A new class action suit filed in California takes issue with how the iPad shuts off automatically if it overheats. In particular, however, the suit claims that the marketing phrase “reading on the iPad is just like reading a book” is misleading, and that Apple is therefore engaging in fraud and misleading consumers. This is great news for me, because I was thinking of suing Apple for not providing dustjackets for iBookstore titles but my friends told me I shouldn’t. [More]
lawsuits
Woman Sues Qantas Airline After Screaming Child Makes Her Deaf
By 7.26.10
A 67-year-old American woman traveling in Australia last year has sued Qantas, because she says a screaming baby on board one of their flights made her deaf. Now before shake your head, what she describes in her suit is pretty horrific: “The boy allegedly leaned back over his armrest toward [her] and let out a scream so severe that blood erupted from her ears, leaving her ‘stone cold deaf’.” On the other hand, Qantas maintains that it has no way of predicting when a child might scream, since children naturally do that sort of thing. [More]
Vitaminwater Isn't Healthy, Rules Federal Judge
By 7.24.10
A federal judge ruled this week that Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you “healthy as a horse.” Nor will it bring about a “healthy state of physical or mental being”. Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it’s composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater’s absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers. [More]
Unrefunded $25 Checked Bag Fee Turns Into $5 Million Lawsuit For American Airlines
By 7.23.10
American Airlines was the first of the major airlines to start tacking on fees for checked bags, and now its the first airline to face a class action lawsuit over the fees from a ticked-off passenger. And it all started over one piece of lost luggage. [More]
Trident Xtra Care Won't Save Your Teeth, Alleges Lawsuit
By 7.22.10
Sugar-free Trident Xtra Care gum makes a lot of bold statements about what it can do for your chompers, but a man in New York is claiming that it’s all a lot of hot air and has filed a lawsuit against Trident’s parent company over what he alleges is a misleading marketing campaign. [More]
Sears Settles Lawsuit Alleging Pricing Fraud
By 7.21.10
Sears paid out $1 million to settle a civil lawsuit with six California counties that accused the retailer of charging customers more for products than the advertised prices. [More]
Court Lifts Restraining Order On Facebook's Assets
By 7.21.10
Recently, a judge in New York slapped a restraining order on Facebook’s ability to transfer company assets after a web designer sued the site, claiming he is entitled to an 84% share of the company. But yesterday, the social networking giant got a bit of relief when a different judge reversed the earlier order. [More]
Judge Says KFC Must Answer For Oprah Coupon Debacle
By 7.13.10
Remember last year, when KFC vastly underestimated the popularity of Oprah Winfrey and left millions of customers holding worthless coupons for free grilled chicken meals? The fast food chain had recently asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit over the debacle, but the judge — probably a fan of Popeye’s — has said no. [More]
Yet Another Person Says He Owns Facebook
By 7.12.10
The WSJ says they have seen a copy of a contract (signed in 2003) giving an investor an 84% stake in the website that was to eventually become Facebook. This contract is now the subject of a new lawsuit against the privately held company. [More]
Johnson & Johnson Hit With Fraud And Racketeering Lawsuits Over Tylenol Recalls
By 7.12.10
The only thing more certain than stinky Tylenol this year is that there would be a lawsuit from consumers at some point, and now it’s happened. Five times, in fact. They’ve been filed against Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit and seek class action status, and accuse J&J/McNeil of failing to properly recall the bad drugs and of failing to adequately compensate consumers. [More]
Judge Gives Go-Ahead For Apple/AT&T/iPhone Class Action Suit
By 7.12.10
Three years after the first lawsuits were filed against Apple and AT&T alleging the two companies of antitrust violation, a judge in California has given the green light to consolidate several of the cases into a single class action suit. [More]
Judge Slashes RIAA's $675,000 File Sharing Award To $67,500
By 7.10.10
A federal judge yesterday bench slapped the Recording Industry of America, calling a jury’s $675,000 verdict against file sharer Joel Tenenbaum both eye-popping and unconstitutional. The judge struck a strikingly populist tone in reducing the verdict to $67,500, arguing that the same legal reasoning that protects large corporations from excessive punitive damages also protects “ordinary people” like Tenenbaum. [More]
Candwich, The Sandwich In A Can
By 7.9.10
The latest innovation in sandwich technology is the Candwich, the sandwich in a can. [More]
McDonald's: We're Not Strangers In The Playground Handing Out Candy To Kids
By 7.8.10
A few weeks ago, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (aka Buzzkill Central) made headlines by threatening to file a lawsuit against McDonald’s if the fast foodies didn’t stop putting toys in their Happy Meals. Perhaps not surprisingly, the boys and girls at the Golden Arches aren’t exactly pleased with the news. [More]
Customer Sues McDonald's & Walmart Over A Bone In Her Burger
By 7.7.10
Almost two years two the day after she claims she chomped into something hard in a McDonald’s double cheeseburger, a woman in Illinois has filed a lawsuit against the fast food giant. [More]
Woman Sues Movie Theater After Being Arrested For Filming Twilight Scenes
By 7.6.10
A woman who was arrested last November during a screening of whatever Twilight movie was in theaters at the time has filed suit against the movie chain. She says that she only filmed two short sequences, the opening credits and a moment when her “favorite actor” took off his shirt. Wisely, she does not say in her lawsuit whether she’s Team Beefcake or Team Emo, or my niece would possibly go ballistic. [More]
Mom Sues Starbucks After She Spills Hot Tea On Her Baby
By 7.6.10
It’s not surprising that a parent who accidentally scalds their child with hot tea would end up in a courtroom. But it isn’t usually the case that said parent is the plaintiff, suing Starbucks for doing what they do best — or at least do a lot of — serving hot beverages. [More]
Man Says Yoo-hoo's 'Good For You' Promise Is False Advertising
By 7.6.10
A Brooklyn man is suing the makers of Yoo-hoo, the weird chocolate-flavored drink that’s been around for 90 years, over their claims that the drink is as healthy as it is delicious. Although actually, if the company would change its description to “as healthy as it is delicious,” they’d probably be able to avoid all lawsuits: “Look, we told you it wasn’t healthy.” [More]
