There are heated situations, and then there’s the kind of chaos that has the police stepping in to break things up. Sheriff’s deputies had their hands full at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport last night, where a slew of canceled Spirit Airlines flights had frustrated passengers ready to rumble with the airline. [More]
lawsuits
American Airlines Passenger Suing Over 14-Hour Flight With Obese Seatmates
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.8.17
No one likes to be scrunched while flying, but as airlines continue to cram as many seats on planes as they can, things can definitely get tight. An Australian man is suing over the close quarters on a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, claiming he was forced into uncomfortable positions during the 14-hour flight. [More]
The Eagles Accuse ‘Hotel California’ Owners Of Making Money Off Band’s Song
By 5.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
When you think of “Hotel California,” your head probably fills with snippets of the classic 1976 Eagles song — the seductive 12-string intro that every 13-year-old tries to learn, the epic guitar battle between Don Felder and Joe Walsh. Or maybe you think of the completely unrelated Hotel California in Mexico, which the Eagles have accused of trying to cash in on their hit song. [More]
$100M Lawsuit: Fyre Festival Was “Closer To ‘Lord Of The Flies’ Than Coachella”
By 5.1.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Only a few days after organizers of the highly hyped Fyre Festival were forced to cancel the two-weekend event after the event totally fell apart, leaving many people stranded in the Bahamas, one person who shelled out thousands for a ticket has filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming that attendees were subjected to a hell more akin to The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies than the posh version of Coachella they were promised. [More]
Supreme Court Says Cities Can Sue Banks Over Fair Housing Violations
By 5.1.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that cities are allowed to sue banks for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act if the city is able to show that it was harmed by a bank’s discriminatory actions. [More]
Wells Fargo Shareholders Say Bank Staff “Rounded Up” Undocumented Workers As Part Of Phony Account Scam
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
We’re all well aware by this point that Wells Fargo employees opened up more than 2 million bogus accounts in customers’ names in order to game the bank’s sales incentive/quota system. Some former bank staffers revealed what they claim are some of the tricks used to create these fake accounts — including rounding up undocumented day laborers at convenience stores and construction sites to get them to sign up for accounts (only to then allegedly give them additional accounts they didn’t ask for). [More]
Coca-Cola: Dead Mouse Was Too Fresh To Be Found In A Coke Can
By 4.27.17
A South Dakota man claims he purchased — and drank from — a can of Coca-Cola that had a mouse sealed inside, making him ill and causing him to miss work. But the Coke folks say this just isn’t possible, since a mouse sealed in a soft drink can would have been more decomposed. [More]
Lawsuit: EpiPen Price Hikes Were Intended To Keep Competitor Out Of Pharmacies
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Competition is supposed to keep prices down, so why did the cost of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen continue to soar after the introduction of a competing product? Because, according to a new lawsuit, most of that added money was going to intermediaries who could make sure that EpiPen remained the preferred (and sometimes only) drug of its kind on insurance plans. [More]
Federal Appeals Court: After 11 Years, There’s No More Reason For Big Tobacco To Delay Warning Ads
By 4.25.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
It’s been more than a decade since a federal court ruled against the tobacco industry and ordered the nation’s largest cigarette producers to produce a new series of warning ads. Those warnings have yet to happen, as Big Tobacco has repeatedly appealed just about every aspect of the ruling. Today, one federal appeals panel handed the industry some very minor concessions while basically telling the companies to quit it already with all the legal butt-dragging. [More]
Court Says Eatery Was Wrong To Fire Server Who Called Boss A “Mother$%*!^r” On Facebook
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you go on Facebook today to call out your boss, using 12-letter profanities that imply your supervisor has carnal knowledge of their mother, and you also insult your boss’s spouse and kids, you probably won’t have a job to go to tomorrow. Yet a federal appeals court has ruled that a catering service at a well-known Manhattan landmark was in the wrong when it fired a server for this sort of Facebook rant, because that rant was ultimately about a bigger-picture labor dispute. [More]
EpiPen Maker Mylan Sued State That Gave Preferred Status To Cheaper Alternative
By 4.24.17
As the price for the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment soared by some 600%, Medicaid regulators in one state tried to de-prioritize the drug in favor of a less-expensive alternative. EpiPen’s parent company Mylan could have lowered the price on its signature product, but instead it chose to sue the state. [More]
Visa Under Investigation In Ohio For Debit Card Verification Practices
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Visa has revealed that at least one state attorney general’s office is looking into several aspects of the company’s debit card practices. [More]
Wells Fargo Adds Another $32 Million To Fake Account Settlement; Will Cover Customers Going Back To 2002
By 4.21.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Wells Fargo recently reached a $110 million deal that it hoped would close the books on a variety of class action lawsuits related to millions of fake accounts opened by Wells employees trying to game the bank’s system of sales quotas and incentives. That settlement was intended to cover affected Wells customers going back through 2009, but it’s now been expanded by $32 million to add compensation for bank accounts as far back as 2002. [More]
Debut Of Previously Unreleased Prince EP Blocked By Court Order
By 4.20.17
Songs that Prince recorded a decade before his untimely passing were slated to be released on April 21, the first anniversary of the artist’s death. However, a federal judge has barred these songs from being made public, at least temporarily, while it considers a dispute between Prince’s estate and the co-producer of that EP. [More]
Communities Push For Investigation Into Comcast’s ‘Broadcast TV’ & ‘Regional Sports’ Fees
By 4.20.17
Comcast is already being sued over its “Broadcast TV” and “Regional Sports” surcharges, with customers alleging that the cable company uses these fees to illegally raise rates. Now, several local regulators are calling on their state attorney general to investigate Comcast over these dubious add-on charges. [More]
Customer Says Bose Wireless Headphones Are Tracking What You Listen To & Sharing That Info Without Permission
By 4.19.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Listening to music on headphones is supposed to be a very private experience; just you and your tunes, minding your own business. Yet a new lawsuit claims that Bose is improperly collecting and sharing information about users of certain wireless headsets. [More]
Judge Says Uber Can’t Use “Deficient” Sign-Up Process To Strip Users Of Their Right To Sue
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Can Uber use some contractual language that users never actively acknowledge to force wronged customers out of the courtroom and break up class-action lawsuits? Currently, that depends on which federal judge you ask, with yet another court ruling that Uber may not be doing enough to tell users that they are giving up their right to a day in court. [More]
As Congress Preps To Scrap Prepaid Card Protections, Lawsuit Seeks Release Of Emails Between Lawmakers & Lobbyists
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
At some point in the coming weeks, Congress is set to consider a fast-tracked proposal that would nullify a slew of new protections for the millions of Americans who use prepaid debit cards. With the clock ticking down to that vote, a lawsuit is trying to compel the release of any communications about these rules between industry lobbyists, lawmakers, and federal regulators. [More]
