This is a Sunbeam heating pad that a LiveJournal user bought for his girlfriend. After a little while she said that the heating pad was too hot, even on low, turned it off, let it cool, and set it aside.
lawsuits
Court Rules "World Yacht" Can Be Sued For Not Distributing Gratuities To Its Servers
By 2.19.08
“Hold on,” you say to yourself—”If it’s a gratuity, doesn’t that by definition mean it goes to the wait staff?” Not if you’re a server for World Yacht, a “luxury dining fleet” in Manhattan that will now be sued by its employees for slapping automatic gratuities on diners’ bills, then keeping the extra money for itself. New York labor laws require “employers to pass on to workers any payments that customers understand to be tips,” but World Yacht argued that the banquet industry was exempt, and its servers should get nothing. Thanks to last week’s ruling, the employees can move forward with their suit.
Verizon Accused Of Illegally Marketing Retention Offers To Customers Who Defect
By 2.14.08
The complaint states that in violation of FCC rules, Verizon used its knowledge of switching customers — through requests to have their phone numbers moved or “ported” to the new provider — to ply them with “price incentives and gift cards” to stay with Verizon.
Blue Cross Wants Your Doctor To Help Them Cancel Your Health Insurance
By 2.12.08
The LA Times says that doctors are objecting to a letter sent by Blue Cross of California requesting that the docs help “indentify members who have failed to disclose medical conditions on their application that may be considered pre-existing.”
Woman Sues Best Buy For $54 Million Over Lost Laptop
By 2.12.08
Raelyn Campbell is suing Best Buy for $54 million for losing her laptop and lying to her for months about it. She bought a laptop from Best Buy with an extended warranty, it broke, she sent it in for repairs, months later she didn’t have her laptop and after getting the runaround the store finally said it had lost her laptop and offered her a $900 gift card. She paid over $1,100 for the laptop, she paid for software on it, and it had irreplaceable photos, music, and personal information, including her tax returns. She freely admits she chose the high figure to attract media attention. She tells the Red Tape Chronicles “I can’t help but wonder how many other people have had their computer stolen (or) lost by Best Buy and then been bullied into accepting lowball compensation offers for replacement expenses and no compensation for identity theft protection expenses.” She also has a blog.
Even Microsoft Execs Hated On "Vista Capable" Labeling
By 2.11.08
Microsoft’s “Vista Capable” program was so misleading that even Microsoft executives complained about it according to emails revealed last week in court. The emails were read aloud at a hearing to determine class-action status for a related lawsuit against the company. One corporate vice president wrote, “”I PERSONALLY got burnt. … Are we seeing this from a lot of customers? … I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine.” The co-president of another division wrote, “We really botched this. … You guys have to do a better job with our customers.”
Legally Blind Woman Sues Fast Food Restaurants For Rudeness
By 2.11.08
A legally blind New York woman sued several fast food restaurants for ridiculing her when she asked for help reading their menus, but a federal judge threw out the suit on the grounds that “ADA laws don’t regulate ‘rudeness or insensitivity’ of workers.” Last week, however, an appeals court overturned that ruling and now the suit—” believed to be the first of its kind—could go before a jury this year.”
Class Action Targets Ticket Resellers
By 2.10.08
Remember RMG Technologies, the horrible little company that made five-year-olds cry by snatching up all the Hannah Montana tickets? Boaz Lissauer, a New Jesery plastic surgeon, recently sued them and other ticket resellers after paying $195 for nosebleed seats worth $63 to see the Police in Madison Square Garden. Lissauer is now asking a Pittsburgh court for class action status.
$7 Million Lawsuit: Combining Crocs And Escalators May Result In Mangled Feet
By 2.8.08
Back in September we wrote about the hazards of wearing the popular “Croc” clogs on escalators, a combination that may have produced more than a few injuries all around the world. We heard about at least one case where the child’s toes were ripped off when the shoe was sucked down into the escalator.
Woman Threatens To Sue Salon Over Horrible Haircut
By 2.7.08
The photo at left is an actual photo of the damage done to this lady’s hair and head. Lane writes:
I’m sure you get hundreds of complaints about salons, but have any of the salon owners in question put a lien on the car of the injured party? Mine has.
