Horribly offended by the GTA: San Andreas “Hot Coffee” mod in which you could (help, help) indulge in crude polygon sex? Great. You’re being offered a $5 cash settlement.
Government Policy
$1 Billion ETF Class Action Against Verizon Approved
By 1.29.08
Somehow, an arbitrator has approved a massive $1 billion class action lawsuit against Verizon over their early termination fees. In letting the lawsuit proceed, the arbitrator wrote, “…millions of class members are entitled to adjudication of the central common questions of fact or law in this arbitration related to whether the $175 early termination fee imposed by respondents Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless … is based upon an unenforceable liquidated damage clause.” With cellphone companies switching to prorated ETFs and the rise in ETF-related lawsuits around the country, one wonders if we won’t see the death of ETFs in the next few years. By that time, cellphone companies will have figured out a new technique to keep people from leaving their contracts.
By 1.29.08
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The IRS ain’t so evil, they sponsor free tax prep help program to give you assistance with your taxes. [IRS]
Poll Results: How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebates?
By 1.28.08
Last Thursday we polled our readers for what they plan on doing with their money when they get their tax rebate checks. The result is that Consumerist readers mainly plan on using their money in precisely the opposite way that the politicians want them to, paying off debt (46.3%) and saving it in the bank (30%). All the other options combined, which would have a supposedly more directly stimulating effect on the economy, add up to only 23.8%. Food came in at 1.5%, depreciating assets 8.2%, discretionary spending 4.5% and stimulating the critical beer and cigarette industries 9.6%. It seems our readers are more concerned about their personal finances than the national economy. Good. Maybe if more people were like them we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.
Pure Weight Loss Helped Customers Lose Money, Not Weight, Says Attorney General
By 1.28.08
Last week, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the PA-based company Pure Weight Loss and its owner, Vahan Karian. Pure Weight Loss, which has about 400 stores nationwide, announced last December that it was going out of business, and yet continued to accept pre-payment from unaware customers up to four days after posting the announcement on its website. Since closing, it has failed to reimburse customers fees for unfulfilled contracts or deliver the supplies they’ve already bought.
Appraiser Says Washington Mutual Blacklisted Her For Not Inflating Property Values
By 1.28.08
A Californian real-estate appraiser is suing Washington Mutual, saying she was blackballed after refusing to to give artificially inflated property value estimates.
…last May, according to the suit, a WaMu manager upbraided her for describing local property values as “declining” in an appraisal. The manager insisted that Wertz “change her report to indicate ‘stable’ conditions so that the loan could be approved.”
White House Mulls Another Industry Shill To Head CPSC
By 1.28.08
The Washington Post reports that the Administration is considering another industry hack to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC). They have in mind is Gail Charnley, a scientist who has testified on behalf of and writes articles supporting the views of tobacco, energy and pesticide companies. She’s not thought of as a consumer advocate per se but as someone hired by industry to represent their point of view,” said Lynn Goldman, a former assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Awesome. Last time around, the White House tried unsuccessfully to install Michael Baroody, a lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers, as CPSC head. Should Charnley fail, there’s probably some guys from Enron still looking for work.
Senate To Scuttle Timely Economic Stimulus Plan
By 1.26.08
Smarting from its continued failure to check the expansive growth of the unitary executive, the Senate has decided to assert itself by derailing an agreed upon economic stimulus plan. Senate leaders are now insisting that the stimulus plan contain an extra $25 billion to fund road work, tax cuts, and extend unemployment insurance.
New York Expands Countrywide Class Action Suit
By 1.26.08
Today, New York City and state expanded their class action lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. to include two more company officers, twenty underwriters (including big investment banks like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch), and two accounting firms. “We will pursue every avenue to ensure that those who defrauded investors are held accountable for their actions,” said the NYC Comptroller.
Diane Von Furstenberg Sues Target For Copyright Infringement
By 1.25.08
“Defendants’ infringing dresses are ‘wrap’ dresses made of materials designed to look like silk jersey, a style consumers and the general public have come to associate with DVF,” the complaint said.
Costco Employees Are Heroic, Help Catch Shooting Suspect
By 1.25.08
Several Costco employees who spotted two men breaking into a car parked near the store’s tire center chased the men toward the main store where an assistant police chief happened to be shopping.
$60 Million Shoplifting Ring Busted In Florida
By 1.25.08
Holy crap! A “multiagency” investigation that started with a single shoplifting incident has lead to the arrest of an 18 person crime ring in Florida, says The Ledger.
Palm Treo 600/Treo 650 Owners Can Claim Class Action Benefits
By 1.25.08
If you had experienced two or more repairs on your Treo 600 or Treo 650, Palm has just settled a class action lawsuit under which you might be able to claim benefits. You can either get a $50 or $75 rebate good for purchase of a new Palm smartphone, or you can get your device repaired even if the original warranty has expired. The deadline for filing is July 28, 2008. More information is available at palzasettlement.com. Inside, The full text of the email Palm sent out. Out of curiosity, are there ever any class action lawsuits that don’t settle out of court?
$2.7 Billion Bid So Far In Wireless Spectrum Auction
By 1.25.08
Bidding for the national franchise in the C block started at $1.037 billion in the morning and was raised to $1.245 billion in the afternoon. The reserve price for the national C block is $4.6 billion. (Google has said it will bid at least $4.6 billion for this block, but there is no requirement that it place a bid in that amount at first.)
Class Actions: T-Mobile's Mandatory Arbitration Clause Ruled "Unconscionable"
By 1.25.08
A class action lawsuit can proceed in Washington after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled T-Mobile’s mandatory binding arbitration clause “unconscionable and unenforceable under Washington state law.”
Grandmother Arrested At McDonald's For Refusing To Pull Car Forward
By 1.25.08
Merola said the McDonald’s employees told her to wait there for her food. Merola was handcuffed behind her back and put in the cruiser. Another officer arrived and took her to the Pinellas County Jail .
Dannon Sued Over Probiotic Yogurt Claims
By 1.25.08
A proposed class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in California against Dannon over the company’s unsubstantiated claims that its Activia, Activia Lite and DanActive “probiotic” yogurts were healthier than regular yogurt.
By 1.24.08
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The first tax rebate checks will be sent out in May and just about everyone should have them by July. [AP]
