In sworn statements provided for a lawsuit by homeowners against Bank of America, a half-dozen people who reviewed loan modification applications for BofA say the company encouraged staffers to lose applicants paperwork so that it could later be denied, putting homeowners at further risk of losing their homes. And if these people are to be believed, some folks out there may have lost their homes so that a BofA employee could get a Target gift card. [More]
lawsuits
Joan Jett Sues Hot Topic Over “Blackheart” Trademark
By 6.14.13
I don’t shop at Hot Topic because I’m not a teenage girl, but I’ve heard that the stores exist. But I am old enough to remember Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at the height of their fame in the early ’80s. But now two generations are colliding in a mess of tee shirts, push-up bras, and nail polish as the rock star’s record label sues the retailer over the Blackheart brand. [More]
Apple Exec: I Protected Consumers From High E-Book Prices By Letting Publishers Set High E-Book Prices
By 6.13.13
Earlier today, Apple executive Eddy Cue — the architect of the company’s iTunes and e-book business — took the stand in court to face questions about his company’s role in alleged price-fixing of the e-book market, where he admitted that Apple had actually mulled over an even worse idea than mere price-fixing. [More]
Not Everyone Is Disappointed With De Beers Class Action Checks
By 6.12.13
Yesterday, we shared the news that people have started to receive their settlement checks from the class action lawsuit that accused diamond merchants De Beers of price-fixing. (Gasp!) The first reader we heard from, Sean, was upset that he only received $48 back on a $3,000 claim, or about 1.6%. Other readers are happier with their settlements…but, to point out the obvious here, people with larger settlements are a lot happier, and people who spent more on shiny rocks in the first place received larger checks. [More]
Teen Sues United Airlines, Says Flight Attendants Didn’t Heed Complaints About Self-Pleasuring Passenger
By 5.31.13
Last October, a then-17-year-old girl was flying on United from NYC to L.A. when she claims she spotted a nearby male passenger making love to himself under a blanket. She says she twice complained to flight attendants, but to no avail. Now she’s suing the nation’s largest airline over the alleged incident. [More]
Man Who ‘Foreclosed’ On Wells Fargo Now Suing eBay For Mistakenly Shuttering His Store
By 5.30.13
If you can remember back to 2011, you might recall the story of Patrick Rodgers, the Philadelphia homeowner who successfully sued Wells Fargo over an error in his mortgage servicing — and then “foreclosed” on a neighborhood Wells branch when the bank didn’t make good on the judgement. Now Patrick’s back in the news with a suit against eBay, which he claims shut down his seller account over a case of mistaken identity. [More]
How New York State’s Indoor Smoking Ban Has Led To An Uptick In Bowling Alley Lawsuits
By 5.24.13
In one corner, you’ve got your run-of-the-mill bowling alley. You’ve probably been to one, so you know the drill — everyone’s got to wear those darling bowling shoes. In the other, you’ve got New York State’s ban on smoking indoors. Put those two things together and you’ve got an uptick in lawsuits against bowling alleys. [More]
Magic Hat Sues Kentucky Brewer Over Its Logo
By 5.22.13
Most of our stories about trademark disputes — especially when it comes to anything that even vaguely sounds like the word “monster” — involve companies in two completely different industries, like energy drinks vs. fish tanks, or that same beverage vs. an independent movie, or audio cables vs. deer licks. But what about when that trademark to-do is between two beer companies? [More]
Court Says Stores Can Be Sued Over Questionable “Discounts”
By 5.22.13
We’ve written before — most recently about JCPenney — about retailers who mark up the original price of an item in order to make the “sale” price look better than it is. Some may say this is harmless marketing, as the retailer is going to charge that price regardless. Others say it’s a deliberately deceptive act intended to lure consumers into thinking they are getting a deal. [More]
Judge Tries, Again, To Slap Wells Fargo With $203 Million For Overdraft Policy
By 5.15.13
It’s been nearly three years since a U.S. District Court first ordered Wells Fargo to pay out $203 milllion in refunds to settle a class-action suit involving the bank’s overdraft policies. Since then, the bank got a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside that mountain of cash, saying California law can not override federal banking laws. Now the original District Court judge is once again ordering the bank to fork over the $203 million. [More]
DOJ: Steve Jobs E-Mails Show That Apple Engaged In E-Book Price-Fixing
By 5.15.13
While all of the publishers involved in Justice Dept.’s e-book price-fixing lawsuit have settled, Apple has continued to maintain its innocence. With the trial set to begin in early June, the DOJ has some evidence it believes paints Apple in a rather damning light. [More]
Court Finally Signs Off On $40 Million In Skechers Shape-Ups Refunds
By 5.14.13
Almost exactly one year after reaching a $40 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding questionable health benefits attributed to Skechers’ Shape-Ups toning shoes, a U.S. District Court judge has finally signed off on the deal, allowing things to move on to the refund stage. [More]
Yelp Fights Against Outing Anonymous Reviewers In Lawsuit By Carpet Cleaner
By 5.8.13
When you write a review on Yelp, you are supposed to feel assured in your ability to keep your identity from being made public. But a Virginia carpet cleaner is attempting to compel Yelp to reveal the names of seven people who posted reviews about the company. [More]
New York AG To Sue Bank Of America, Wells Fargo Over Alleged Violations Of National Mortgage Settlement
By 5.6.13
If the big mortgage servicers thought they’d put a pile of legal troubles behind them when they reached the $25 billion dollar National Mortgage Settlement with almost every state in 2012, they were wrong. Today, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his intention to sue Bank of America and Wells Fargo for what he alleges is a ” persistent pattern of non-compliance” by the two banks. [More]
Newsflash: ’24-Hour’ Makeup Is Not A Guarantee
By 5.1.13
Most women in their thirties have been playing with makeup for at least half their lives. For them, it would not be a newsflash that “24-hour foundation” does not, in fact, stay on your face unmarred for 24 hours. [More]
Passenger Sues Virgin America After Contentious Soda Order Gets Him Detained At Airport
By 5.1.13
What began as a dispute about ordering an in-flight soda apparently got to the point where the crew on a Virgin America jet felt that a passenger needed to be questioned by authorities upon landing. Now that passenger has sued the airline, alleging that Virgin America made false accusations about his behavior. [More]
CBS CEO Says Network Could Switch To Cable If It Loses Aereo Lawsuit
By 5.1.13
CBS and the other over-the-air broadcast networks are currently suing Aereo, the New York-based startup that transmits live TV over the Internet to subscribers who pay a monthly fee, but doesn’t pay anything to the broadcasters for doing so. Now, the head of CBS is saying the network might pull its signal off the air and go cable-only if it can’t stop Aereo. [More]
State Lawmakers Consider Limits On ‘Payday’ Lawsuit Loans
By 4.29.13 — Updated: 5.7.13
We’ve written a lot over the years about standard payday loans — short-term, high-interest loans from non-bank lenders — and similar deposit-advance loans offered by some of the nation’s largest banks. But there is a growing form of short-term loan that lawmakers are concerned about — loans to plaintiffs of pending lawsuits. [More]