Sex Assault Suit Vs. Halliburton Goes To Arbitration
By 2.7.08
A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by co-workers while working for a contracting company in Iraq, KBR, affiliated with Halliburton, lost her chance to get her case heard in a real court of law. A judge ruled yesterday that the mandatory binding arbitration clause in her contract holds firm and so its off to kangaroo court she goes. The unfortunate court decisions is a rape of justice, this is an instance where the arbitration clause should have been ruled unconscionable. [More]
Internal Docs Prove Wachovia Knew About Telemarketer Rip-Offs All Along
By 2.6.08
A woman sued Wachovia last year because it allowed a telemarketing scam company to process stolen payments through its banks, despite complaints from customers and warnings from other banks and federal authorities. Wachovia said it had no idea what was going on, but now documents have been revealed that prove people high up in the company not only knew, but that “the bank, in fact, solicited business from companies it knew had been accused of telemarketing crimes.” Why? How about millions of dollars of extra revenue from steep fees whenever a fraud-related chargeback went through? The lawyers for the woman are now seeking class-action status for the lawsuit.
The Burger Of Mandatory Binding Arbitration
By 2.1.08
If you step into this Whataburger in Kilgore, Texas, you automatically agree to the burger joint’s mandatory arbitration clause. At least that’s what the sign on the door says. According to Mother Jones:
Sorey says when he went in, he told a befuddled cashier that he didn’t think that the arbitration notice was enforceable, that anyway he wasn’t agreeing to it, and, “I need a taquito and a coffee.” He says he sat down, watched some traffic, and ate his taquito. “I didn’t choke, I didn’t burn myself, and I didn’t sue ’em,” he reports.
That’s one burger that’s hard to swallow. Might choke on your after you read this sign. That’s one raw burger. Etc.
City Sues Man For Not Having Any Trash
By 1.31.08
You would think city would be giving a guy a special bonus for not producing any trash, but San Carlos, CA is suing 53-year-old Eddie House for canceling his garbage service. House says he recycles most about everything by driving to the recycling center himself, gives food scraps to his dog, sells larger items or gives them away on craigslist, and burns his backyard clippings. Reports The Examiner: “House says he stopped his service with Allied Waste about a year ago after realizing that his garbage cans were nearly always empty. “It’s just me and my dog, so I don’t have a whole lot of garbage to begin with and I recycle everything,” he said.” Town ordinance requires that everyone contract with Allied Waste for at least once a week pickup. The city says they were alerted to the situation after neighbors complained he was burning garbage (a not-so-very green move). House says he was only burning firewood. “I don’t understand a city ordinance that requires you to fill up a can. That’s downright foolishness,” said Mr. House.
Tmobile Sued For Charging For Unwanted Text Messages
By 1.31.08
Tmobile was hit with a class action suit yesterday over its charging customers for unwanted text messages. Unscrupulous marketers can get your cellphone number, send you “premium” texts (for dating services, daily jokes, horoscopes, etc), and then have Tmobile bill you for them. Tmobile gets to keep a piece of the profit. Other cellphone companies let you disable text messages sent from the internet, where most text spam originates, or turn off text messages all together. Tmobile has refused to give customers this option.
Ex-Manager Sues Best Buy For Telling "Target" That He "Sucked"
By 1.29.08
Ex-Best Buy manager Michael Oliveri, may “suck,” but he’s pretty darn clever. After he was fired from Best Buy he applied with Circuit City and Target, but became suspicious when job offers from those companies were abruptly terminated.
Former VP Admits "Enzyte Male Enhancement" Ads Are Complete Fiction
By 1.29.08
James Teegarden Jr., the former vice president of operations at Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, explained Tuesday in U.S. District Court how he and others at the company made up much of the content that appeared in Enzyte ads.
GTA San Andreas "Hot Coffee" Settlement Offers $5 To Soothe Your Injured Mind
By 1.29.08
Horribly offended by the GTA: San Andreas “Hot Coffee” mod in which you could (help, help) indulge in crude polygon sex? Great. You’re being offered a $5 cash settlement.
