With nearly 8 million vehicles recalled, 30 injuries and at least four deaths linked to potentially defective Takata airbags, it should come as no surprise that the Japanese auto parts maker would face its fair share of lawsuits from consumers. [More]
lawsuits
Wisconsin Sues Corinthian Colleges Over Everest’s Job-Placement, Graduation Rate Claims
By 10.27.14
Corinthian Colleges, the for-profit educator behind controversial school chains like Everest and WyoTech, is facing yet another lawsuit. This time, it’s from the state of Wisconsin, which alleges that Everest misrepresented important information, like graduation rates and job-placement stats, in order to lure students in. [More]
Yet Another Court To Hear Yelp’s Argument Against Revealing Reviewers’ Names
By 10.27.14
For more than two years, a carpet cleaning company in Virginia has been trying to compel Yelp to turn over the identities of reviewers the company accuses of posting false and defamatory information. While both a trial court and a state appeals court have told Yelp to fork over that info, the crowdsourced reviews site has not yet done so — and tomorrow it takes its case before the highest court in Virginia. [More]
$10K Or $250K — How Much Should Walmart Pay For Wrongly Accusing Man Of Attacking Worker?
By 10.24.14
In Sept. 2007, a man described as being 5’7″ and around 50 years old in California allegedly attacked a Walmart employee who had caught him shoplifting. Two months later, a man in his early 40s and five inches taller than that suspect walked into the Walmart, where he claims he was detained by a manager and publicly accused of being the attacker from the earlier incident. Seven years later, the legal debate is ongoing as to how much, if anything, Walmart should pay this man. [More]
NBCUniversal Set To Pay $6.4M In Settlement With Unpaid Interns
By 10.24.14
Unpaid internships in the entertainment industry often offer Hollywood hopefuls a glimpse behind the curtain and a foot in the door. But the hours are long and the compensation is nonexistent. Those qualities apparently didn’t sit well with a group of former NBCUniversal interns and now the company is prepared to settle their class action lawsuit for $6.4 million. [More]
Frontier Customers Sue, Alleging They Don’t Get Advertised Internet Speeds
By 10.21.14
In a recently filed class-action suit, Frontier Communications customers in West Virginia allege the cable/Internet company advertised high-speed broadband packages but then failed to deliver, only providing a fraction of what customers were promised. [More]
Even If You Spend Your Career Driving For FedEx, You Might Not Be An Employee
By 10.17.14
Each day thousands of delivery drivers get behind the wheel of FedEx Ground trucks and set out for a long day of work. While those workers must follow the company’s rules and regulations about delivery times and working hours, FedEx contends they aren’t actual employees, but independent contractors. That distinction is at the core of a series of class action lawsuits filed against the company in which former workers are seeking compensation for unpaid overtime and paycheck deductions. [More]
Comcast Sued By Customer Who Says Cable Company Had Him Fired From Job
By 10.17.14
Last week, we brought you the story of former Comcast customer Conal O’Rourke, who lost his job at renowned accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers after someone from Comcast called his employer with details of Mr. O’Rourke’s numerous — and valid — complaints about his cable service. Comcast has subsequently apologized for the myriad billing and service problems but maintains it did not intend to have O’Rourke fired, but that has not satisfied Conal, who has filed a lawsuit against the nation’s largest cable company, alleging violations of, among other claims, a federal law prohibiting cable companies from sharing personal information without customers’ consent. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Chipotle Required Workers To Perform Duties Without Pay
By 10.16.14
The door may be locked and the lights may have dimmed, but there’s still plenty of work to be done after closing for many restaurant employees. While working after hours isn’t uncommon, those who perform those duties probably expect to continue being paid. But a former employee claims that wasn’t happening at Chipotle, and now he’s suing the fast-casual restaurant. [More]
Disabled-Access Lawsuits Against Small Businesses Increasing
By 10.16.14
Everyone who likes to eat hot dogs should have the right to enter a restaurant and order some hot dogs. Recently, though, a 60-year-old luncheonette in Miami was sued when a man who walks with a cane sued, claiming 30 separate accessibility violations. Was the man even a customer of the hot dog stand? Turns out that doesn’t really matter. [More]
Bayer Sued Over Allegedly Misleading Marketing Of One-A-Day Vitamins
By 10.15.14
The marketing for Bayer’s One A Day brand of multivitamins makes some very specific claims about what these products can do to improve a user’s health. But a new lawsuit brought against the over-the-counter drug giant argues that Bayer’s statements aren’t always backed up by the science necessary to make those claims. [More]
AT&T To Pay $105 Million To Settle Wireless Bill-Cramming Charges
By 10.8.14
In a few minutes, the Federal Trade Commission, the FCC and attorneys general from 50 states and the District of Columbia will announce a $105 million deal with AT&T that settles allegations that the company has profited off the practice known as “bill-cramming,” third-party charges illegally placed on customers’ wireless bills without authorization. [More]
Twitter Sues Justice Dept., Says It Has First Amendment Right To Transparency
By 10.7.14
While Twitter is a platform through which millions of users can instantly share and access real-time information about everything from anti-government protests in Hong Kong to who won the Head of Household challenge on Big Brother, the company itself can say very little about the ways in which federal authorities use Twitter for surveillance; it can’t even reveal if there have been no national security requests. In an effort to poke a hole in that steel curtain, Twitter has sued the Justice Dept., U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the FBI and its Director James Comey. [More]
Sketchy Retailer That Sued Soldiers Promises To Be Less Sketchy, Still Suing Soldiers
By 10.7.14
In July, we told you about USA Discounters, a retailer that took advantage of underpaid soldiers with no credit histories to charge them exorbitant financing fees and then sue them when they couldn’t pay up. Now USA Discounters has changed its name and is promising to change its ways, but it’s really just another case of putting a wig on a pig. [More]
Family Sues Macy’s, Escalator Company After Daughter’s Foot Mangled
By 10.7.14
You know how some people have what seems to be an irrational fear of escalators? Well, here’s another reason why that aversion might not be so strange after all: A New Jersey family recently filed a lawsuit against Macy’s and the company responsible for maintaining the escalator in which their daughter’s leg became trapped during a 2013 shopping trip. [More]
CVS To Pay $225K For Misleading Packaging On Store-Brand Products
By 10.6.14
Isn’t it great when you buy a box that looks like it contains a large jar of face cream only to find out that what’s inside is much smaller than you’d expected? Drugstore megachain CVS recently agreed to pay $225,000 to settle allegations in California that it tweaked its packaging on nearly a dozen store-brand products to trick customers into thinking they were getting more than they really were. [More]
Red Bull Will Pay $13 Million To Settle False Advertising Lawsuit
By 10.6.14
Because you can’t believe every cartoon that says drinking a can of energy drink will cause you to suddenly sprout wings and float into the sky, Red Bull has agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a lawsuit that was seeking class-action status to settle claims of false advertising. [More]
No, Carlton From “Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” Did Not Endorse This Diet Supplement
By 10.3.14
We recently told you about the lawsuit filed by a weight-loss supplement company against an online complaints forum, claiming the website had illegally allowed customers to violate a non-disparagement clause by posting negative reviews. Now that supplement company is taking some heat for posting a supposedly bogus endorsement from actor Alfonso Ribeiro (AKA, the guy who played Carlton on Fresh Prince of Bel Air). [More]
