After a lawsuit filed last week claimed a seventh death was linked to the ongoing recall of defective Takata airbags in millions of vehicles from nearly a dozen manufactures, Honda confirmed over the weekend that the latest fatality did indeed occur in one of its automobiles. [More]
lawsuits
Judge Says USA FREEDOM Act May Scuttle Twitter’s Transparency Lawsuit
By 6.12.15
Last October, Twitter sued the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney General, the FBI, and FBI Director James Comey, because the social media platform believed it has a First Amendment right to be fully transparent with its users about the number and nature of national security requests it receives from the government. But with the recent passing of the USA FREEDOM Act, the judge in the case says there may be no need for the lawsuit to move forward. [More]
Appeals Court Won’t Hold Up Enforcement Of Net Neutrality Rules
By 6.11.15
A number of lawsuits filed by telecom and cable companies and their associated trade groups in recent weeks had hoped that the court would block the FCC from enforcing the new net neutrality rules that are slated to kick in tomorrow, June 12. But with the clock ticking to reach that deadline, a federal appeals court has denied this request, meaning that the Open Internet Order will go into effect (at least until lawmakers do their best to de-fund it). [More]
Jawbone Files Second Lawsuit Against Fitbit Claiming Its Rival Is Violating A Bunch Of Its Patents
By 6.11.15
The clash of the fitness trackers continues to heat up, with Jawbone filing its second lawsuit against Fitbit in two weeks. After accusing Fitbit of stealing sensitive information in May, Jawbone is now claiming its rival’s products are violating practically every patent Jawbone holds. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges 7th Death Tied To Defective Takata Airbags
By 6.10.15
The ongoing recall of defective Takata airbags in vehicles from 11 different car makers has already been tied to more than 100 injuries and six fatalities. A recently filed lawsuit alleges that the faulty parts are responsible for at least one additional death. [More]
Court Rules Parking Meter “Robin Hoods” Are Protected By First Amendment
By 6.10.15
A city in New Hampshire says that its parking enforcement officers have been harassed and kept from doing their duties by a group of “Robin Hoods” who follow the officers around, not only putting coins in expired meters before cars can be ticketed, but videotaping and speaking rudely to them. Yesterday, the state’s highest court ruled that this behavior is protected by the First Amendment, but will give the city one more chance to argue for some sort of injunction to put some distance between the Robin Hoods and the officers. [More]
Snoop Dogg Suing Pabst Brewing Co. For A Cut Of Its Profits From Selling Colt 45
By 6.9.15
Companies love it when celebrities sign on to endorse their products, but you better believe those famous faces want to protect their paycheck when push comes to shove. That’s why Snoop Dogg is taking Pabst Brewing Company to court over the sale of the beer company’s Colt 45 line, claiming he’s owed a portion of the proceeds from that sale. [More]
Forcing McDonald’s Workers To Accept Wages On Debit Cards Not Okay In PA, Says Judge
By 6.2.15
Two years ago, a Pennsylvania woman sued her former employers at McDonald’s because they forced her and other workers to accept their wages on fee-laden prepaid debit cards. Though the fast food franchisee, who runs 16 McDonald’s, later changed this policy, the lawsuit continued to move forward, and last week a judge ruled against the franchisee’s claims that the debit card requirement was completely legal. [More]
Class Action Suit Against Hollister For Canceling Promo Gift Cards Goes Forward
By 6.2.15
While class action lawsuits can be a useful method of consumer justice, they are not a swift one. Take a class action against the clothing store Hollister, which is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch: a customer accuses the store of making promotional gift cards expire even though there was no expiration date printed on the cards. It was just certified as a class action last month, and the promotion in question happened in 2009. [More]
Sears Shareholders Sue, Claim CEO Is Stripping Company For Parts
By 6.1.15
For many years here at Consumerist, we developed a theory that the venerable department store Sears was secretly a vast anti-capitalist prank, which actively avoided selling merchandise. Its goal was something else: perhaps waiting for the retail real estate market to turn around and cash in the land and buildings that it owns. A group of Sears Holdings shareholders are starting to think the same thing, and they’ve filed a lawsuit against the company and its manifesto-writing CEO, Eddie Lampert. [More]
KFC Sues Three Chinese Companies For Allegedly Starting Rumors It Uses Eight-Legged Chickens
By 6.1.15
Kentucky Fried Chicken wants customers to know that it hasn’t created mutant chickens with eight legs and six wings to fill its big ol’ buckets. While one might think the notion of a chicken with more than two wings and two legs is a bit farcical, a rumor of such genetically modified birds has been circulating in China, leading KFC’s parent company to file lawsuits against three Chinese businesses for allegedly concocting and publicizing fabricated stories about the chain’s products on social media. [More]
AT&T Still Trying To Wriggle Out Of Federal Throttling Lawsuit
By 5.29.15
Seven months after the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T’s wireless division for allegedly misleading customers about “unlimited” data plans, and nearly two months after a judge denied AT&T’s attempt to dismiss the case, the Death Star is still trying to choke the government’s lawsuit into submission. [More]
Atlantic City Files Lawsuit Over Loan Program That Promised Relief For Struggling Residents, Businesses
By 5.28.15
Back in 2013, Atlantic City launched a loan program aimed at providing up to $40 million in financial relief to the city’s struggling homeowners and businesses. But after nearly two years and an investment of $3 million, the people of AC have received little help, leading the city to file a lawsuit against the company hired to administer the program. [More]
Clash Of The Fitness Trackers: Jawbone Lawsuit Accuses Fitbit Of Stealing Trade Secrets, Other Info
By 5.28.15
That rumble you hear in the gym, amid the clanking and whirring and grunting? It’s two fitness trackers going at it, just in time for one of the companies to go public: Jawbone has filed a lawsuit against Fitbit, claiming its rival stole Jawbone employees in order to get trade secrets the workers had swiped on the job, among other things. [More]
Judge Upholds Gainful Employment Rule, Throws Out For-Profit Industry Lawsuit
By 5.27.15
The Department of Education’s gainful employment rules, aimed at reigning in the for-profit college industry, came one step closer to its July implementation today as a judge threw out a for-profit industry lawsuit that attempted to further weaken the upcoming law. [More]
FTC Affirms Consumers’ Right To Go To Court Over Warranty Disputes
By 5.26.15
In just the last four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled against consumers’ rights and in favor of companies that use fine print in their contracts to block wronged customers from suing in court and from joining together as a class action. In spite of these rulings, the Federal Trade Commission recently upheld rules that give warranty buyers the right to a day in court, even if they have to go through arbitration first. [More]
AT&T Will Try To Make First Amendment Case Against Net Neutrality
By 5.22.15
When you think of the Internet and First Amendment issues, your mind probably conjures up images of people being able to freely express themselves online through websites, videos, and social media. But if you’re AT&T, the First Amendment was created to give Internet service providers the authority to have some sort of editorial control over the data they carry. [More]
Restaurant Chain Suing Sweets Company Over Smiley-Faced Cookies
By 5.21.15
In a case that just makes me want to order folks to turn their frowns upside down, a Pennsylvania baked goods company is suing a Chicago business over what it calls a similar use of smiley faces on cookies. Can’t we all just eat cookies featuring joyful visages and be happy about it? [More]
