [More]
Mortgage Servicer Must Refund Consumers $48M For Array Of Deceptive Practices
By 4.22.15
Every once in a while government agencies team up to take down unscrupulous operations that prey on financially vulnerable consumers. Such was the case this week when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission took action against a mortgage servicer that engaged in a assortment of deceptive practices often resulting in consumers losing their homes. [More]
Wells Fargo Breached 2010 Mortgage Settlement, Must Work To Provide Homeowner Assistance
By 4.17.15
Some homeowners who were wrongly denied mortgage assistance from Wells Fargo will soon receive the help they needed years ago after a federal judge ruled this week that the bank’s denial of modifications were in breach of a 2010 settlement involving adjustable-payment mortgages. [More]
FCC Fines CenturyLink $16M, Intrado Communications $1.4M For Actions During Massive 911 Outage
By 4.6.15
Last month the Federal Communications Commission ordered Verizon to pay $3.4 million for failing to alert authorities of a preventable programming error that left nearly 11 million people in seven states without access to emergency services for six hours in 2014. While Verizon’s fine was decidedly hefty, it pales in comparison to the $16 million penalty the agency just levied against CenturyLink for the same 911 outage. [More]
PayPal Must Pay $7.7M For Processing Transactions In Violation Of U.S. Sanctions
By 3.27.15
Each year, PayPal processes billions of dollars in transactions. Apparently some of those payments didn’t exactly sit well with the U.S. government and now the company must pay $7.7 million for violating certain sanctions. [More]
