The Gainful Employment Rule, which requires that for-profit educators demonstrate that their graduates can pay their bills, has thus far weathered industry’s attempts to gut the rule. Now we’ll see if new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will defend this rule against a legal challenge brought by a beauty school trade group. [More]
lawsuit
Cosmetology Schools Don’t Want To Be Held Accountable For Students’ Success
By 2.10.17 — Updated: 2.12.17
BMW Reaches $478M Settlement Over Water Damaged Cars
By 2.8.17
More than 300,000 BMW owners will soon be eligible to claim their portion of a $478 million settlement over allegations that a design defect resulted in water damage to electrical components in vehicles’ trunks. [More]
Legal Fund Accused Of Deceiving 9/11 First Responders & NFL Players Out Of Settlement Payments
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.8.17
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state of New York have accused a New Jersey company of defrauding customers — including Sept. 11 first responders and former NFL players suffering from long-term brain injuries — into signing away millions of dollars in settlement payouts. [More]
Anthropologie Must Face Complaint From Customer With Crohn’s Barred From Using Employee Restroom
By 2.6.17
Anthropologie will not be able to avoid having to explain why it allegedly violated Illinois state law by refusing to allow a customer with Crohn’s disease to use the employee restroom, resulting in the customer losing control of her bowels in the store. [More]
Tyson Foods Under Investigation For Alleged Chicken Price-Fixing
By 2.6.17
Tyson Foods, the nation’s largest poultry processor — and the company behind a dizzying array of packaged foods — revealed this week that federal regulators are investigating allegations of price-fixing. [More]
Man Claims Grindr Refused To Delete Multiple Fake Profiles Set Up With His Info
By 2.1.17
When you’re looking for romance online, you’re right to be cautious about fake accounts using someone else’s photos and information. But what happens when you’re the one whose image and info is repeatedly being misappropriated by an ex, resulting in scores of amorous suitors showing up on your doorstep? [More]
Feds Sue Debt Relief Law Firm For Charging Customers Illegal Fees
By 1.30.17
Nearly four years ago, federal regulators shut down a debt relief company — Morgan Drexen — accused of deceiving customers with promises of reducing their debt and charging illegal upfront fees to do so. While that company eventually paid $170 million to resolve the allegations, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Monday sued a related company using the same playbook. [More]
Tesla Accuses Former ‘Autopilot’ Manager Of Stealing Company Secrets
By 1.27.17
Between safety concerns and a tit-for-tat with a former supplier of parts for its assisted-driving system, Tesla’s Autopilot has been thrust into the spotlight numerous times in the last year. Now, the company is doing battle over the semi-autonomous feature again, this time suing a man who formerly worked as a manager for the division, claiming he stole company secrets to start his own self-driving company. [More]
New Mexico Sues 15 Carmakers, Takata For Concealing Deadly Airbag Defects; Seeks $10K/Day
By 1.25.17
Just when you thought Takata’s massive shrapnel-shooting airbag debacle was beginning to wind down after the company settled federal criminal charges for $1 billion, New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the company and 15 car companies for allegedly covering up the deadly defect. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Hatchimals-Maker Deceived Consumers Over Toy
By 1.24.17
A month after the holiday’s hottest toy — Hatchimals — left many parents, and their youngsters, disappointed when the interactive toy failed to hatch, one woman left holding an allegedly useless item has sued Spin Master, the company behind the plaything. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Jewel-Osco Discriminates Against Older Employees
By 1.19.17
Age is just a number, unless that number is used by an employer to discriminate against you, which is why four current and former employees of Jewel-Osco are suing the supermarket chain. [More]
Student Loan Giant Navient Sued By CFPB & Two States Over Alleged Illegal Practices
By 1.18.17
Eighteen months after Sallie Mae spin-off Navient revealed that its wholly-owned subsidiary Navient Solutions Inc could one day be on the receiving end of a federal lawsuit related to its student loans servicing practices, the day has come to pass. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with two states, filed lawsuits against the nation’s largest student loan company for allegedly cheating borrowers out of repayment rights. [More]
Apple Must Face Lawsuit Claiming It Ran App Store Monopoly
By 1.13.17
A federal appeals court has breathed new life into six-year-old lawsuit over Apple’s alleged monopoly control of its App Store. [More]
Medical Debt Collection Firms Must Refund $577K For Threatening Consumers
By 1.9.17 — Updated: 1.10.17
In this latest episode of Debt Collectors Behaving Badly, we bring you the tale of two medical debt collection law firms who must now refund hundreds of thousands of dollars after they were caught falsely claiming that attorneys were involved in collection actions. [More]
Woman Sues Chipotle For $2.2 Billion Over A Photograph
By 1.9.17
If you walked into a restaurant and saw yourself in a photo on the wall, maybe you’d be flattered, or perhaps slightly embarrassed if it’s not a great likeness. You also might not really care. One California woman has had a bit of an extreme reaction to seeing herself on the wall at Chipotle, and is suing the company for $2.2 billion. [More]
Are Nestlé’s Raisinet Boxes “Recklessly” Under-Filled?
By 1.6.17
By now most Consumerist readers are familiar with the Grocery Shrink Ray, where the amount of a product in a package shrinks over time to keep the price of the product consistent without decreasing profits. Sure, that’s annoying and perhaps a bit misleading, but the Shrink Ray’s sneakier twin — slack-fill — is even worse, and now it’s the reason for a class-action seeking lawsuit against Nestlé, accusing the candy company of “recklessly” underfilling its Raisinets boxes. [More]
Lawsuit Over Star Trek Fan Fiction Flick Headed To A Jury Trial
By 1.4.17
The David vs. Goliath sci-fi copyright battle between Paramount Studios and the makers of a crowdsourced Star Trek fan fiction movie nears its glorious conclusion, with a judge determining this morning that the dispute will head to a jury trial. [More]
Former ITT Tech Students Sue To Be Included In Bankruptcy Proceedings
By 1.3.17
When a retailer goes bankrupt, little thought is given to the store’s customers, but what happens when a for-profit educator goes bust? Do its customers — the former students — have any right to be involved in the bankruptcy proceedings? [More]
