../../../..//2008/07/21/email-surfaced-in-a-class/
Email surfaced in a class action lawsuit against NVIDIA and ATI suggesting that the graphics card makers have engaged in illegal price-fixing for the past half-decade. [techPowerUp!]
lawsuits
FDA Warns Of Tendon-Rupturing Antibiotics
By 7.18.08
The FDA slapped a black box warning on a group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones for their link to tendonitis and tendon rupture in patients. Drugs in this group include Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Oscient, Factive, Proquin XR, Floxin Noroxin. Ruptures associated with the drug have included the achilles tendon, thumbs, shoulder, bicep and hand. Public interest group Public Citizen has been petitioned the FDA in 1996, 2005 and 2006 to add greater warnings to the drug. Only after Public Citizen sued the FDA for not responding to the petitions were the warnings added. One patient described what happened after he was hospitalized for an infection and treated with Cipro…
Judge Tells Tiffany To Police Their Own Merchandise On EBay
By 7.16.08
Remember the French lawsuit that Louis Vuitton won against eBay earlier this month? A French court said eBay was responsible for policing their auctions for counterfeit items—at least that was the official language. It also, unfortunately, helped solidify LVMH’s tight control over who sells its luxury merchandise. This week a judge in New York ruled the opposite direction against Tiffany & Co., telling them, “Tiffany must ultimately bear the burden of protecting its trademark.” It’s a win for eBay. Is it for the consumer?
Reader Gets Sleep Number To Exchange Moldy Mattress
By 7.15.08
Like all those people who joined the class-action suit, Consumerist reader Russ has a moldy Select Comfort mattress. Unlike many of them, he was able to use it to get a new bed, and the old bed taken away, for free. Here’s how he negotiated with customer service:
By 7.15.08
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If you worked at Fry’s Electronics between March ’02 and July ’07, you can participate in a newly announced class action settlement. You should be contacted directly, but you can also download the settlement and claim form from here. [FrysForum] (Thank to Luis!)
Verizon Settles Early Termination Fee Lawsuit For $21 Million
By 7.10.08
Verizon has agreed to pay $21 million in a California class action lawsuit brought over early termination fees. The plaintiffs alleged that the fees violated California state laws. Next case: Sprint, which Californians are suing for the same reason.
Former Candy Testers Sue Cadbury For Feeding Them Experimental Sweeteners
By 7.9.08
Three former candy testers have filed lawsuits against Cadbury for feeding them some sort of experimental sweetener and other products that affected their ability to taste. They say they would like to know what the substances were.
Stein Mart Settles Personal Data Breach By Offering… Coupons
By 7.8.08
Stein Mart was caught “printing expiration dates and/or more than the last five digits of credit cards on receipts,” and was subsequently hit with a class action lawsuit for exposing sensitive customer data. Now they’ve settled by agreeing to run coupons in local newspapers. It gets better: instead of a flat 20% off coupon, the store is requiring minimum-purchase amounts that reduce the savings if your purchase falls between the arbitrarily set thresholds.
- $10 off a purchase of $50 or more
- $20 off a purchase of $100 or more
- $30 off a purchase of $150 or more
We need a new federal law that says class action lawyers have to be compensated in the same manner as their clients. Give those hard working guys and gals some $30-off coupons, please!
Some States Continue To Sell Lottery Tickets Long After The Top Prize Has Already Been Awarded
By 7.8.08
Would you buy that “Million dollar” lottery ticket if you knew that someone had already claimed the million bucks? No? Well, if you buy lottery tickets in Virginia you may have been doing just that, according to a new lawsuit.
Judge Orders Google To Turn Over All YouTube User Data To Viacom
By 7.3.08
Wired’s Threat Level blog says that the judge in the Viacom/Google lawsuit has made a ruling forcing Google to turn over “every record of every video watched by YouTube users, including users’ names and IP addresses,” to Viacom.
Counterfeit Smackdown! EBay Ordered To Pay $61 Million
By 7.1.08
That headline is the good news. The bad news is the $61 million in damages ordered by a French court isn’t meant for regular shoppers who have been defrauded when shopping on eBay. Instead, it’s been awarded to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French luxury goods company behind Louis Vuitton purses (among other fancy things, as you can see from their name). LVMH argued that “90 percent of the Louis Vuitton bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fakes,” and that eBay profited off the sales without doing enough to stop them. EBay can appeal the decision, or simply click the “Pay It Now!” button.
McDonald's Sued By Devo Over Happy Meal Toy
By 6.27.08
The band Devo is suing McDonald’s over a toy which bears a striking resemblance to the band’s signature look made popular in the 80’s. The “American Idol” series of happy-meal toys features plastic characters that play their own little tune when activated. “New Wave Nigel” depicts a character wearing the band’s famous “energy dome” and even plays a song that sounds Devo-esque. Unfortunately for McDonald’s, that little hat is copyrighted and trademarked, according to Rolling Stone. Details, inside…
Illinois And California Are Suing Countrywide For Deceptive Lending And Fraud
By 6.25.08
The Attorneys General of Illinois and California announced today that they are suing Countrywide Financial for its role in the subprime mortgage meltdown.
TicketsMyWay: Sell Tickets You Don't Have, Keep Money, Threaten Customers, Profit!
By 6.25.08
There is a company by the name of Ticketsmyway.com (Event Tickets LLC) that has the scam of the century running. Their operations run like this.
The MPAA Says They Shouldn't Need Proof To Sue You
By 6.23.08
A legal brief submitted by an attorney representing The Motion Picture Association of America states that intellectual-property holders should have the right to collect up to $150,000 per violation without having to actually prove copyright infringement, Wired reports. The MPAA attorney, who seems to feel very inconvenienced by the whole “due process” thing writes, “It is often very difficult, and in some cases, impossible, to provide such direct proof when confronting modern forms of copyright infringement, whether over P2P networks or otherwise; understandably, copyright infringers typically do not keep records of infringement.” Details, inside…
U.S. Marshals Raid Rat-Infested PETCO Distribution Center
By 6.20.08
The FDA sent U.S. Marshals to seize “various animal food products” stored at a PETCO distribution center in Joliet, Illinois yesterday, because the storage conditions had been deemed unsanitary twice in a row:
By 6.20.08
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It’s been a few weeks without a BPA story, so here goes: Four parents in Ohio have sued Evenflo, Avent America, Handicraft, Playtex Products, and Novartis for using bisphenol A in their baby products. They’re seeking class action status. [Washington Post]
New Spy Law Will Provide Immunity To Wiretapping Telcos
By 6.20.08
Update: Voted! Passed 293-129.
Today the House votes on a new compromise FISA Bill that will make the NSA’s formerly questionable activities—like spying on Americans—legal, and will grant conditional immunity upon the telephone companies that aided the NSA in spying on their customers. It’s “conditional” because there will still be a court review, but nobody seems to be taking the court review seriously: Senator Russ Feingold, D-WI, calls it a “capitulation” in the ongoing fight over holding the telcos responsible, and Rep. Roy Blunt, R-MO, says the review will be a “formality.” Looks like you’re about to get off free, Verizon and AT&T!
