Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ words came back to haunt the electronics company today. Its attempt to have a judge dismiss charges of e-book price-fixing were refused, in part because of things Jobs said during his time with Apple. [More]
lawsuits
Alleged Customer Sues Over 2010 Racist Walmart PA Prank
By 5.16.12
Loyal Consumerist readers and retail-watchers may remember the 2010 incident in which a 16-year-old took over the PA system of a New Jersey Walmart and announced, “Attention Walmart customers: all black people must leave the store.” The prankster had done the same thing a few months before, and was charged with harassment and bias intimidation for each incident. Now, more than two years later, someone has filed a lawsuit against the store over the incident. He claims to have been in the store at the time of the prank, and that the incident led to “depression, anxiety, anger, loss of sleep and appetite, paranoia, and antisocial tendencies.” [More]
Avis Customers Sue Over E-Z Pass "Convenience" Fee
By 5.11.12 — Updated: 9.8.16
Have you noticed that anytime a company charges something labeled a “convenience fee,” it only angers customers more? For example, a recently filed class-action claim alleges that car rental biggie Avis didn’t fully disclose the details of the convenience fee it charges customers who rent vehicles equipped with E-Z Pass devices. [More]
General Mills Must Defend Claim That Fruit Roll-Ups Are "Made With Real Fruit"
By 5.11.12
It’s been a while since we heard any updates on that class-action lawsuit against General Mills over its claims that Fruit Roll-Ups are “made with real fruit.” Well, yesterday the judge in the case gave it the go-ahead to proceed. [More]
Movers Accused Of Holding Items Hostage In Exchange For Sex, Cash
By 5.11.12
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has filed a lawsuit against a moving company, claiming dozens of cases in which movers allegedly held customers’ items hostage until they paid charges that were several times the quoted cost. One woman claims she was told she could get could get her items off the truck — if she had sex with them. [More]
Honda Wins Reversal Of Small-Claims Judgment Over Hybrid Mileage
By 5.9.12
Remember that story of the Honda owner who won nearly $10,000 in small claims court after she opted out of the $100-200 settlement from the class-action lawsuit alleging that the car maker made misleading claims about the gas mileage of its Civic hybrid vehicles? Well, her glory didn’t last long. A judge in California has overturned that judgment. [More]
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over eBay's Automatic Bidding System
By 5.9.12
Back in January, we told you about the eBay seller who had filed a lawsuit alleging the auction website’s automatic bidding system was preventing sellers from getting the maximum amount a bidder would have been willing to pay. But earlier this week, a judge dismissed the proposed class-action suit. [More]
Wells Fargo Prepping For Possible Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
By 5.8.12
Though it hasn’t been formally accused of anything by the government, Wells Fargo let it be known in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission that the Justice Dept. may soon be alleging the bank was involved in discriminating against minority mortgage applicants. [More]
Skipped Step Results In Mass. Police Writing 896 Illegal Speeding Tickets
By 5.8.12
It’s a pretty big case of “Ooops,” on the part of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation, which forgot to follow its own regulations when it determined the speed limit on a new stretch of road in Salem. Now, nearly 900 speeding tickets could be reversed — if the drivers are willing to go to court. [More]
FTC Goes After Nation's Largest 3rd-Party Billing Company For Profiting Off Bill-Cramming
By 5.8.12
The federal crackdown on the practice of landline bill-cramming — the slathering on of charges for often unauthorized third-party services onto consumers’ phone bills — continues, with the Federal Trade Commission accusing the country’s largest third-party billing business of attempting to cram $70 million worth of bogus charges down consumers’ throats. [More]
Nudie Mag's Lawsuit Could Have Far-Reaching Impact On Tumblr, Pinterest
By 5.7.12
I’ve heard a rumor that there are a number of Tumblr pages that may feature nudity. Furthermore, some of these pages contain nude images to which someone else holds the copyright. One such copyright holder has filed a lawsuit against Tumblr which, if successful, could impact a lot more than just pictures of boobs, buns and bits. [More]
Woman Spends Night In Jail For Picking Up Prescription Refill
By 5.7.12
Police in Dallas added insult to injury when they arrested a woman in a leg brace for a shattered knee on charges of forging her painkiller prescription, even though her doctor says no one ever checked with him to see if the ‘scrip was legitimate. [More]
Woman Sues Southwest To Clarify "Customers Of Size" Policy
By 5.4.12
You may remember the story from last year about a woman who was not allowed on a Southwest Airlines flight after allegedly being told she was “too fat to fly.” The airline apologized for the incident, but the woman is filing a lawsuit in an attempt to get Southwest to clearly define its “Customers of Size” policy. [More]
How Many Minutes Should Store Employees Get To Clean Up Baby Vomit?
By 5.1.12
If you’re walking down the aisle of a grocery store and a customer only a few feet in front of you accidentally drops a glass jar on the floor, you would have a hard time blaming the store if you got nicked by a piece of glass. But what if that shattered jar had been there for an hour? Thirty minutes? Ten minutes? This is the question that will soon face a jury in a slip-and-fall lawsuit against Target. [More]
FTC Wins Judgment Against Makers Of 3 Get-Rich-Quick Infomercials
By 5.1.12
We don’t know why people still fall prey to infomercials promising easy paths to riches. And yet, the Federal Trade Commission says a trio of popular get-rich-quick programs — all backed by the same two people — took consumers for a total of $450 million by misleading them into believing they could quickly earn piles of cash in real estate or Internet marketing. [More]
There's Actually A Settlement In Nutella 'Health Food' Class Action Lawsuit
By 4.26.12
Remember last year, when various media outlets reported that the mother of a four-year-old child was suing the makers of Nutella for advertising it as a health food? Everyone thought that this was hilarious, because hey, lady, fat-laden choco-paste ain’t a health food. It’s time for us all to stop laughing now, because the class-action lawsuit has been settled for about $3 million, $2.5 million of which is going to consumers willing to admit that they can’t read a nutrition label. [More]
Woman Wins $10 Million Judgement Against Collections Agency, Has Trouble Collecting
By 4.25.12
Last year, a woman in West Virginia won a $10 million lawsuit against a collections agency she’d accused of using deception and threats in an attempt to collect a non-existent debt. But considering that no one from the agency even showed up at the trial, it seems unlikely that she’ll ever see a nickel. [More]
Shareholder Sues Walmart Board Over Mexico Bribery Allegations
By 4.25.12
The fallout continues over WalmartMexicoGate, a term I just made up right now that will likely never be used again. A shareholder in the nation’s largest retailer has filed a lawsuit against the company’s board of directors over the bad press tied to allegations that Walmart spent millions of dollars bribing folks in Mexico. [More]
