A Cleveland contractor found what amounted to a $2.7 million fortune in the walls of a house he was renovating. The homeowner offered him 10%, but he wants to keep it all, his lawyers enacting a centuries old “treasure trove” common law provision. Steel boxes contained rare 1929-series Cleveland Federal Reserve bank notes, worth about $85 each, $500 bills and a $1,000 bill. Tipster Zakarth quipped, “If the contractor had found a poison leak would he take ownership of that?” What do you think?
lawsuits
By 12.20.07
../../../..//2007/12/20/apple-has-agreed-to-drop/
Apple has agreed to drop its lawsuit against Think Secret, a website that specializes in publishing in-house Apple rumors and leaks. In return, Think Secret has agreed to stop existing. However, this means the editor also gets to protect his sources. [Think Secret via Gizmodo]
Google, Yahoo! And Microsoft Reach Settlement Over Illegal Internet Gambling
By 12.20.07
The companies were accused of receiving money from online gambling businesses to advertise illegal betting from 1997 through 2007.
Customer Files Class-Action Suit Against HP & Staples, Charging Printer Ink Price Collusion
By 12.20.07
Ranjit Bedi, a Californian, has filed a lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard and Staples in a U.S. District Court in Boston, accusing the two companies of colluding to prevent the sale of third-party ink cartridges in Staples stores. Bedi is accusing HP of paying Staples over $100 million to get it to stop selling lower-priced ink refills, but none of the news sources we found supply any evidence to support that figure, so we hope Bedi has more than just a gut feeling about this.
InfomercialScams.com Gets Sued Constantly
By 12.19.07
Over at the Consumer Law & Policy blog there is a post about the legal troubles of Justin Leonard, the owner of InfomercialScams.com, a site that posts unedited reviews of various infomercial products.
Sara Lee "Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread" Has More Water Than Whole Grain
By 12.18.07
The CPSI has announced its intention to sue Sara Lee over its “Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread,” which claims to combine “all the taste and texture of white bread with the goodness of whole grain,” when actually “there is more water in this product than whole grain,” according to the CSPI.
Family Sues Racist Debt Collector For $854,389.81, Wins
By 12.18.07
Lazy, fat, inbred, black, pathetic, stupid, liar, thief, nigger. Those are some of the defamatory words Merchants Retail Credit Association (MRCA) used on Dolores Madduxes’ family when they tried to collect on a debt Dolores Maddux, who is dead, owed CitiFinancial. For these violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Madduxes sued MRCA and won $854,389.81. Even delinquent debtors have rights and it’s important to know them and call an attorney if they’re being violated.
Vonage Sued For Infringing 12 More Patents
By 12.18.07
Will Vonage’s troubles ever cease? They’re now being sued by Nortel for infringing not one, not two, not three—but twelve patents.
Why Do Ticketmaster Events Sell Out Instantly?
By 12.16.07
Ticketmaster is suing RMG Technologies for selling lecherous software that instantly sucks up tickets to everyone’s favorite concerts and sporting events. Groups like RMG are the reason tickets sell out just minutes after going on sale, only to mysteriously reappear at outrageously marked up prices on ticket resale sites like StubHub.
Comcast Sues The NFL For Breach Of Contract
By 12.14.07
Comcast has sued the NFL for breach of contract alleging that the league is breaking its contract with Comcast by encouraging the cable giant’s customers to switch to other providers.
Walmart, Target, Costco, Wild Oats Sued For Selling Fake Organic Milk
By 12.13.07
The Aurora Dairy controversy has spread to the retailers, as lawsuits seeking class-action status have be filed alleging “that Costco Wholesale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Safeway Inc. and Wild Oats Markets Inc. sold Aurora’s milk under their own in-house brand names.”
Mandatory Binding Arbitration Means Alleged Halliburton Rapists Could Go Free
By 12.13.07
A woman who filed a civil lawsuit against Halliburton for being the victim of a gang rape by her coworkers in Iraq will have her day in court, kangaroo court, thanks to the mandatory binding arbitration clause in her employment contract. Jamie Leigh Jones says she was drugged and raped by her fellow workers, then imprisoned inside a shipping container and left without food or water until the US embassy came to rescue after the State Department got calls from her father. She says she was told she would be fired if she sought medical treatment. [More]
By 12.13.07
../../../..//2007/12/13/there-are-over-48-lawsuits/
There are over 48 lawsuits out there against Advanced Medical Optics for selling Complete® MoisturePlus™ multipurpose contact lens solution that was recalled for giving people Acanthamoeba keratitis, aka, crazy fungus in your eye. Several of them are class actions. [PRWEB]
By 12.13.07
../../../..//2007/12/13/a-private-student-loan-company/
A private student loan company agreed to change its ways after being sued by the NY AG for deceptive marketing practices. The company licensed school colors, logos, team names, and and designed its materials to look like the University itself was making the loans. [NYT]
MP3s You've Ripped Yourself Are Still "Unauthorized" By The RIAA
By 12.11.07
Atlantic v. Howell is a bit unusual because the defendants, husband and wife Jeffrey and Pamela Howell, are defending themselves against the recording industry’s lawsuit without the benefit of a lawyer. They were sued by the RIAA in August 2006 after an investigator from SafeNet discovered evidence of file-sharing over the KaZaA network.
Store Found Not Responsible For Wild Goose Attacking Customer
By 12.11.07
There are legitimate lawsuits and then there’s this:
Get $25 From The Credit Card Companies
By 12.10.07
You may be entitled to a cash prize if you had a Visa, MasterCard, or Diner’s Club Cards during any time between February 1 1996 and November 8 2006. A successful class action lawsuit contended that credit card companies overcharged customers for foreign transactions and didn’t disclose the fees well enough. You can apply for a straight $25 refund, 1% of estimated foreign transactions, or annual estimation refund of 1-3% of foreign transactions for which you have records . Claim your moneys by filling out forms that were mailed to you, going to ccfsettlement.com, or calling 1-800-945-9890. It is not is necessary to have actually conducted foreign transactions to claim the money.
Man Finds Used Condom In Southwestern Whopper, Sues Burger King
By 12.9.07
Van Miguel Hartless is suing the owner of a Rutland Burger King after biting into a Southwestern Whopper that contained a used condom. When Hartless complained to the manager, he “laughed off the incident.”
