Most of us have looked at a cable or phone bill and questioned a random charge we felt shouldn’t have been there. Usually this is an error, but a former CenturyLink employee claims that some workers at the telecom company were deliberately adding these charges to pad their sales figures. What’s worse, she says she was fired after bringing this possible scheme to the CEO’s attention. [More]
lawsuit
With DeVos Unwilling To Defend Rules, States Try To Protect Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges
By 6.14.17
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made it clear that she has no intention to defend regulations put in place to protect students at failed for-profit colleges. But a number of states are now attempting to step in to do the job the Department of Education won’t. [More]
United Airlines Sorry About That Video Of Employee Shoving 71-Year-Old
By 6.14.17
As if United Airlines hasn’t had enough customer service issues to deal with this year, the carrier is once again apologizing to a passenger. This time, the company issued regrets for a nearly two-year-old incident that was thrust into the spotlight this week after a Texas man filed a lawsuit against the airline and two employees alleging he was injured when one of the workers pushed him to the ground during a confrontation that was caught on security camera. [More]
Toyota To Pay $14M To Victims Of Crash Involving Camry
By 6.12.17
Eleven years after a crash caused by a Toyota Camry that accelerated uncontrollably, killing three people and injuring several others, a judge upheld a jury’s finding that Toyota was liable for the incident, ordering the carmaker to pay $14 million.
Workers Say Chipotle Owes Them Overtime Pay
By 6.7.17
Last year, a federal court issued an injunction that put the brakes on a Department of Labor rule that would expand overtime pay to millions of workers. While the government isn’t enforcing the rule because of the court order, a new lawsuit filed against Chipotle argues that that shouldn’t stop employers from abiding by the terms. To that end, employees of the fast casual restaurant in New Jersey are seeking to recoup overtime pay they would have earned under the rule. [More]
Photographer Sues Forever 21, Urban Outfitters Over Tupac T-Shirt
By 6.2.17 — Updated: 6.9.17
Urban Outfitters and Forever 21 are not strangers to lawsuits claiming they’ve stolen designs or elements of designs from others in order to make sales: from textile designs to ornaments. Now, the two retailers are facing a lawsuit together, after a celebrity photographer claimed the companies illegally used photographs he took of Tupac Shakur on T-shirts. [More]
For-Profit Colleges Sue To Stop Rule That Protects Students Of Failed Schools
By 5.25.17
Federal regulations that aim to protect and refund student loan borrowers defrauded by their schools could end before they even go into place, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the for-profit college industry. [More]
Owners Of Duramax-Engine Trucks Accuse GM Of Using Emissions-Cheating Devices
By 5.25.17
Add General Motors to the growing list of carmakers accused of using so-called “defeat devices” to skirt federal emissions standards. Owners of GM trucks with Duramax diesel engines say the car company has been using secretly installed software to cheat on these tests — and boost sales — for more than five years. [More]
PayPal Mocks Pandora For “Blatantly Pirating” Logo
By 5.23.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
It apparently isn’t enough for PayPal to accuse Pandora of copying its logo, the online payment platform is attempting to humiliate the streaming music service and its business model. [More]
Justice Dept. May Go After Fiat Chrysler For Skirting Emissions Standards
By 5.18.17
Now that both the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have accused Fiat Chrysler of using “defeat device” software to skirt emission standards in more than 100,000 vehicles, the Department of Justice is expected to file a lawsuit against carmaker. [More]
Target Customer Takes Retailer To Court After Two-Ton Red Ball Crashes Into Car
By 5.16.17
A New Jersey Target customer whose car was damaged after a red, two-ton cement ball came loose in front of a store is now taking the retailer to court because she says Target’s insurance company won’t pay to fix her vehicle. [More]
Customer Accuses Burger King Of Bogus BOGO Deals
By 5.9.17
Typically, when presented with a “buy-one-get-one” coupon, customers expect to pay the original price for one item and then get the second one free. But one Burger King customer claims the fast food chain actually increases the price on the first sandwich so you’re not truly getting two for the price of one. [More]
Ponzi Scheme Victims Say PayPal Knew User Was A Scammer
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Victims of a Ponzi scheme that raked in hundreds of millions of dollars allege that online payment system PayPal were aware of the scam operator’s past but turned a blind eye because the company was making so much money from these fraudulent transactions. [More]
Former MoneyGram Executive To Pay Record Personal Fine To Settle Money Laundering Accusations
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The former compliance officer for money transfer company MoneyGram must pay $250,000 — the largest such fine imposed — to settle allegations that he personally failed to stop consumers from becoming victims of fraud. [More]
Jury Awards Woman $110.5M In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Lawsuit
By 5.5.17
More than a year after a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer linked to the company’s talcum-based products, another jury in the state awarded a Virginia woman a record-setting $110.5 million in a similar lawsuit. [More]
Appeals Court Upholds Decision To Block $54B Anthem, Cigna Merger
By 4.28.17
The $54 billion marriage between health insurance behemoths Anthem and Cigna is still off after a federal appeals court denied Anthem’s efforts to overturn a previous court order blocking the mega-merger. [More]
Supreme Court: General Motors Can’t Use Bankruptcy To Avoid Lawsuits Over Deadly Ignition Defect
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The Supreme Court has denied General Motors’ legal efforts to use its 2009 bankruptcy to block lawsuits over injuries and financial losses related to the carmaker’s long-ignored ignition switch defect. [More]
Federal, State Agencies Accuse Ocwen Of Mortgage Errors, Illegal Foreclosures
By 4.20.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
We may be years removed from the robo-signing, foreclosure free-for-all that ensued following the collapse of the housing market, but mortgage servicers continue to screw things up. Today, federal and state regulators sued one of the nation’s largest home loan companies, alleging widespread errors that caused borrowers to lose money, and in some cases their homes. [More]
