A nearly decade-long copyright dispute over a silly YouTube video of a baby dancing to a barely audible Prince song continues, with the U.S. Supreme Court now asking for the federal government to give its thoughts on the matter. [More]
lawsuits
Creator Of Breaking Bad’s “Los Pollos Hermanos” Logo Suing Sony Over Merchandise
By 10.31.16
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you’re undoubtedly very familiar with the show’s Los Pollos Hermanos — heck, you might even go so far as buy a T-shirt with the fictional restaurant/meth distributor’s logo on it. And that’s exactly why the artist who created the restaurant’s logo is suing Sony Pictures: he says the company made money off merchandise featuring the Los Pollos Hermanos logo without his permission. [More]
Should Police Need A Warrant To Obtain Your Cellphone Location Data?
By 10.28.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
On TV and in the movies, when the police want location information on a suspect’s cellphone, the world-weary detectives just mosey into the office of a wireless company and bully/sweet-talk the receptionist into handing over this information by saying things like “You don’t want us to have to wait here while we get a warrant, do you?” In the real world, it’s not that simple, and the question of whether or not an actual warrant is needed has yet to be resolved. [More]
Lawsuit Against Amazon Claims Exploding Hoverboard Destroyed Family’s Home
By 10.27.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
For most people, so-called hoverboards were just a fad, one many didn’t think much about after a serious of fiery incidents involving the electric scooters prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall half a million of the devices over safety concerns. But it was more than a trendy fad to be forgotten for others, like one Tennessee family that’s claiming a scooter sold by Amazon was responsible for destroying their home. [More]
South Korean Customers Sue Samsung Over Galaxy Note 7
By 10.25.16
It took less than a week for attorneys in a class action suit against Samsung in South Korea to round up 500 customers interested in demanding compensation from the company after their experience with the Galaxy Note 7 recall. Public opinion has turned against Samsung in its home country as well as in the rest of the world, leading to the worst crisis in company history. [More]
Lawsuit: Bath & Body Works Portable Fragrances Can Melt Into A Leaky Mess
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Maybe you’ve been there: the inside of your car smells like something crawled into the glovebox and died. Folks often turn to scented products that can help allay some of that funk. But one woman who bought refills for Bath & Body Works’ “Scentportables” says the products turned into a hot mess with no warning. [More]
$20 Million Lawsuit Accuses KFC Of Misleading Ads For “Family Fill Up” Meals
By 10.24.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
The ads for KFC’s Family Fill Up meal show an overflowing bucket of fried chicken, but the reality of what you get with your order may not be so bountiful. A KFC customer in New York is suing the fast food chain for $20 million, accusing it of deliberately misleading customers about how much chicken they get with this offer. [More]
Are You Entitled To A Refund After A Cable/Satellite Blackout? Probably Not
By 10.21.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
It seems like every time a major pay-TV company has to renew its contract with a big cable/broadcast network, customers have to sit through ugly media campaigns from both sides threatening blackouts. Those shutdowns are usually averted at the last minute, but if they happen they can last weeks or even months. When that happens, are you due a refund? Maybe you feel like you do, but a recent federal court ruling casts doubt on the likelihood of you ever getting anything. [More]
DOJ, States To Sue Moody’s Credit Rating Agency For Role In Mortgage Meltdown
By 10.21.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
What drove the mortgage bubble in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis wasn’t just ill-prepared home-buyers signing on to subprime, adjusted-rate mortgages they couldn’t afford, or the lenders who effectively gave up on underwriting these loans so as to bundle and resell as many of them as possible. There were also credit rating agencies that gave these mortgage-backed bonds the seal of approval, even when they were worthless. [More]
Lawsuit: Shopper’s Imprisonment In Walgreens Store Led To His Death
By 10.20.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
A Florida woman is suing Walgreens after she says her husband’s unlawful imprisonment in an Orange County store ultimately led to his death. [More]
CFPB Previews Appeal Of Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 10.19.16
Last week, a split federal appeals panel ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional because the Bureau’s sole Director can not be removed from office at the whim of the President. While the CFPB has yet to appeal this decision, a filing in a separate lawsuit provides a preview of the argument the Bureau could eventually make to try to overturn the ruling. [More]
Maker Of Krylex, Hammer-Tite, Kwix Fix Glues Stops Claiming Products “Made in USA”
By 10.19.16
Anyone can claim that their product is “Made in the U.S.A.,” but unless that product is actually manufactured in America from materials made in America, you might be breaking the law. Eight months after being sued by the Federal Trade Commission for claiming its glues are “proudly made in the U.S.A.” even though the products were made using foreign-sourced chemicals, the manufacturer has agreed to stop this faux patriotic boasting. [More]
Customers Accuse Comcast Of Using “Broadcast TV” & “Regional Sports” Fees To Illegally Hike Rates
By 10.18.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
As we showed in our recent line-by-line breakdowns of charges on your cable bills, many pay-TV providers charge fees that have the effect of raising the customers’ monthly bill but without affecting the base rate the cable company advertises. Now, Comcast subscribers in seven different states are claiming that these fees are “illegal and deceptive” that have netted the cable giant billions of dollars. [More]
NJ Woman Suing NY Giants, Stadium Claims She Was Injured By Falling Photo In Gift Shop
By 10.18.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Every sports fan knows that loving your team can hurt, but this is a bit literal: a New Jersey woman is suing the New York Giants and their home venue, MetLife Stadium, claiming that she was injured by a large, framed photo of the team that fell on her in a stadium gift shop. [More]
Nursing Home Industry Files Lawsuit To Keep Preventing Patients From Filing Lawsuits
By 10.18.16
Last month, the federal government issued new rules for nursing homes, barring most long-term care facilities from using forced arbitration agreements to stop new residents from filing lawsuits against the homes. Now nursing home operators and industry trade groups are challenging that rule by doing the one thing they want to prevent their patients from doing: going to court. [More]
If FTC Can’t Resurrect Lawsuit Over AT&T’s “Unlimited” Data, Telecoms May Be Even More Untouchable
By 10.17.16
In August, an appeals court threw out the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against AT&T over the way it marketed its “unlimited” data plans (which were anything but unlimited). Now the FTC is taking its case up the legal ladder, making the case that if it’s not allowed to sue AT&T, then all phone and internet providers can more easily get away with deceptive business practices. [More]
Lucasfilm Sues Operator Of “New York Jedi,” “Lightsaber Academy” Programs
By 10.17.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
The term “Jedi” has been around for nearly 40 years and phrases like “Jedi mind trick” get thrown around so frequently you might forget that it’s a term that George Lucas created — and trademarked — for use in the Star Wars universe of movies, books, TV shows, variety specials, and merchandise. Which is why Lucasfilm — now a subsidiary of Disney — is suing the operator of programs that teach students how to use their lightsabers. [More]
Wells Fargo Employee: Bank Hid Truth About 401(k) Plan Amid “Criminal Epidemic”
By 10.14.16
Thousands of Wells Fargo employees have already been fired for opening unauthorized accounts to meet sales goals, but what about all of those employees who remain at the bank? They’ve seen the value of their 401(k) retirement plan sink during this fake account fiasco, and some are saying that Wells hid the truth from them about the huge bogus account sinkhole that was waiting to collapse underneath them. [More]
