On Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver took an in-depth look at how the tobacco industry uses expensive lawsuits and byzantine international trade agreements to keep countries from pushing for stronger regulation on cigarettes. But rather than just call Big Tobacco out for its bad behavior, Oliver also offered a helpful solution that might make all sides happy. [More]
lawsuits
Gamblers Who Won $1.5M Must Return Winnings Over Unshuffled Cards
By 2.13.15
Back in 2012, some gamblers in Atlantic City realized there was a pattern to the way the cards were coming out while playing mini-baccarat and won 41 straight hands worth around $1.5 million in total. But this week a court ruled the winnings must be returned because the cards had not been shuffled. [More]
Walmart Sues Texas Over Law Banning Publicly Traded Companies From Selling Liquor
By 2.13.15
Depending on the state you live in, buying booze and beer can be a bit tricky. South Carolina and Kentucky previously outlawed the sale of alcohol on Election Day, while last year, the state of Michigan pondered a law that would classify a “pint” of beer as 16-ounces or less. But it’s a long-running law in Texas banning the sale of liquor (but not beer or wine) at publicly traded companies that raised the ire of Walmart. Now the nation’s largest retailer is suing the state to gain the ability to sell the spirits. [More]
Burger King Settles Suit Filed By Soldier Who Says He Found Needles In Triple Stacker
By 2.12.15
For more than three years, a now-retired Army sergeant has been fighting a legal battle against both Burger King and the military, alleging the kitchen at an on-base BK served him a Triple Stacker that contained needles. Part of the case has been brought to an end now that the fast food giant has settled, though the complaint against the military looks like it may be headed to trial. [More]
Target Agrees To Pay $3.9M To Settle False-Advertising Lawsuit
By 2.11.15
It seems some of that infamously fuzzy Target math finally caught up with the retailer, as the company has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle a false-advertising lawsuit brought by prosecutors in California. [More]
Privacy Advocates Sue DOJ For Info About Planes Used To Snoop On Cellphones
By 2.10.15
Last November, a Wall Street Journal report pulled back the covers on a U.S. Marshals Service program that uses small planes carrying devices that mimic cellphone towers, allowing them to track criminals but also scoop up information from countless other phones of citizens not involved in any crimes. After months of trying to get more details on the program, one consumer privacy advocacy group has sued the Dept. of Justice hoping to compel the release of this information. [More]
Orbitz Settles Suit With “Hidden City” Ticket Site Skiplagged.com
By 2.10.15
Back in November, United Airlines and Orbitz sued Skiplagged.com, a site offering so-called “hidden city” fares that can save you money by booking a ticket on a flight you never intend to take to its final destination. Now Skiplagged’s owner and Orbitz say they have reached a deal to keep their dispute out of court. [More]
Southwest Frequent Flyer Earned Enough Points For Free Companion Ticket; Or So He Thought
By 2.9.15
With only a few weeks to go in the year, one Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member says he was right on the cusp of earning a free companion pass. After allegedly being told that any points accrued before the end of the year would count toward that goal, he spent more on his Rapid Rewards credit card to rack up those points — only to later be told the deadline for earning points via the credit card was not Dec. 31. [More]
Traveler Says TSA Jailed Him For Making Complaint, Lied In Court About Bomb Threat
By 2.4.15
What line does a traveler need to cross before he’s deemed worthy of arrest by airport security agents? According to one man, not only was he detained overnight after attempting to file a complaint about the way he was being treated, but a TSA supervisor then lied under oath about a bomb threat the traveler never made. [More]
Yelp Goes To Court To Protect Identity Of Anonymous Review-Writer
By 1.30.15
Once again, a business who is displeased with an anonymous review on Yelp is trying to sue that reviewer and attempting to compel Yelp to reveal that user’s actual identity. But this morning, lawyers for Yelp and consumer advocates were in court to argue that there is no justification for unmasking the writer of this review. [More]
Cablevision Sues Verizon, Claims “Fastest WiFi” Ads Are Misleading
By 1.29.15
Competing companies often call each other out for exaggerations in ads and other marketing sleight of hand, but Cablevision has decided to let the legal system settle its dispute with Verizon over claims of who has the “fastest WiFi available.” Meanwhile, Verizon says the lawsuit is a marketing ploy to sell Cablevision’s WiFi phone service. [More]
No More Posting Of Nude Photos For Operator Of Revenge Porn Site
By 1.29.15
My co-workers tell me that there are plenty of websites out there with images and footage of naked people who agreed to be photographed in such revealing conditions. But there are also so-called “revenge porn” sites that post intimate personal photos and videos of people who didn’t consent. Facing a lawsuit from federal regulators, the operator of one such site has agreed to get out of the revenge porn business. [More]
Kmart To Pay $102K For Refusing To Hire Dialysis Patient Who Couldn’t Give Urine Sample
By 1.29.15
Kmart must pay $102,000 to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a Maryland man who says the company reneged on a job offer when he couldn’t provide a urine sample for a drug test because of his kidney disease and dialysis. [More]
TracFone To Refund $40 Million To Customers For Deceptive “Unlimited” Data Claims
By 1.28.15
Beginning in 2009, TracFone began selling supposedly unlimited prepaid data plans for $45 under brands like Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile, and Telcel America, but without clearly disclosing that users who went beyond certain monthly usage thresholds would have their data speeds throttled or cut off entirely. But today, in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, TracFone has agreed to refund $40 million to affected customers. [More]
N.J. Wegmans, Whole Foods Customers Sue Over Claims Of “Store-Baked” Goods
By 1.27.15
How fresh is fresh? That’s the question at hand in a lawsuit brought by a group of Wegmans customers in New Jersey who say that just because the store’s rolls are technically put in an oven on the premises, that doesn’t mean they’re “store-baked.” The same group is going after Whole Foods in the lawsuit for similar reasons. [More]
Mechanics Say American Airlines Pressured Them To Commit Maintenance Fraud
By 1.26.15
Six months after the Federal Aviation Administration levied a fine against Southwest Airlines for safety violations related to airplane repairs, the agency announced it was investigating similar issues with American Airlines Group after mechanics filed a series of whistleblower complaints and a lawsuit alleging managers for the airline breached FAA rules in order to aid its merger and get planes on the tarmac. [More]
Mom Sues Target Claiming Humiliating “Walk Of Shame” Upon Firing Led To Son’s Suicide
By 1.26.15
A California Target is facing a lawsuit from the family of a former employee who says he took his own life after being forced to participate in a humiliating “walk of shame” through the store in handcuffs. [More]
Wells Fargo, Chase To Pay $35.7M For Allowing Illegal Mortgage Kickbacks
By 1.22.15
Federal law prohibits giving or receiving kickbacks in exchange for a referral of business related to a real-estate-settlement service, but for four years a now-defunct title company in Maryland provide cash, marketing materials and consumer information in exchange for referrals. And now the banks have agreed to pay more than $35 million — including $11.1 million in redress to affected consumers — for their sins. [More]
