The backlash against the federal government’s surveillance programs continues. This time, the folks at Human Rights Watch have filed suit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging that the DEA’s bulk collection of data related to certain phone calls made by the organization runs afoul of basic protections afforded by the Constitution. [More]
lawsuits
Robocalling Phantom Debt Collector Accused Of Harassing, Defrauding Consumers
By 4.8.15
People hate debt collectors, perhaps as much as, if not more than, they despise robocalls from telemarketers. And phantom debt collectors — those who attempt to collect debts that aren’t owed to them, if at all — are among the worst of the bunch. So when you combine the automated recorded messages of robocalls with the incessant harassment of phantom debt collectors, you create a particularly loathsome Frankenstein’s monster. [More]
SEC Alleges Ex-NFL Player Ran $31M Ponzi Scheme
By 4.7.15
In football, a cornerback is tasked with defending against pass offenses. It appears one former NFL player wasn’t doing much defending on behalf of investors off the field. Instead, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges former New York Giants player Will Allen used his big league connections to assist in the operation of a $31 million Ponzi scheme based on making loans to cash-strapped pro athletes. [More]
It’s Almost Lawsuit Season: Broadband Trade Groups Prepping Their Legal Arguments Against Net Neutrality
By 4.3.15
The FCC voted on the Open Internet Order — net neutrality — about six weeks ago. But nobody ever accused the wheels of bureaucracy of turning quickly and so it is only this week that the rule has been sent off to the fine folks at the Federal Register. That means we’re finally in the home stretch handoff; the rule will become the law of the land 60 days after the Federal Register publishes it. And that means we’re finally in the window for the big wave of down-and-dirty lawsuits and legal challenges we’ve been awaiting since basically forever. [More]
Court Rules That Hulu Didn’t Know It Was Sharing Personal User Info With Facebook
By 4.2.15
Earlier this week, a federal court in California dismissed a nearly 4-year-old class-action lawsuit against Hulu that alleged the streaming video service illegally shared personal user information with Facebook. [More]
Should Lawyers Be Held Accountable When Clients Sue Just To Punish Whistleblowers?
By 4.2.15
Deep-pocketed companies have a long history of filing frivolous lawsuits with the sole intent of putting defendants through the expensive legal wringer. This sort of courtroom bullying is known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and several states have Anti-SLAPP laws to deter this type of abuse. Plaintiffs that file these lawsuits can face penalties, but one question being considered by a California appeals court is whether plaintiffs’ lawyers should be held accountable for allowing their clients to behave badly. [More]
Allegiant Air Pilots Plan Strike For Thursday; Could Ground 250 Flights
By 4.1.15
Earlier today, we reported that the pilots of Nevada-based budget carrier Allegiant Air took their beef with the carrier to the public by posting an open letter to passengers voicing their concern about carrier’s stance on safety standards and treatment of employees. Now, the pilots say they’re prepared to go on strike Thursday, a move that has the potential to ground 250 flights. [More]
AT&T Fails At Getting FTC’s Throttling Lawsuit Dismissed
By 4.1.15
Back in October, the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T’s wireless division for allegedly misleading customers by charging for “unlimited” plans but then reducing data speeds after users passed certain monthly thresholds. AT&T subsequently asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the FTC lacks the authority to bring this type of lawsuit. Yesterday, a federal judge disagreed and sided against AT&T. [More]
NFL Linebacker Files $20M Lawsuit Against Bank Of America For Alleged Fraud
By 4.1.15
When looking to manage one’s money, it wouldn’t be unusual to seek advice from the financial professionals at one of the country’s largest banks. But an NFL linebacker says his decision to rely on Bank of America to manage his finances cost him millions of dollars and led to the closing of his budding restaurant business. [More]
Court Awards Pizza Hut Customer $2,400 For Denture Damaged While Eating “Excessively Hard Croutons”
By 3.31.15
While the human mouth gets to have all the fun of tasting, chewing and eating delicious food in all its various incarnations, it can also be the portal to pain when something isn’t right. In the case of a man who said he broke a partial denture at Pizza Hut, the weapon of destruction came in the form of “excessively hard croutons.” [More]
Man Who Says Comcast Got Him Fired From Job Seeks $5M In Damages After Company Smeared Him Publicly
By 3.31.15
Last fall, we were the first to tell you about Conal O’Rourke, the Comcast customer in California who spent more than a year dealing with consistent over-billing — including $1,820 worth of equipment he’d never ordered nor needed — and horrendous customer service who was fired from his job at Comcast-consulting accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers after he took his complaint to the office of the Comcast controller. Shortly after publishing that story, Conal sued Comcast over the incident, and now he’s amended that lawsuit to allege invasion of privacy and to put a higher dollar amount on the damages being sought. [More]
Ticketmaster Says It Stands For “True Fan-Friendly Competition”
By 3.30.15
Over the weekend, StubHub filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, alleging that the team and the ticket company are forcing Warriors season-ticket subscribers to use Ticketmaster if they want to resell their seats to anyone. Ticketmaster is now defending itself and says that it is the one that’s on the side of sports fans. [More]
StubHub Files Antitrust Suit Against Ticketmaster, Golden State Warriors
By 3.30.15
eBay-owned ticket resale site StubHub has sued both Ticketmaster and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors for allegedly threatening to cancel the subscriptions of season ticket holders if they try to resell any of their tickets via StubHub. [More]
HMO Must Pay $28M For Delaying MRI That Could Have Saved Cancer Patient’s Leg
By 3.27.15
Back in 2009, a then 17-year-old woman in California visited a Kaiser Permanente office because she was experiencing strange back pain. In the months that followed, she and her mother say they repeatedly requested an MRI but Kaiser doctors would only tell her to lose weight or get acupuncture treatments. All the while, a cancerous tumor was growing that would eventually result in the surgical removal of her right leg, and parts of her pelvis and spine. Believing Kaiser could have caught the cancer earlier if it hadn’t delayed the MRI, a jury has awarded the patient $28 million in damages. [More]
Court Throws Out NJ Turnpike’s Lawsuit Against Pizzeria With Lookalike Logo
By 3.27.15
Last summer, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority sued the small Florida-based Jersey Boardwalk pizzeria chain over the restaurant’s logo, which looks remarkably similar to that of the Garden State Parkway. Earlier this week, a federal court in New Jersey dismissed the suit saying that the pizza chain didn’t have enough contact with the state to allow for the Turnpike Authority to file a lawsuit there. [More]
Walmart Would Really Rather Not Pay That $151M That Court Says It Owes Employees
By 3.26.15
For more than a decade, Walmart has been fighting to avoid paying $151 million in damages to more than 187,000 current and former employees in Pennsylvania for regularly compelling them to work without proper compensation. And even though the state’s highest court recently affirmed that penalty, the retailer isn’t ready to hand over that money just yet. [More]
Obedience School Sues Yelper For $65K Over Negative Review
By 3.26.15
A few months ago, a Virginia woman began taking her dog to obedience class, and when the training wasn’t what she expected, she requested a pro-rated refund and wrote a negative review of the school on Yelp. Now she’s facing a $65,000 defamation lawsuit. [More]
Family Suing Publix Claims Boy Allergic To Nuts Died After Eating Cookie Worker Said Was Safe
By 3.26.15
The family of an 11-year-old boy allergic to nuts who died in June 2014 is suing Publix, claiming that his death was caused by a severe allergic reaction after eating a cookie a grocery store worker allegedly deemed safe. [More]
