For the second time in a year, judges of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit have heard arguments about the constitutionality of the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How the court ultimately rules will determine whether or not the head of this watchdog agency can be fired and replaced at the whim of the President. [More]
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Appeals Court Hears Arguments For, Against Letting President Fire Consumer Protection Chief
By 5.24.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
Lucille Roberts’ Ban On Working Out In Skirts Is Not Religious Discrimination, Says Judge
By 5.24.17
The Lucille Roberts chain of gyms did not discriminate against an observant Jewish member by refusing to let her work out in a skirt, says a federal court judge in dismissing the woman’s civil rights lawsuit. [More]
Justice Dept., EPA Sue Fiat Chrysler Over ‘Dirty Diesel’ Ram Trucks, Jeep Cherokees
By 5.23.17
Just as Volkswagen cleans up the remnants of its dirty diesel scandal, the folks at Fiat Chrysler find themselves on the receiving of a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department accusing the carmaker of rigging its own diesel engines to fool emissions tests. [More]
Passengers Say Commuter Rail App Illegally Collects Personal User Data
By 5.23.17
Many cities’ commuter rail systems now have apps for users to do things like buy tickets, check schedules, and receive alerts. However, users of one system’s mobile app claim it is illegally collecting sensitive information about users’ devices and location. [More]
Appeals Court: Your Naked Protest At Airport Security Is Not Protected By First Amendment
By 5.18.17
Five years ago, when we told you about an Oregon man protesting new airport security measures by stripping down to nothing at a TSA checkpoint, we had no idea it would eventually blossom into a years-long legal battle over whether or not one has a First Amendment right to get naked at the airport, but this week a federal appeals court disagreed with a local judge, saying that the man’s protest was not a form of constitutionally protected free speech. [More]
Gas Station Cheese Sauce Linked To Dangerous Botulism Outbreak
By 5.18.17
Food-borne illness outbreaks are often tied to fresh foods — unwashed raw vegetables, tainted undercooked meat, raw dairy products — but not the neon yellow nacho cheese sauce you’d get at a movie theater or convenience store. However, one batch of this processed cheese-like product has been linked to multiple, potentially lethal cases of botulism. [More]
Judge Says He May Have To Reject $142 Million Wells Fargo Fake Account Settlement
By 5.17.17
The federal court judge tasked with reviewing the pending $142 million settlement for the millions of fake accounts opened in customers’ names isn’t ready to rubber-stamp the deal. In fact, the judge’s questions about this settlement appear to indicate that he may reject the agreement. [More]
Flight Attendants Say Frontier Airlines Won’t Let Them Pump Breast Milk On The Job
By 5.17.17
All over the country right now, working mothers of young children are in their offices, cubicles, break rooms, parked cars, or other spot in their workplace, pumping breast milk for later use. However, flight attendants for Frontier Airlines say they have been barred from pumping while on the clock. [More]
Philadelphia Accuses Wells Fargo Of Discriminating Against Minority Mortgage Borrowers
By 5.16.17
Philadelphia has become the latest city to accuse one the nation’s largest banks of deliberately pushing minority mortgage applicants into home loans that cost more than these borrowers would have received if they were white. [More]
Google Avoids Genericide, Will Remain A Protected Trademark
By 5.16.17
“Google” has delayed experiencing the same fate as kerosene, heroin, laundromat, and a number of other brand names that became so popular they died of genericide. [More]
Walmart To Pay $7.5M After Denying Spousal Benefits To Same-Sex Couples
By 5.16.17
A federal court judge has approved a $7.5 million settlement between Walmart and current and former employees who claimed that the the retailer unfairly discriminated against them by denying health benefits to their same-sex spouses. [More]
Supreme Court Throws Out State Rule Protecting Nursing Home Residents From Having Rights Signed Away
By 5.15.17
A lot of people in nursing homes have adult children or other trusted people with authority to make financial, legal, and medical decisions on their behalf. However, can folks with power of attorney also sign away someone else’s right to have their day in court? According to the U.S. Supreme Court, yes. [More]
Total Number Of Bogus Wells Fargo Accounts Could Be As High As 3.5 Million
By 5.12.17
When Wells Fargo finally acknowledged what some had been alleging for years — that bank employees may have opened up fake, unauthorized accounts in customers’ names — it estimated the total number of bogus accounts at around 2.1 million. However, recently filed court documents contend that there could be as many as 1.4 million additional bogus accounts. [More]
Book Stores Fuming Mad Over State Law Forcing Them To Keep Records Of All Autographed Books
By 5.12.17
Walk into an independent book store in most cities and you’re likely to find signed copies of various authors’ books sitting around. Sometimes the authors will sign a bunch as part of an in-store appearance; sometimes the writer or their publisher will ship a box of signed books; sometimes authors just go into stores and do ninja-style signings without anyone knowing. This is all fine in most of the country, but no longer in California, where a new law requires anyone sells virtually any autographed item to include a certificate of authenticity and to keep detailed records of each item for years. [More]
President Trump Says He’s Immune From Restaurant’s Unfair Competition Lawsuit
By 5.10.17
In response to an unfair competition lawsuit filed against President Trump by a D.C. restaurant claiming that it’s lost business to a Trump-operated building within walking distance to the White House, the President’s legal team says that not only are the claims without merit, but that Trump is immune from this sort of legal action. [More]
Appeals Court Resurrects Federal Government’s Lawsuit Over AT&T’s Old “Unlimited” Plans
By 5.10.17
The years-long dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and AT&T over the wireless company’s old “unlimited” data plans is still not dead. A federal appeals court has zapped new life into the lawsuit, meaning there’s still hope that AT&T users who saw their data throttled despite having unlimited data plans may someday get justice. [More]
Amid Cancelations & Delays, Court Orders Spirit Airlines Pilots To Halt Alleged Work Slowdown
By 5.9.17
With cancelled Spirit Airlines flights resulting in fisticuffs at the nation’s airports, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the union representing Spirit pilots, hoping to get passengers moving again. [More]
Justice Dept. Says Supreme Court Should Not Hear ‘Dancing Baby’ YouTube Case
By 5.9.17
A decade-old legal dispute over a 29-second YouTube clip featuring a baby dancing to a barely audible Prince tune may not have its day before the Supreme Court, at least if the nine justices take the suggestion of the Justice Department. [More]
