Hooray for Verizon Wireless! Wait, what? The cellular carrier has just filed a lawsuit against Feature Films For Families for illegally telemarketing. Specifically, they’re accusing the company of using an auto-dialer to cold call hundreds of thousands of Verizon Wireless customers earlier this month, which is illegal according to NJ state laws (where the suit was filed) and the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
lawsuits
Verizon Wireless Accused Of Wrongly Billing NY Customers State Tax
By 2.25.09
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Verizon Wireless accusing it of passing directly to customers a “metropolitan commuter transportation district” tax that the company was actually supposed to pay. Albert Levy, who filed the lawsuit, points out that Sprint has never charged the tax to customers. Verizon Wireless calls the accusation “silly,” and says they’re billing it correctly. Perhaps not surprisingly, the actual wording of the tax law leaves the matter up in the air.
By 2.24.09
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An employee of Starbucks has filed a class action lawsuit against the company for failing to properly secure employee data. The employee was one of one of 97,000 notified late last year after a Starbucks laptop containing employee names, addresses and Social Security numbers was stolen. [NetworkWorld via Starbucks Gossip]
Korbel Sues To Force Comcast To Reveal Identities Of Anonymous Critics
By 2.24.09
The Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat says that Korbel Champagne Cellars will ask a Sonoma County judge to force Comcast to reveal the names of anonymous Craigslist posters who criticized the company.
Microsoft "Vista Capable" Lawsuit Won't Be Class Action
By 2.23.09
Last week, a U.S. federal court judge denied class action status to the Microsoft “Vista Capable” lawsuit, on the grounds that “the plaintiffs could not demonstrate that their claims were common to the entire class of consumers who bought computers marked with the ‘Windows Vista Capable’ but without the ‘Premium Ready’ label.”
Girls Gone Wild Class Action Settlement Reached
By 2.20.09
A settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild for sending and charging customers for DVDs they didn’t order. After ordering one DVD, defendants Mantra Films, Inc., MRA Holdings LLC and Joe Francis were alleged to enroll customers in a monthly video club plan without the member’s knowledge or consent and charge their credit card without authorizations. Depending on how much proof of purchase they have, class members can get a refund for the videos, shipping costs, or a discount on future jug-jiggling videos. More info at the settlement website, ggwsettlement.com.
Law Firm 'Jones Day' Usurps Monster Cable For Stupidest Trademark Lawsuit Ever
By 2.18.09
Monster Cable loves to sue companies that use “Monster” in their names, even if they don’t sell cables and even if they’ve been around as long as Monster Cable has. Jones Day is a law firm that doesn’t want anyone else to use standard, everyday formatting for links in news stories about its staff, and it succeeded in forcing a small start-up to cave in to its demands.
Man Sues Walmart After Being Bitten By Snake, But Keeps Going Back For The Deals
By 2.17.09
Ah, the irresistable pull of bargains! A man in Florida is suing Walmart because he was bitten by a pygmy rattler while shopping in the garden center in 2008. His is the third such attack in a Walmart in Florida since 2006, and he’s claiming the retailer should have taken better steps to prevent rattler bites after the first two attacks. Our favorite detail, though, is that he won’t stop going to Walmart, because “their prices are too good to shop elsewhere.”
Judges Sent Hundreds Of Teens To Private Detention Centers In Exchange For Millions
By 2.14.09
Two Pennsylvania judges were sued in federal court this past week for allegedly taking $2.6 million in kickbacks from private juvenile detention facilities. In exchange, they sentenced hundreds of youths to the centers over the past 5 years. One of the judges, Mark Ciavarella, sent 1 out of 4 defendants to the centers, compared to a statewide rate of 1 in 10.
Subscriber Sues Comcast For Requiring Customers To Rent Cable Boxes
By 2.13.09
Hate renting set-top boxes from Comcast? So does one San Francisco Comcast subscriber. He’s suing, claiming that the rental fees are far in excess of what the boxes would be worth on the open market.
Nationwide Insurance Class Action Settlement Proposed
By 2.12.09
A settlement has been proposed in a class action against Nationwide Insurance. The suit says Nationwide should pay for both the car’s repair and depreciated value for policyholders hit by underinsured drivers or involved in hit-and-run accidents. For those who qualify and file, it could mean thousands.
Qchex Shut Down, Scammers Everywhere Weep
By 2.10.09
ArsTechnica reports that a judge has ordered Neovi, the company behind Qchex, to immediately stop offering their service, which allowed people to create and send checks drawn on any bank so long as they provided the account info. As you can imagine, this led to abuse by scammers who would use Qchex to create fraudulent checks.
AT&T Mobility Sues Over Auto Warranty Robocalls
By 2.5.09
You know those annoying robocalls on your mobile phone about renewing your car warranty? The companies behind the calls use spoofing to remain hidden, but AT&T Mobility just filed suit in federal court to track down the culprits, then hopefully make them stop. This is great news, because judging from the quotes given to RCR Wireless, the FTC and FCC both don’t seem too concerned about the matter.
3 iPhone Class Action Lawsuits Filed In The Past Week
By 2.4.09
The number of people gunning for some Apple/AT&T cash keeps increasing, with three new class action lawsuits filed over the past 8 days alone. In all three suits, the primary complaint is the same: that AT&T Mobility’s 3G network isn’t robust enough to deliver the type of experience promised by iPhone marketing.
Walmart Greeter Attacked By Cop During Receipt Check Suing For $21 Million
By 2.3.09
Remember the Walmart greeter that got attacked by a cop during a receipt check? Well, he’s suing for $21 million, says Chattanooga’s News Channel 9.
Scammed Lawyer Sues Citibank For Verifying Fraudulent Check
By 1.26.09
Banks usually avoid having to deal with the consequences of advance fee fraud, since they make the depositor responsible for coming up with the missing money when a check turns out to be fake. But a lawyer who just got scammed is taking Citibank to court, because he says their “unconditional” guarantee that the check was legit led directly to his loss of $182,500.
Hey, First Generation iPod Nano Owners, Come And Get Your $25
By 1.24.09
Apple has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a class action suit brought by owners of the notoriously scratchy first-generation iPod Nanos. Under the agreement, owners of the scratch magnets will be entitled to either a $25 or $15 cash refund, depending on whether or not their Nano included a carrying case.
Sorry About That Data Breach, Here's 15% Off!
By 1.22.09
As an apology to the millions of consumers who had their credit card info stolen, TJX (that’s T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and A.J. Wright) is offering fifteen percent off all purchases in stores today only. We suggest that you pay with cash.
