At the same time as AIG thanks America, quite literally, in new ads boasting about the company’s repayment of its $182 billion bailout by the taxpayers, its board is reportedly getting ready to decide whether or not to jump on a $25 billion lawsuit filed by AIG’s former CEO against the U.S. government. [More]
lawsuits
Bank Of America To Pay $11.6 Billion In Latest Countrywide Settlement
By 1.7.13
Like someone who thought they were buying a nice little fixer-upper at a bargain only to find that every ounce of the property is covered in lead paint and asbestos, Bank of America’s 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial continues to eat away at the company’s coffers. [More]
You Have Until April 1 To Claim Refund On These Misleading Dietary Supplements & Cold Remedies
By 1.7.13
It’s been more than two years since the government settled with Iovate, the makers of dietary supplements Accelis, nanoSLIM cold/allergy treatments Cold MD, Germ MD, or Allergy MD, over allegations that these products didn’t provide the benefits they promised. Now it’s time for affected consumers to get their refunds. [More]
Transocean Pleads Guilty, Agrees To Pay $1.4 Billion To Settle Charges Related To Gulf Oil Spill
By 1.3.13
Transocean, the offshore drilling company that operated, on BP’s behalf, the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon rig whose collapse resulted in multiple deaths and untold amounts of oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico, has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties. [More]
Maker Of ‘Nap Nanny’ Fights Recall Of Product Linked To Death Of Five Infants
By 1.3.13
We’ve been following the saga of the Nap Nanny baby recliner since it was first recalled back in 2010 following the death of one child. Then in early December, the government filed suit against the company after learning of several additional fatalities. Now, the company is fighting back. [More]
Patent Trolls Demanding $1,000/Employee From Businesses That Dare To Use A Scanner
By 1.3.13
Sick of going up against huge companies that have teams of experienced lawyers at their disposal, patent trolls are apparently turning to smaller companies and demanding bizarre royalty payments simply for using basic office technology on which the trolls claim they have the patent. [More]
Virginia Supreme Court: Businesses Can’t Censor Yelp Reviews Until They Prove Statements Are Libelous
By 1.2.13
As we’ve covered numerous times, online review sites like Yelp can become a nasty battleground between unhappy consumers and business owners who take issue with what they claim are overly negative, sometimes malicious, comments. Last week, Virginia’s highest court ruled against one such business that had tried to squelch a customer’s reviews. [More]
Towing Companies Sue Seattle For Right To Charge More Than $183/Hour
By 12.27.12
The city of Seattle recently enacted an ordinance that would put a cap on towing an impound fees, but apparently $183 for the first hour of a tow followed by $130/hour after that is not enough for the tow companies of the King City, which have filed suit to stop the city from enforcing the cap. [More]
Court: Wells Fargo Misled Customers About Debit Card Transactions But Doesn’t Have To Pay Back $203 Million (Yet)
By 12.27.12
It was a good news/bad news day at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, as the court set aside a $203 million judgement against Wells Fargo for the way it processed debit card transactions, but kept the door open to hope that consumers might see some of that money. [More]
Should Stores That Sell Cigarettes Have To Post Apology From Big Tobacco?
By 12.26.12
Last month, the government’s seemingly interminable lawsuit against the tobacco industry appeared to be nearing something resembling an end, as the judge ruled that cigarette makers must publish apologies for their deception in ads and on packaging. What’s still undecided is whether stores must also post the apology. [More]
Settlement Ends 4-Year Dispute About Spit In Burger King Customer’s Whopper Jr.
By 12.21.12
In Nov. 2008, an Ohio man says he stopped into a Pennsylvania Burger King and got something a little extra on his Whopper Jr. — a dollop of employee spit. He subsequently sued the franchisee who operates the restaurant, alleging the incident was racially motivated. Well, the matter has finally been settled without going to trial. [More]
McDonald’s Employee Says She Was Fired For Being Too Generous With McFlurry Topping
By 12.19.12
In my Dairy Queen days, friends would come up to the window and ask for free extra toppings. I’d refuse, knowing my boss monitored every transaction via camera and that it wasn’t worth losing a job over an extra pump of fudge. But a former McDonald’s employee has successfully sued the restaurant for firing her for providing a few extra sprinkles on a pal’s McFlurry. [More]
Milk, Aspirin, Broadband, And LivingSocial: Some Class Actions You Might Be Eligible For
By 12.14.12
Organic milk, LivingSocial vouchers, Norton Antivirus, Verizon Wireless games, and Clearwire Internet service: what do they all have in common? All of these companies have open class-action lawsuits against them for which eligible customers can file claims and get cash. [More]
Southwest Owes Passengers $29 Million In Free Drinks
By 12.14.12 — Updated: 1.21.13
August 1, 2010 is a day that many Southwest Airlines Business Select fliers know well. It’s the day on which the carrier stopped allowing these passengers to carry over their unused free drink vouchers to future flights. More than two years and one class-action settlement later, Southwest is having to buy a lot of rounds. [More]
Advocates Ask Court To Unmask Company Behind Anonymous Consumer Safety Lawsuit
By 12.13.12
We previously told you how a company from somewhere in the U.S. that presumably makes some sort of product had sued the Consumer Product Safety Commission without having to publicly reveal its identity or any relevant details about the case. Now, a group of consumer advocates are again asking the court to identify the plaintiff in the case. [More]
Pfizer Hit With $43 Million Settlement For Misleading Marketing Of Drugs
By 12.12.12
The attorneys general of 33 states and the District of Columbia have reached a $43 million settlement with pharma giant Pfizer over allegations that the company ignored FDA warnings and made misleading marketing claims about its drugs Zyvox and Lyrica. [More]
Former Customer Claims Comcast Error Ultimately Cost Him $26,000
By 12.12.12
When a man in Washington, D.C., canceled his Comcast service in 2010, he probably had no idea that this decision could set off a chain of events that would damage his credit and have him paying more for to refinance his house — and ultimately ending up pleading his case in a U.S. District Court. [More]
Wells Fargo Being Sued (Again) Over Pick-A-Pay Loans
By 12.11.12
Wells Fargo continues to get kicked in the shins for the sins of Wachovia. Two years after agreeing to massive settlements with borrowers over that former bank’s Pick-A-Pay loans and hundreds of millions more in settlements to investors, new legal filings allege Wells Fargo hasn’t make good on promised mortgage reductions. [More]
