Somehow, an arbitrator has approved a massive $1 billion class action lawsuit against Verizon over their early termination fees. In letting the lawsuit proceed, the arbitrator wrote, “…millions of class members are entitled to adjudication of the central common questions of fact or law in this arbitration related to whether the $175 early termination fee imposed by respondents Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless … is based upon an unenforceable liquidated damage clause.” With cellphone companies switching to prorated ETFs and the rise in ETF-related lawsuits around the country, one wonders if we won’t see the death of ETFs in the next few years. By that time, cellphone companies will have figured out a new technique to keep people from leaving their contracts.
lawsuits
Pure Weight Loss Helped Customers Lose Money, Not Weight, Says Attorney General
Last week, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the PA-based company Pure Weight Loss and its owner, Vahan Karian. Pure Weight Loss, which has about 400 stores nationwide, announced last December that it was going out of business, and yet continued to accept pre-payment from unaware customers up to four days after posting the announcement on its website. Since closing, it has failed to reimburse customers fees for unfulfilled contracts or deliver the supplies they’ve already bought.
Appraiser Says Washington Mutual Blacklisted Her For Not Inflating Property Values
A Californian real-estate appraiser is suing Washington Mutual, saying she was blackballed after refusing to to give artificially inflated property value estimates.
…last May, according to the suit, a WaMu manager upbraided her for describing local property values as “declining” in an appraisal. The manager insisted that Wertz “change her report to indicate ‘stable’ conditions so that the loan could be approved.”
New York Expands Countrywide Class Action Suit
Today, New York City and state expanded their class action lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. to include two more company officers, twenty underwriters (including big investment banks like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch), and two accounting firms. “We will pursue every avenue to ensure that those who defrauded investors are held accountable for their actions,” said the NYC Comptroller.
Diane Von Furstenberg Sues Target For Copyright Infringement
“Defendants’ infringing dresses are ‘wrap’ dresses made of materials designed to look like silk jersey, a style consumers and the general public have come to associate with DVF,” the complaint said.
Palm Treo 600/Treo 650 Owners Can Claim Class Action Benefits
If you had experienced two or more repairs on your Treo 600 or Treo 650, Palm has just settled a class action lawsuit under which you might be able to claim benefits. You can either get a $50 or $75 rebate good for purchase of a new Palm smartphone, or you can get your device repaired even if the original warranty has expired. The deadline for filing is July 28, 2008. More information is available at palzasettlement.com. Inside, The full text of the email Palm sent out. Out of curiosity, are there ever any class action lawsuits that don’t settle out of court?
Class Actions: T-Mobile's Mandatory Arbitration Clause Ruled "Unconscionable"
A class action lawsuit can proceed in Washington after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled T-Mobile’s mandatory binding arbitration clause “unconscionable and unenforceable under Washington state law.”
Dannon Sued Over Probiotic Yogurt Claims
A proposed class action lawsuit was filed yesterday in California against Dannon over the company’s unsubstantiated claims that its Activia, Activia Lite and DanActive “probiotic” yogurts were healthier than regular yogurt.
Thomas The Tank Engine Makers Settle Class Action With Free Toys
Thomas the Tank Engine makers have settled a class-action-lawsuit against for $30 million, stemming from their production of anthropomorphic toy trains brought to life with lead-tainted paint. Under the terms, RC2 will give cash refunds or replacement toys, plus a “bonus” toy. Hopefully this time RC2 will check to make sure the apology choo-choos aren’t lead-tainted as well.
Passengers Sue United Airlines Over Being Denied Food And Threatened With Arrest
According to court documents, the Patels boarded United Airlines Flight 836 from Shanghai to Chicago on July 17. The tickets came with an airline pledge to furnish the Patels and other members of their group with Hindu meals.
Enron Class-Action Suit Killed By Supreme Court
Today the U.S. Supreme Court effectively killed off any chance of a $40 billion class-action lawsuit against the investment firms that did business with Enron. The suit charged that the Wall Street firms were complicit in Enron’s massive corporate fraud fiasco. The Supreme Court, however, just ruled on a similar case last week and found that “third parties – vendors, contractors and consultants such as banks, accountants or attorneys – can’t be sued over corporate fraud unless investors relied on them when making their investing decisions.”
Martha Stewart Takes Lead Poisoning Seriously
THE QUOTE:“We take consumer product safety very seriously. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Suing Big Companies In Small Claims Court Is Fun And Easy
Taking a big company to small claims court sounds like a big hassle but reader Bill has done it successfully three times. He says the time and effort spent on taking a company to small claims court is far less then how it long it takes to get companies to fix above-average in complexity problems. [More]
Patient Sues Eye Doctor, Claims His Assistant Licked Her Toes
Well, this post is pretty much written—I can’t do better than that. But here are details: a Illinois woman named Roman Tesfaye alleges that when she went for an eye exam this past summer, the assistant, Joseph Vernell Jr., put a strip over her eyes and told her to keep them closed for 5-7…
Law & Order Does Ripped From Consumer Headlines Show
OMG, is anyone else watching Law & Order right now? They’re doing an episode based around that judge who sued a dry-cleaner for $54 million over a pair of lost suit pants. UPDATE: And there’s a Wal-Mart improper relations between co-workers angle, too! The shirts are yellow and the place is called “Savings-Mart.” UPDATE: And a poison toothpaste from China angle! Same as was in the headlines, glucose replaced by antifreeze, then the tubes were dumped on discount stores, prisons, mental institutions, and old folk’s homes. UPDATE: I missed it but apparently when the detectives walk in the Savings-Mart execs apartment, he tells them to not trip over the Thomas the Tank Engine. That wouldn’t be the Thomas The Lead-Painted Tank Engine, now would it?
Doctor Forces Rectal Exam, Patient Punches Doctor, Police Arrest Patient, Patient Sues
A 38-year-old construction worker who suffered a head injury on the job was sedated and given a rectal exam against his will, says the New York Times.
Class Actions: Bed Bath & Beyond May Owe You A Small Amount Of Money
If you bought sheets at Bed Bath & Beyond you may have some money coming to you from a class action settlement. BB&B has begun notifying customers that they’ve settled a class action lawsuit brought over the thread count in their sheets. Apparently, said sheets had been labeled in a non-standard manner.
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Why J.K. Rowling should lose her misguided copyright lawsuit against the author of a Harry Potter reference book. [Slate via BoingBoing]
