If a city-owned facility is going to sell advertising space to bring in revenue, to what extent can the city restrict the content of those ads before crossing the line into government-ordered censorship? This week, a federal appeals court confirmed that when a city enacts a wholesale ban on certain types of ads, it’s gone too far. [More]
lawsuits
Lawsuits Claim “100% Natural” Label On Nature Valley Granola Bars Is Deceptive
By 8.25.16
What exactly constitutes a “100% natural” food is a matter of much debate, but four new lawsuits argue that granola shouldn’t claim to be 100% natural because if contain small amounts of a common pesticide.
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Nation’s Largest Privately-Owned Bank Must Return $28M To Credit Card Customers
By 8.25.16
The nation’s largest privately held bank sold its credit card customers on add-on programs intended to help cover their accounts when they faced unexpected hardships. However, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the bank deceived customers about the reality of these and other programs and has ordered it to provide nearly $28 million in relief to hundreds of thousands of affected cardholders. [More]
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Starbucks Of Putting Too Much Ice In Iced Coffee
By 8.24.16
If you feel like you’re getting too much ice and not enough coffee in your Starbucks iced beverages, well, we’ve got some bad news for you: a judge has ruled the chain hasn’t done anything wrong. [More]
Lawsuit: Zara Misleads Customers By Listing Prices In Euros, Making Its Own Exchange Rate
By 8.23.16
While it’s not entirely unheard of to see prices listed in euros stateside, a new federal class action lawsuit claims that retailer Zara’s practice of doing so — and allegedly making up its own exchange rate — has tricked shoppers into paying more than they should. [More]
Can Maker Of Web-Snooping Software Be Held Liable For Jealous Husband’s Wiretapping?
By 8.18.16
When you find out that someone is using computer software to listen in on your emails and instant messages, your first instinct — after wanting to swat them with a wet newspaper — may be to sue the snooper for illegal wiretapping, but should the company that made that software also be held accountable? [More]
Appeals Court Tells DOJ To Stop Spending Money Prosecuting Medical Marijuana (For Now)
By 8.17.16
People frequently refer to “legal” medical marijuana in the dozens of states that have approved at least some medicinal use of the drug but as the Drug Enforcement Agency recently made quite clear, the federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule I controlled substance with no proven legitimate medical applications. However, yesterday a federal appeals court reminded the Department of Justice that the law currently limits the government’s ability to prosecute medical marijuana cases in states where it’s allowed. [More]
9-In-10 Big Banks Strip Customers Of Their Right To Jury Trial
By 8.17.16
If you ask someone on the street if they should have the right to sue their bank over something like an illegal overdraft fee, nearly everyone you speak to will invariably say yes. But a new report confirms that nearly all big banks are forcing customers to give up their right to a jury trial. [More]
Debt Collector Gets Out Of Lawsuit… By Buying The Lawsuit Out From Under The Plaintiff
By 8.16.16
When you sue a debt collector for allegedly violating federal law, that collector can’t just go behind your back, buy the debt on the cheap at auction and get the whole case dismissed, can it? That tactic worked for one collection agency and, depending on how a federal appeals court rules, it could lead to many other debt collectors buying their way out of legal trouble. [More]
Citi Can’t Stop AT&T From Saying “Thanks”… For Now
By 8.15.16
Two months ago, Citi sued AT&T — not over some huge multimillion-dollar account or bad business deal, but over AT&T’s daring use of the word “Thanks” in a new loyalty program. The bank asked a federal court to bar the phone giant from using the disputed term pending the outcome of the case, but the judge has shot that request down. [More]
Justice Dept. Sues United Airlines For Denying Benefits To Air Force Reservist On Military Leave
By 8.15.16
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides that anyone who takes leave from their current job to serve in the armed forces is entitled to the same general benefits as an employee on non-military leave. However, the U.S. Department of Justice says that United Airlines violated this law by refusing sick day benefits to an Air Force reservist while he was away on military leave. [More]
“Dancing Baby” YouTube Lawsuit May Go Before Supreme Court
By 8.12.16
The nearly decade-long legal battle over a 29-second YouTube clip of a toddler dancing to a barely discernible Prince song may end up going before the Supreme Court after free speech advocates representing the mother who shot that video petitioned the nation’s highest court. [More]
Couple’s Lawsuit Claims Pokémon Go Has Made Their Neighborhood Unsafe
By 8.11.16
Pokémon Go has changed not only the way the game’s players see the world — a virtual landscape filled with collectible monsters — but it’s also changed the way other people experience it, as well. Like the couple suing Niantic and Nintendo, claiming that their formerly quiet neighborhood has been made unsafe with all the rampaging hordes of Pokémon Go players. [More]
Appeals Court: Municipal Internet Is Great, But States Can Still Restrict Access
By 8.10.16 — Updated: 1.25.17
More than a dozen states have laws that either prohibit counties and cities from operating their own broadband internet networks, selling service directly to consumers, or expanding their service behind a prescribed footprint. In 2015, the FCC voted to preempt two of these laws — in Tennessee and North Carolina — but this morning a federal appeals court says the FCC lacks the legal authority to do so. [More]
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Seattle’s Uber Drivers Union
By 8.10.16
Late last year, Seattle made it legal for drivers who work for ride-hailing services to organize in unions, even though this is technically against federal labor law. While that question still has to be resolved, and the law hasn’t actually gone into effect yet, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the city to suspend it. [More]
Couple Sues Company Behind IP Database That Sent The Entire Internet To Their Front Door
By 8.9.16
Back in April, we shared the story of a couple who rented a farm not knowing that 600 million phantom roommates also lived there. Over the years, law enforcement, paramedics, private investigators, and other random strangers have showed up at their doorstep, looking for everyone from suicidal teens to identity thieves to the makers of pornographic movies. Thanks to technology that no one had foreseen back when the database was set up, much of the internet was purportedly in their house. [More]
Local Governments Say AT&T, Verizon Aren’t Paying 911 Fees
By 8.9.16
In much of the country, local 911 call centers are funded from mandatory fees of around $1/line placed on phone bills. However, recently filed lawsuits allege that AT&T, Verizon and others are slashing the 911 fees they charge business customers, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars uncollected. [More]
Fertility Patients Say NJ Insurance Law Discriminates Against Lesbian Couples
By 8.8.16
New Jersey is one of 15 states that requires health insurance plans to cover fertility treatment. However, the regulations say that a female patient is considered medically “infertile” only after one or two years of unprotected sexual intercourse, depending on her age. Otherwise, insurance won’t cover it. Same-sex couples say that this requirement is discriminatory, and two couples are suing their state’s commissioner of Banking and Insurance over the definition. [More]
