The woman who took Honda to small claims court because her Civic didn’t live up to its advertised gas mileage is now almost $10,000 richer thanks to a Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner ruling. [More]
lawsuits
Why Olympus Is In Serious Trouble (And It Has Nothing To Do With Their Cameras)
By 1.10.12
For camera companies, 2011 is a year they’d like to forget — natural disasters have wreaked havoc on Japanese manufacturers and delayed many a product launch. But last summer, Olympus suffered a different kind of catastrophe, one that was man-made, but perhaps much more damaging, and which, if the company goes under, could affect consumers who own Olympus devices, such as cameras, audio recorders, or other products. For instance, it may be difficult to send a device back for repairs or replacement if there’s no company to send it to. [More]
SEC To Be Slightly Less Wimpy About Letting Violators Get Away Without Admitting Guilt
By 1.6.12
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been taking a lot of heat recently after a federal judge refused to sign off on its $285 million settlement with Citigroup because, as is usual in these types of deals, the bank would neither admit its guilt nor profess innocence, and no evidence was ever entered into the record. But now the SEC says it won’t be letting rulebreakers get off so easily — well, at least not all the time. [More]
Seller Sues eBay Because Bidders Don't Always Pay The Maximum
By 1.5.12
We’re sure that any number of you have set up automatic bidding on an eBay auction and ended up winning an item without getting anywhere near the maximum you’d have been willing to pay. But one seller on the auction site thinks eBay’s automated bidding system is unfairly biased in favor of buyers and has filed a lawsuit. [More]
Small New Hampshire Coffee Roaster Wins Legal Victory Over "Charbucks" Name
By 12.29.11
Since August of 1997, the folks at the Black Bear Mico Roastery in New Hampshire have been slinging pebbles at coffee colossus Starbucks over the smaller company’s “Charbucks” blend. And in spite of court rulings in favor of the little guy, Daddy Starbucks has continued to fight. But last week, a U.S. District Court in New York may have shut the door on the Seattle java slinger’s attempts to rid the world of Charbucks. [More]
Class-Action Lawsuit Has A Problem With Sun Chips And Tostitos Being Labeled "All Natural"
By 12.22.11
The meaning of the phrase “all natural” is in dispute in a class-action lawsuit recently filed against Frito Lay over claims that some of the company’s Tostitos and Sun Chips products may not live up to consumers’ expectations of an all-natural label. [More]
DOJ Settles With BofA For $335 Million Over Countrywide Pushing Minorities Into Subprime Loans
By 12.21.11
Nearly four years ago, we first reported on allegations that Countrywide Financial, the failed lender that was bought by Bank of America after it collapsed, had their system set up so that non-white loan applicants were steered toward subprime loans, even if they could have qualified for a standard mortgage. Well, the wheels of justice turn remarkably slowly in Washington, DC, but today the Justice Dept. finally announced a settlement with BofA for $335 million over these allegations. [More]
Lawsuit Over Facebook "Sponsored" Updates Allowed To Proceed
By 12.19.11
It’s been almost a year since Facebook began taking your “like” list and turning it into advertising via so-called “sponsored stories,” and on Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in California rejected the social networking site’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit that claims Facebook unjustly enriched itself with these ads by violating a California law pertaining to commercial endorsements. [More]
SEC Would Rather Fight Judge Than Try To Win A Real Victory Over Citigroup
By 12.15.11
Back in November, a U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan rained all over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Thanksgiving parade when he refused to sign off on the regulator’s $285 million settlement with Citigroup because — as is usual in these sorts of deals — the bank neither admitted guilt nor defended itself. But rather than take the judge’s decision as an impetus to push harder on Citi, the SEC reportedly just wants the court to stop being such a wet blanket and let it have its settlement already. [More]
Bank Of America Settles For $315 Million Over Bad Merrill Lynch Investments
By 12.6.11
Another day, another settlement for reigning Worst Company In America runner-up Bank of America. This time, BofA has agreed to pay $315 to plaintiffs in a class-action suit over mortgage-backed investments sold by Merrill Lynch, the once-great financial institution that BofA swooped in to save when it collapsed in 2008. [More]
Renting Doesn't Necessarily Protect You From Inept Mortgage Servicers
By 12.6.11
Whenever I bring up the ongoing mortgage and foreclosure fiasco (and yes, this topic does come up often in my casual conversation; which is probably why I’m single), at least one of my renter friends cavalierly states that he or she is happy to not have to worry about having a bank wrongly foreclose on them, or mistakenly seize their stuff. But as the following story shows, that just isn’t so. [More]
Woman Sues Car Dealership Over Dead Body Smell
By 12.5.11
When buying a motor vehicle, many customers want that “new car smell.” But we’re going to go out on a limb here and assume that most car buyers don’t want something you’d refer to as “dead body smell.” [More]
Man Sues Lender For Revealing To Wife That Another Woman Was Making His Car Payments
By 12.2.11
A man in Chicago has filed a lawsuit against the company that serviced his car loan for allegedly ruining his marriage by revealing, via a voice mail, that another woman was making loan payments for him. [More]
Lawsuit: Airplane Food Killed American Airlines Passenger
By 12.2.11
The family of a man who died on board a flight to Miami in May has sued American Airlines and the company that provided the in-flight meal, alleging that airplane food is what caused the passenger’s death. [More]
Patient Sues Dentist Who Threatened Legal Action Over Yelp Reviews
By 12.1.11
A number of dentists who fear what effect a negative review on a site like Yelp can have on their business have been compelling patients to sign “privacy agreements” that aim to stop annoyed customers from going public with their complaints. But one patient has decided that these agreements go too far, especially after his comments on Yelp resulted in his dentist coming after him for money. [More]
Judge Blocks $285 Million Settlement Against Citigroup Because The Bank Won't Admit Wrongdoing
By 11.28.11
Earlier this fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a whopping $285 million settlement with Citigroup over allegations that the bank misled investors in a 2007 mortgage derivatives deal. But that triumph was short-lived, as a judge has decided to block the settlement because of a standard settlement condition wherein the bank is allowed to close the case without admitting guilt or denying the allegations. [More]
Chick-Fil-A Threatens Legal Action Against T-Shirt Maker For Encouraging Eating Of Kale
By 11.28.11
If you’ve lived anywhere near a Chick-fil-A restaurant, you’re probably familiar with the billboards and other ads featuring cows and their hoof-painted signs encouraging you to “eat mor chikin,” a phrase that’s been trademarked by the fast food company. But heaven forbid you use those words in their correct formats to promote the eating of something other than Chick-fil-A. [More]
GameStop Employee Sues For Time Spent Being Checked For Stolen Games
By 11.23.11
Considering that so much of the retail theft that occurs each year is a result of sticky-fingered employees, some stores like GameStop have apparently instituted policies that require staffers to be checked for pilfered product when they go to take a break during the workday. But one employee at the video game chain says these breaks cut into the amount of time allotted for mandatory lunch and rest breaks — and he’s suing to get paid for that time. [More]
