A year ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case. It decided that a company could force customers into arbitration — and effectively pre-empt any class-action lawsuits — by including a tiny clause in their contracts. At the time, AT&T had the gall to claim that this was all for the benefit of you, the consumer, but a new study proves what you probably already guessed: AT&T was full of it. [More]
lawsuits
Report: Debt Collectors Work In Emergency Rooms, Demand Payment Before Patients Receive Care
By 4.24.12
One of the nation’s largest medical debt collection companies — already the subject of a lawsuit over alleged privacy violations — finds itself in more hot water as newly released documents claim that agency employees are actually working in hospital emergency rooms and sometimes demanding that patients pay up before they receive any further medical attention. [More]
MetLife Hit With $500 Million Settlement Over "Death Master" File
By 4.23.12
The Social Security Administration’s “Death Master” File sounds like something that is guarded by a specter resembling the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but it’s really just a list of everyone who has recently moved on to another plane of existence. Regardless, the nation’s largest life insurance company is now on the hook for $500 million after being accused of using the Death Master File for its own benefit while ignoring it when it could benefit others. [More]
Citi Shareholders Sue Bank's Directors For Paying Executives Too Much
By 4.20.12
Earlier this week, the shareholders of Citigroup said “hell no!” to the notion of paying company CEO Vikram Pandit $15 million. Today, they took their anger a step further and filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying Citi execs should not be rewarded for doing a so-so job. [More]
NY Attorney General Files $300 Million Lawsuit Against Sprint
By 4.19.12
Earlier today, the Attorney General for the state of New York accused the folks at Sprint-Nextel Corp of deliberately failing to collect more than $100 million in sales tax from customers — and now he wants the nation’s third-largest wireless provider to pay up. [More]
Apple Willing To Stand Trial On E-Book Price-Fixing Allegations
By 4.18.12
Even though three of the publishers accused of colluding with Apple to fix prices on e-books have already settled with the Dept. of Justice, the electronics giant continues to assert its innocence and wants the opportunity to answer the charges in court. [More]
Lawsuit: KFC Franchisee Fired Employees For Refusing To Serve Expired Chicken
By 4.18.12
A former manager at a KFC eatery in Oregon alleges that the owner of his franchise not only ordered employees to serve expired chicken, but also that employees who refused to do so were fired. [More]
Seattle Man Victorious Over Apple In Small Claims Court
By 4.17.12
Chalk up another win for the little guy! A blogger in Seattle says he just wanted Apple to repair his MacBook as the company had promised. When Apple refused, he felt he had no other option but to take the computing colossus to court. [More]
Lawsuit: Verizon Sold Me A DSL Plan It Couldn't Deliver
By 4.16.12
A Verizon customer in California says the telecom titan screwed her over by selling her on a higher-priced DSL tier that it should have known could never possibly deliver the promised speeds. [More]
TV's "Green Millionaire" No Longer As Wealthy, Must Refund $2 Million To Customers
By 4.16.12
Back in 2010, we warned you about how those late-night infomercials for The Green Millionaire appeared to just be a way to trick people into incredibly expensive magazine subscriptions. Looks like those suspicions were right, as the people behind the scheme have agreed to refund around $2 million to bilked consumers. [More]
NJ Couple Sues Landlord Because "Poltergeist" Was Not On List Of Included Amenities
By 4.16.12
There are a number of things that new tenants usually discover soon after signing a lease — pipes that leak, mice in the walls, noisy neighbors, angry ghosts that haunt the premises. A family in New Jersey is suing their landlord over one of these reasons… take a guess which one it is. [More]
DOJ Agrees On E-Book Price-Fixing Settlement With Three Publishers
By 4.11.12
Only hours after filing suit against Apple and six book publishers over allegations of e-book price-fixing, the Justice Dept. said has agreed on settlement terms with three of those publishing companies — HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. [More]
California GameStops To Warn Used-Game Buyers That "Free DLC" Isn't Necessarily Free
By 4.10.12
While some experienced buyers of used video games may know that the “free additional content” burst on game’s packaging probably only applied to the original purchase of the game. But as part of a class-action settlement announced earlier today, GameStop stores in California will now alert buyers that any additional downloadable content (aka DLC) will likely have to be purchased separately. [More]
Jury Awards $34 Million To Alzheimer's Patient After Insurance Company Cuts Off Care
By 4.10.12
A jury in Montana awarded a monster of a verdict to a 90-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s Disease after her insurance company cancelled her long-term care policy because it decided she didn’t actually need the level of medical care she was receiving. [More]
Judge Tosses Happy Meal Lawsuit Into The Deep Fryer
By 4.4.12
It’s been a while since we heard about that lawsuit against McDonald’s alleging that the fast food company exploits children by using toys and other kid-centric marketing techniques to get them to want Happy Meals. But earlier today, a judge in San Francisco dismissed the suit. [More]
Ohio Lawmakers Choose Expediency Over Consumers' Rights
By 4.4.12
Earlier this week, the Governor of Ohio signed into law new legislation that gives businesses accused of cheating customers a new option for resolving lawsuits while taking away rights from consumers who sue. [More]
Auto Loan Modification Services Accused Of Bilking Consumers
By 4.4.12
While a lot of focus has been put on scammers who trick homeowners into costly schemes by promising to reduce their mortgage payments, people are also being taken in by bogus businesses that claim to help with auto loans. [More]
FTC: Payday Lender Can't Avoid Prosecution By Claiming Tribal Affiliation
By 4.3.12
A Colorado payday loan operation that allegedly piled on undisclosed and inflated fees — and which attempted to avoid prosecution by claiming affiliation with Native American tribes — has been sued by the Federal Trade Commission, which says the sovereign immunity laws don’t prevent investigations by the feds. [More]
