More than a year after the U.S. government sued Southwest Airlines over allegedly improper repairs to more than a dozen aircraft, the airline has agreed to settle the allegations to the tune of $2.8 million. [More]
lawsuits
Strippers Say They Were Forced To Give Up Their Right To Sue Club
By 12.21.15
If your employer does something illegal, you have the right to sue them in a court of law. But a group of strip club dancers in Atlanta say they were forced to sign away that right — or lose their jobs. [More]
Federal Regulators Still Objecting To Marriage Of Staples And Office Depot
By 12.21.15
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission went to court in an effort to block the pending merger of office-supply mega chains Staples and Office Depot, saying that it would result in too little competition in the market for supplies being sold to businesses. Since then, Staples has tried to revise the deal to make it more palatable, but to no avail. [More]
Cox Must Pay $25M For Failing To Stop Repeat Pirates
By 12.18.15
Weeks after a court ruled that Cox Communications had deliberately ignored repeat piracy offenders and put up roadblocks to prevent certain copyright holders from filing infringement claims, a jury has handed down a $25 million verdict against the cable and Internet provider. [More]
Uber Sends Drivers New Contract That Includes Opting Out Of Any Current Class Actions
By 12.18.15
Was Uber trying to deliberately trick its drivers when it sent out a new driver agreement, or just trying to make its contract provisions clearer? While the company’s attorneys claim that the new driver contract wouldn’t actually preclude drivers still working for them from taking part in the California lawsuit or other lawsuits against them, the attorney for the affected drivers disagrees. [More]
Chipotle Facing First Lawsuit Linked To Boston Norovirus Outbreak That Sickened 140 People
By 12.18.15
It was bound to happen: the first lawsuit has been fired — er, filed against Chipotle in connection with the recent norovirus outbreak that sickened 140 people who ate at one of the chain’s Boston locations. [More]
Gillette Suing Dollar Shave Club Claiming Razor Subscription Service Infringes On Its Patents
By 12.17.15
With all those lumbersexuals and their bushy beards taking a big cut out of the razor business, it’s no surprise that competition is fierce. In an effort to protect its slice of the market, Gillette is suing online subscription razor service Dollar Shave Club for violation of intellectual property. [More]
Washington Attorney General Sues Tech Support Company For Scamming Customers
By 12.17.15
When your work computer goes wonky, you call IT. That’s easy enough. When it’s your home computer, though, the choices are a lot murkier. There are thousands of sources for tech support out there, from one-person operations to giant call centers. But if you don’t have enough technical know-how, it can be hard to tell which ones are actually helping, and which ones are just out to scam a quick buck. [More]
Federal Appeals Court Won’t Reconsider Plan That Would Pay College Football, Basketball Players
By 12.16.15
If you’re a college athlete hoping to score some cash from your time on the basketball court or on the football field, you’re out of luck: a federal appeals court has decided against reconsidering its ruling striking down a plan to pay some NCAA athletes. [More]
Comcast Hit With $26M Penalty For Dumping Hazardous Waste AND Revealing Personal Customer Info
By 12.15.15
Wow. Just wow. It takes a truly awful company to dump hazardous waste. It takes an equally bad business to reveal private customer info. But it takes a Kabletown to do both at the same time. [More]
Senate Passes Bill Barring Companies From Using “Gag Clauses” To Block Negative Reviews
By 12.14.15
A nationwide ban on the use of tricky “non-disparagement” or “gag” clauses — which prevent consumers from providing their honest opinions in public forums — cleared the Senate today, bringing it one major step closer to becoming law. [More]
Grumpy Cat Is Also A Legal Eagle, Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Coffee Company
By 12.14.15
Grumpy Cat (real name: Tardar Sauce) isn’t just a feline with a perma-frown; it’s also the face of a multimillion-dollar merchandising brand. Now the sourpuss cat is involved in a legal dispute with a company that sells Grumpy Cat coffee beans. [More]
Supreme Court Once Again Shows Its Disdain For Consumer Rights
By 12.14.15
For the third time in five years, the U.S. Supreme Court had a chance to reverse a terrifying trend in consumer rights by doing something, anything, to rein in “forced arbitration” clauses that strip consumers of their legal rights and effectively give companies a license to steal. And for the third time in five years, the SCOTUS majority showed its interests lie in protecting the coffers of big business rather than Americans’ access to the legal system. [More]
Family Suing Burger King After Woman Suffers Seizure While Trapped In Burger King Bathroom, Later Dies
By 12.11.15
The family of a New York City woman who died after being trapped in a Burger King bathroom is now suing the fast food chain, claiming that her death could’ve been prevented if restaurant employees had had a way to circumvent the door’s lock. [More]
Court Temporarily Blocks DraftKings, FanDuel From Doing Business In New York State
By 12.11.15
UPDATE: DraftKings says it was able to get the court to hold off on enforcing the injunction pending an appeal of today’s ruling. That means DraftKings will remain operational in New York state for the time being. [More]
Settlement Means “Happy Birthday” Song Will Finally Enter Public Domain
By 12.10.15
The next time you decide to perform a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday To You” on TV, or in a movie or on your debut album, you won’t have to worry about paying anyone for the right to do so: after two years of legal wrangling over who owns the copyright to the classic tune, the parties involved have agreed to settle their differences. [More]
MLB Commissioner Asks All Teams To Extend Safety Nets
By 12.9.15
Following a high-profile lawsuit alleging that Major League Baseball and team owners had been putting fans at risk by not extending safety net coverage all the way from home plate to the foul poles, the league’s commissioner is now calling on all 30 teams to increase the netting, but nowhere near as far as the foul poles. [More]
Net Neutrality Opponents, FCC Get Their Long-Awaited Day To Argue In Court
By 12.4.15
We all knew from the moment that the FCC voted to reclassify broadband and protect the open internet back in February that ISPs would file every suit they could think of to kill the rule off again, as thoroughly as could be. The suits were formally filed back in April, but the wheels of justice and government roll at something of a slow grind and so the oral arguments in the case were finally heard today. [More]
