Craigslist has announced that they are suing South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster “seeking declaratory relief and a restraining order with respect to criminal charges he has repeatedly threatened against craigslist and its executives.” It’s on, people.
lawsuits
NFL Network And Comcast Finally Kiss And Make Up
By 5.19.09
It’s official, the NFL Network and Comcast have finally reached an agreement that will bring the football-only network to the majority of Comcast’s subscribers. So, who caved?
Woody Allen Makes More Money Suing American Apparel Than Making Movies
By 5.19.09 — Updated: 11.1.12
Woody Allen found a new way to make ends meet other than that zany “sell movie tickets to people” scheme: He waited until American Apparel made an unauthorized billboard using his graven image, then sued the crap out of them for $10 million and settled for half the amount.
Blockbuster Busted For Overcharging Customers, Must Pay $300k
By 5.19.09
What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you’re Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what’s displayed on the product, at least in California.
Uh Oh, Someone Has Sued Suze Orman For Fraud
By 5.18.09
But not for her advice* or her fashion sense, as you might expect. In addition to doling out advice on TV and in books, Orman is a licensed insurance broker in California, and in 1999 her firm the Suze Orman Financial Group sold some long-term care insurance to Ann Garat, who developed ovarian cancer two years later. When Garat filed a claim, CNA Financial—the issuer of the insurance—rejected it, saying their fine print stipulated it wouldn’t cover care from family members.
Federal Judge Shuts Down Car Warranty Robocallers
By 5.16.09
“Oh hell no!” Federal District Judge John F. Grady told a marauding group of car warranty robocallers who managed to annoy pretty much everyone over the past few months. The judge slapped two Florida companies with an immediate restraining order and froze their assets, which should be enough to finally end those maddening robocalls.
FTC Files Suit Against Car Warranty Robocallers
By 5.15.09
As anticipated, the FTC has filed suit in federal court in Chicago against many of the companies behind the car warranty robocalls plaguing the nation.
Guy Sues BK For $100,000 For Not Holding The Pickles, Onions & Tomatoes
By 5.11.09
A little over two years ago, a Virginia man ordered a a drink and two sandwiches from Burger King. He then proceeded to take a bite and swallow— before he realized that his “specific request for the omission of onions, pickles and tomatoes had not been complied with.” The result? A lawsuit for $100,000 filed in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
Abercrombie & Fitch Threatens To Sue Merchants In Hollister, California For Trademark Infringement
By 5.2.09
Taking a page out of Monster Cable’s playbook, Abercrombie & Fitch has threatened to sue merchants in Hollister, California who sell clothes bearing their town’s name. A&F claims that local merchants putting “Hollister” on their clothes will confuse notoriously inept surfers who can’t distinguish between a town and A&F’s Hollister Co. line. So what happens if the locals defy the upscale bully? According to David Cupps, Abercrombie’s general counsel and harasser-in-chief, “If they try, they would get a call and much more.”
Chuck E Cheese Entertains Kids With Sexual Assualt
By 5.2.09
22-year-old Jennifer Sorbello got an extra-special welcome to Chuck E Cheese when William Thigpen, dressed as Mr. Cheese, reached out and groped her breast. Sorbello is suing the restaurant, claiming she has been “damaged in the form of emotional distress and humiliation.”
Here Are Some Of The Companies Behind The Car Warranty Robocalls
By 4.29.09
Verizon continues its recent campaign of turning robocallers into charitable contributions, this time by settling a lawsuit against two of the companies behind those awful car warranty calls. Last time it was for $25,000; this time it’s for $50,000, all of which is being donated to the Joyful Heart Foundation, which Wireless Week describes as “a nonprofit devoted to empowering survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.”
Costco Might Fix Hot Fuel Ripoff
By 4.28.09
Vermonters get a better deal on gas than Texans. Fuel expands in the heat and shrinks in the cold, so 5 gallons of “hot fuel” won’t get your car as far as 5 gallons of regular. Oilmen know this, and that’s why at various points in the supply chain volume gets adjusted for the industry standard temperature of 60° F. The retail pump isn’t one of them. That might start to change if a proposed class-action lawsuit settlement with Costco as a defendant goes through. Under the terms, Costco would fix its pumps in the bottom half of the country so that they dispense fuel at 60° F. If it goes through, it would be a precedent-setting consumer victory. After all, you want a Tiger in your tank, not a Heat Miser, don’t you?
Customers Sue Clearwire For Rotten Service, Early Termination Fees
By 4.23.09
Customers from Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota and North Carolina have teamed up to file a lawsuit against Clearwire for misrepresenting the quality of its hit-or-miss wireless network, and then charging ETFs for account cancellations even when there’s no service as promised. If they win, Clearwire will be banned “from enforcing the Early Termination Fees and from further false advertising.”
Settlers Life Insurance Denies Claim For Widow Of Gunshot Victim Due To Pre-Existing Medical Condition
By 4.22.09
At Settlers Life Insurance, being shot in the back by unknown assailants is trumped by Hepatitis C, and they won’t pay your benefits. According to the lawsuit filed last week (pdf), Curtis McCraw held a life insurance policy with Settlers Life Insurance at the time of his murder in April 2008. When his wife Stephanie McCraw attempted to claim the Accidental Death Benefit, Settlers denied her claim because her husband had “a pre-existing liver condition.” We knew Hepatitis was bad, but we didn’t know it could pull out a gun and shoot you. We wonder if Hepatitis C is what really killed Kennedy.
Tennessee Couple Gets $5,000 Loan, 59% Interest Rate
By 4.20.09
Kay and Lewis Brown wanted some quick cash so they could make a moderate addition to their home. They turned to CashCall, an online loan service, after seeing the ads on TV. The company lent them $5,000 — at 59% interest. Now the couple is on the hook for $20,830.
Man May Lose Home Over Refusal To Pay Dog-Walking Fine
By 4.20.09
A Florida man who won’t walk his dog on a leash now seems set to lose his $380,000 home, all because he refuses to pay a $1,000 ‘leash violation’ fine to his Homeowners Association. And he’s ready to kill over it.
Martha Stewart And Kmart Settle With Magician Who Lost Fingertip In Lounge Chair
By 4.13.09
It looks like a certain Des Moines magician/hand model will be able to afford a fancy new gold fingertip soon, or at least a gold-plated one, because he’s settled his lawsuit against Kmart and Martha Stewart Omnimedia for an undisclosed amount.
AmTrust Offers Homeowner $50 To Voluntarily Close HELOC
By 4.10.09
Here’s a new tactic we haven’t seen before: mortgage originator AmTrust called blogger BeThisWay and offered her $50 to voluntarily close her home equity line of credit (HELOC), possibly in response to the recent class action lawsuit against them for illegally closing HELOCs. She writes, “Well, I’d like to keep my HELOC. But I have to figure out AmTrust’s next move. What will they do if not enough people voluntarily surrender their HELOCs? Are cancellations next? Am I better off taking the $50 now, or waiting, hoping they don’t cancel it?”
