Hours after Apple and the FBI faced off before a Congressional panel on the matters of encryption, privacy, and law enforcement, the company officially filed its objection to a court order directing it to assist the FBI in unlocking an iPhone that belonged to one of the terrorists who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, CA, on Dec. 2, 2015. [More]
lawsuits
Appeals Court Reinstates Fraud Case Against Trump University
By 3.1.16
Back in Aug. 2013, the New York state attorney general’s office sued Donald Trump and Trump University, alleging that the for-profit investment school had tricked students out of $40 million by misleading them into thinking they were paying for a licensed education program with instructors handpicked by Trump. Today, a state appeals court panel breathed new life into the lawsuit, meaning the fraud case can move forward. [More]
Judge Signs Off On Settlement That Will Ensure Subway’s Footlong Sandwiches Measure Up
By 2.29.16
Our national nightmare is nearly over: the so-called “Footlong” sandwich from Subway will finally have to measure up to a full 12 inches in length. [More]
Man Who Resurrected Hydrox Can Now Bring Jordan Marsh, Bullock’s, May Company Brands Back To Life
By 2.26.16
Two years ago we profiled Ellia Kassoff, the mad genius who seems intent on bringing back every brand that you ever said “remember when…” about. He has already resurrected Hydrox, the original sandwich cookie, but he’s also been battling Macy’s for several years over a slew of trademarks for stores Macy’s acquired and shut down. Today, Kassoff says he’s reached a deal with the department store giant that will allow him to try to breathe new life into several long-dead retail brands. [More]
Florida Man Barred From Selling Unapproved “Natural Herpes Medicine”
By 2.26.16
Five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration first warned a Florida man to stop peddling a supposed cure for herpes until he proved it worked and was safe. He subsequently tweaked the marketing to make it less cure-like, but federal prosecutors say he still went too far in promising his supplement could treat the sexually transmitted disease. [More]
AT&T Sues Louisville To Make City Less Attractive To Google Fiber
By 2.26.16
Google hasn’t even decided whether or not it will bring its high-speed Fiber broadband and TV service to Louisville. The Kentucky city is currently listed as merely a “potential” Fiber market. But that hasn’t stopped AT&T from suing Louisville administrators in an effort to make sure that Google will have a tougher time if it chooses to launch there. [More]
Workers Who Secure Parking For NYC Movie Shoots Claim Studios Are Skimping On Pay
By 2.25.16
Tourists and residents of New York City alike have no doubt seen those ubiquitous neon signs plastered all over lamp posts from time to time, which serve to alert car owners that they won’t be able to park there on a certain day or days because of a movie or TV crew that will be shooting there. It’s one part of an unglamorous job in the entertainment business, but someone’s got to do it — and those people are now suing the studios over claims they’re not paid enough for often long, thankless hours they put in, often in less than ideal conditions. [More]
Jury Awards $72 Million In Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit
By 2.24.16
In the first of what looks to be many verdicts and/or settlements involving allegations that Johnson & Johnson ignored a possible link between cancer and its talcum-based products, a jury in Missouri has ordered the company to pay a total of $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. [More]
American Airlines Drops Lawsuit Against GoGo, Still Wants Faster WiFi
By 2.22.16 — Updated: 11.9.16
Earlier this month, American Airlines sued their in-flight WiFi provider, GoGo, over what the airline considers unacceptably slow connection speeds. Today, the airline announced that it has dropped the lawsuit, but still plans to look around for a new and less crappy provider for their shorter domestic flights. [More]
Are You Unintentionally Signing Away Your Elderly Parents’ Right To Sue Their Nursing Home?
By 2.22.16
When an elderly parent is no longer able to make sensible medical decisions for themselves, an adult child is often named a medical proxy to handle these important calls. But does this life-or-death authority over a parent’s medical care carry over to things like signing legally binding contracts, and possible signing away your, or your parent’s, right so sue their nursing home? [More]
In Midst Of Disney Lawsuit, Verizon Creates FiOS “Custom TV” Package That Includes ESPN
By 2.19.16
ESPN is easily the most expensive single channel in any basic cable lineup, accounting for around $5 of the average cable bill just on its own. Cable companies are also contractually barred from putting the all-sports network on any sort of premium tier, which is why it was big news last year when Verizon FiOS announced a new “Custom TV” pricing model that made ESPN completely optional for everyone. That’s also why ESPN’s parent company Disney sued Verizon, alleging breach of contract. Now, Verizon has revised Custom TV to include ESPN and other sports channels for customers who want them. [More]
Petsitter Sues Couple For $6,766 Over Negative Yelp Review
By 2.18.16
So you hired a pet sitter to take care of your companions while you were out of town, but you weren’t happy with the service you received. You’re free to go online and publicly share your thoughts about that experience, as long as what you write is truthful. But you still might be sued by that pet sitter if your contract included a clause forbidding you from posting anything negative about the company. [More]
Lawsuit Claims AMC Theatres Makes It Hard For Blind People To Enjoy Going To The Movies
By 2.18.16
A trip to the movies can be a fun family outing, but if you miss part of the on-screen action, it’s a lot harder to enjoy the experience. That’s why a San Francisco man is suing AMC Theatres — he’s blind, and claims that the chain routinely deprives him of enjoying the movies he goes to with his family by providing shoddy audio-description services. [More]
Dentist Who Tried To Remove News Story From YouTube Drops Lawsuit, Pays $12K In Fees
By 2.17.16
A few weeks back we told you about a former dentist in Georgia who pled guilty in 2009 to filing Medicaid claims for procedures he didn’t actually perform, and who was trying to sue an anonymous YouTuber over a nearly seven-year-old news story that included allegations of physical assault from some patients. This week, the doctor agreed to withdraw his lawsuit and fork over $12,000 in fees for the unnamed defendant. [More]
American Airlines Sues GoGo Over Slow Inflight WiFi, May Change Provider
By 2.16.16
Hate your inflight Internet service? Apparently so does American Airlines, which has sued wireless broadband provider GoGo in the hope of being able to switch to a faster service for hundreds of its planes. [More]
Morgan Stanley To Pay $3.2 Billion To Settle State & Federal Mortgage Cases
By 2.11.16
Almost exactly a year after Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $2.6 billion to close the books on a Department of Justice investigation related to it role in the subprime mortgage crisis, the company is set to pay another $3.2 billion to settle federal and state allegations that it deceived investors in toxic mortgage-backed securities. [More]
Lawsuit: Defective Plug, Draining System Turned Walk-In Jacuzzi Into Death Trap
By 2.9.16
Many people seeking relief from aches and pains use walk-in tubs, because they allow for a more immersive experience, and they can be especially useful for elderly folk who can’t easily climb in and out of a traditional bathroom fixture. But the family of a 67-year-old woman says her Jacuzzi walk-in tub turned into a death trap, when it failed to drain and prevented her from getting out. [More]
Judge Rips Big Tobacco For “Ridiculous… Waste Of Precious Time” In Drafting Warning Ads
By 2.9.16
Seventeen years after federal prosecutors sued the tobacco industry, a full decade after a court ruled that Big Tobacco’s biggest players had maintained an illegal racketeering enterprise in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization [RICO] Act, and nearly seven years since they lost their appeal in that case, these companies are still dragging their feet creating the public warning ads they were ordered to make many, many years ago. The judge who has had to preside over this drawn-out ordeal has had enough. [More]
