While municipalities around the country continue to talk smack about sugary drinks, often while trying to slap a hefty tax on the beverages, the pop industry has been fighting back in the courtroom. [More]
lawsuits
Florida Restaurant Sues Wendy's Over "You Can't Fake Fresh" Slogan
By 7.15.11
Many of the trademark infringement stories we cover involve mammoth corporations picking on smaller, unrelated businesses, but this one’s a bit different. A small chain of seafood restaurants in Florida has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Wendy’s over the use of the phrase “You can’t fake fresh.” [More]
Guy Arrested For Saggy Pants Plans To Sue US Airways
By 7.14.11
Yesterday, all charges were dropped against a University of New Mexico football player who was thrown off a plane and arrested by a US Airways pilot last month for wearing pj’s that sagged off his posterior. Today his attorney says that Deshon plans on suing US Airways over how he was treated. [More]
Bank Of America Paying Out $410 Million For Reordering Your Transactions To Maximize Overdraft Fees
By 7.14.11
What makes this Bank of America $410 million class action settlement special is that it’s over a basic consumer banking business practice. For years, banks have been processing your daily transactions in order from highest to lowest, rather than real-time. They say they’re doing us a favor so that if we have a check bounce, it’s the one for the babysitter and not the mortgage payment. But this class action suit claims that Bank of America did this to unjustly enrich itself. It’s one of over 60 lawsuits against various banks for similar practices, and it could reshape the entire industry. [More]
Lawsuit Accusing Starbucks Of Denying Tips Dismissed
By 7.13.11
A group of former assistant managers of New York Starbucks sued the company, saying it violated state labor laws by denying them tips. A U.S. District judge stiffed the workers, dismissing the suit because they didn’t show they had the right to the gratuities. [More]
Lawsuit Alleges Citi Illegally Foreclosed On Thousands Of Soldiers' Homes
By 7.12.11
An Iraq War veteran has filed a potential class-action lawsuit against CitiGroup’s CitiMortgage division, alleging that the lender violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by foreclosing on his home and that of “thousands” of other active-duty soldiers. [More]
Judge Allows Amazon To Keep Using Appstore Name For Now
By 7.7.11
The legal war between Apple and Amazon over the term “App Store” continues, but a judge has handed the most recent battle to the e-tailer, denying Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Amazon’s online Appstore. [More]
Airlines Can't Convince Court They Are Being Overcharged For TSA Screening
By 7.6.11
Even though the screeners at airport security checkpoints in the U.S. are employees of the Transportation Security Administration and those fancy new see-through-your-clothes machines are technically paid for by the feds, the airlines still have to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars per year for security theater. Several of them claim the TSA is overcharging to the tune of $115 million. An appeals court disagrees. [More]
Investors To Challenge $8.5 Billion Bank Of America Settlement
By 7.5.11
Last week’s $8.5 billion settlement agreement between Bank of America and 22 investment groups over tainted securities, is being challenged but not by BofA. Rather, one group of bondholders claim the bank got off too easy. [More]
Michigan Inmate Sues Because He's Denied Porn
By 7.5.11
A 21-year-old Michigan inmate has filed a lawsuit that contends he’s been stripped of civil rights because he isn’t allowed to look at porn, claiming his lack of access to the material gives him a “poor standard of living” and “sexual and sensory deprivation.” [More]
Exxon Mobil Ordered To Pay $1.5 Billion Over Maryland Gasoline Leak
By 7.1.11
A jury in Baltimore County, Maryland, has ordered petroleum giant Exxon Mobil to pay $1.5 billion in damages to residents and businesses of a town affected by a gasoline leak in 2006. [More]
Chase Drops Thousands Of Debt Collection Cases Against Borrowers
By 7.1.11
Chase is dropping thousands of pending debt collection cases against defaulted credit card borrowers, WSJ reports. Remember the big deal over robo-signing foreclosure cases a few months ago? The problem of bulk signing sloppy paperwork, and, in some case, filing fraudulent documents, could be even bigger when it comes to credit cards. It looks like JP Morgan Chase is trying to get its house in order before they’re forced to by government and legal forces. [More]
Allegedly Scammy Roofers Set Up Website To Warn People About Scammy Roofers
By 6.30.11
Earlier this week, lawyers for the state of Illinois accused a roofing company of swooping into storm-damaged areas, selling its services to homeowners in need and then leaving shoddy, incomplete or never-started repairs in its wake. It’s a scam that is all too common following a devastating natural disaster. Just ask the defendants, who had a warning about such bad behavior on their own website. [More]
Get $15 In Rice Krispies Cereal Class Action
By 6.27.11
You don’t have to show a proof of purchase to claim $15 in a class action lawsuit against Kellogg. Just be someone who bought Kellog’s Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies between June 1, 2009 and March, 1 2010. [More]
I Sued Dish Network And Won (Because Dish Never Showed Up At Court)
By 6.27.11
One of the more common complaints we get about cable and satellite providers is that, while customers are held to ironclad contracts that lock them into strict terms lest they pay a penalty, providers too often change their end of the agreement with impunity. Luckily, there are people out there like Consumerist reader Alex, who took Dish Network to court and walked out victorious… when the satellite company was a no-show. [More]
Lawsuit Accuses Home Depot Of Violating Buy American Act
By 6.27.11
Home Depot is taking legal heat for possibly violating the Buy American Act of 1933, which requires that materials used to build public construction products come from the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the company due to accusations that it purchases products from China and other foreign countries, and offers those products to government agencies online. [More]
Judge: Apple's "App Store" Suit Against Amazon Will Probably Fail
By 6.24.11
It looks like Steve Jobs may have found his Waterloo in his war to defend Apple’s application to trademark the phrase “App Store.” A federal judge has advised the company that it will likely lose its lawsuit against Amazon.com over the e-tailer’s Appstore. [More]
