A month ago, a U.S. District Court threw out a lawsuit filed by a group of organic farmers who hoped to prevent lawsuits from seed titan Monsanto should their crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s patented, genetically modified seeds. Now those same farmers are hoping to get another day in court by appealing the case. [More]
lawsuits
Google's New Privacy Policy Leads To At Least Four Class-Action Lawsuits
By 3.26.12
Google’s new privacy policies, which allow the company to combine user data across all its various products (Google, Gmail, YouTube, Google+), have only been in effect for a few weeks, but they have already resulted in at least four class-action suits from consumers. [More]
83-Year-Old Customer + Apple Store Door = Broken Nose + $1 Million Lawsuit
By 3.26.12
Of all the complaints we received from readers who nominated Apple for Worst Company In America, we’re pretty sure that none mentioned the apparent dangers of glass doors at its retail outlets. But one elderly NYC woman says she not only broke her nose when she walked into these perilous panes, she thinks her pain is worth a seven-figure settlement. [More]
Judge: Towing Co. Should Not Have Sold Deployed Sailor's Jeep
By 3.23.12
Nearly five years after having his Jeep sold without his knowledge or approval by a towing company while he was deployed on a U.S. Navy ship, an enlisted man is finally getting a bit of justice. [More]
DOJ: AT&T Billed U.S. Gov't For Around $15 Million In Fraudulent Calls
By 3.22.12
The Dept. of Justice has filed a lawsuit against AT&T, alleging that the telecom giant billed the U.S. government for millions of dollars related to phone services intended to be used by hearing-impaired callers. [More]
FTC Cracks Down On Bogus Mortgage Relief Lawsuits
By 3.22.12
If you live in an area hit hard by the collapse of the housing market, you might have received a letter from a company promising that if you join other struggling homeowners in filing lawsuits against your lender, you can get mortgage relief, a cash reward and maybe even the title to your home. What it doesn’t mention is that you could end up being scammed out of thousands of dollars. [More]
How Do I Tell My Relatives I Won't Give Them Money?
By 3.22.12
R. really would have preferred it if his lawyer had kept his trap shut. See, R. has a five-figure settlement coming from a lawsuit, and the lawyer somehow just happened to mention this to one of R.’s relatives. (That’s kind of, um, wrong, and could get the lawyer in trouble if he reported it.) His question for the Consumerist Hive Mind is this: now that they know he’s getting some money, how can he stop his relatives from approaching him with their hands out? [More]
Theater Owner: I Charge So Much For Popcorn Because You Spill It All Over The Place
By 3.20.12
Earlier this month, a man in Michigan attained minor Internet folk hero status when he sued his local movie theater for charging sky-high prices at the concession stand while refusing to let customers bring in their own grub. But now one theater owner has tried to explain just why he and others charge the so much. [More]
Judge Certifies Class-Action Status For Abercrombie & Fitch Gift Card Lawsuit
By 3.15.12
Abercrombie & Fitch could soon learn a huge lesson in bad marketing practices. A federal judge has given the go-ahead to a class-action lawsuit against the retailer that alleges it handed out gift cards with no expiration date only to later tell customers that their cards had expired. [More]
AT&T Offers To Discuss Settlement With Man Who Won Throttling Lawsuit
By 3.14.12
UPDATE: While both the AP and CNET reported that the letter from AT&T’s lawyer “threatened to shut off his service if he didn’t sit down and talk with them,” AT&T has reached out to Consumerist to clarify that the letter only threatens to terminate the customer’s service only if he signed the nondisclosure agreement and then violated the terms of that agreement. We have subsequently confirmed this with a source who has seen a copy of the letter.
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Spirit Airlines Sued Over $2 "Unintended Consequences Fee"
By 3.9.12
Back in February, a new regulation kicked in that allows fliers to change their flights without penalty within the first 24 hours after booking. The folks at Spirit Airlines responded by tacking on a $2 “Dept. of Transportation Unintended Consequences Fee,” which they said was to cover the added costs resulting from the new rule. But a woman in Illinois says it’s just plain fraud. [More]
Man Sues Movie Theater Over Price Of Snacks
By 3.6.12
Unless you smuggle your nibbles and beverages into a movie theater, grabbing a bite to eat at the movie theater can easily double or triple the cost of your ticket. But one Michigan man is fed up with being gouged at the concession stand and has filed suit against his local AMC theater. [More]
McDonald's Customer Can't Sue Golden Arches For Attack By Spatula-Wielding Cashier
By 3.1.12
After 12 years of legal wrangling over an altercation between a customer and a McDonald’s employee, the Mississippi Court of Appeals has confirmed that the restaurant chain can not be sued over the fast food fisticuffs. [More]
Tips For Anyone Thinking Of Taking AT&T To Small Claims Court
By 2.28.12
Last week, a man in California made headlines after his small claims court victory over AT&T for the wireless provider’s throttling of his unlimited data plan. Since then, a number of AT&T customers have wondered if they also have grounds for a complaint. [More]
Farmers Fail At Suing Monsanto Before Monsanto Sues Them
By 2.27.12
Seed industry titan Monsanto is infamous for its patent infringement lawsuits against farmers for allegedly using its proprietary seeds without paying. Defendants often claim that Monsanto seeds are so prevalent that crops can’t help but become contaminated. And some farmers say they have stopped growing certain crops out of fear that they may someday be sued. [More]
Hotels.com Customer Files Class-Action Suit Over Price Match Guarantee
By 2.22.12
On its website and in its ads, Hotels.com touts its Price Match Guarantee which says the company will match any lower published room rate — so long as the dates, hotel and room category match, and as long as the price match request is made before that hotel’s cancellation date. But one customer says Hotels.com’s policy isn’t so cut-and-dry and has filed a class-action lawsuit. [More]
Woman Sues Wells Fargo For Telling Police She Was Contemplating Suicide
By 2.7.12
An elderly Oregon woman has filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo, alleging that a bank employee harassed her by telling the police she was threatening suicide — and running up a $1,055 hospital bill in the process. [More]
Lawsuit: You Can't Charge Me With Downloading Porn Because You Can't Copyright Obscenity
By 2.3.12
For the first several years of the entertainment industry’s crackdown on online piracy, American pornographers did very little to go after the people who filled up gigabyte after gigabyte of hard drive space with bittorrented x-rated material. But in recent years, realizing there is money to be made by merely threatening “John Doe” defendants with making their names and downloading habits public, that has begun to change. But one California woman is fighting back, claiming that the porn she didn’t violate copyright laws because the porn she’s accused of downloading isn’t copyrightable. [More]
