As expected, fantasy sports businesses are fighting back against the New York state attorney general’s determination that DraftKings and FanDuel are actually illegal gambling sites and should not be allowed to operate in the state. This morning, both DraftKings and FanDuel asked the court to overturn that decision. [More]
NEW YORK
The Law That Allows DraftKings & FanDuel To Exist May Be The One That Comes Back To Bite Them
By 11.12.15
Earlier this week, the New York state attorney general’s office directed FanDuel and DraftKings to cease operating in the state after investigators concluded that these sites constitute a form of illegal gambling. The sites have vowed to fight this order, which would wipe out around 10% of their existing customer base, but the federal law that has allowed fantasy sports to exist may be the one that hurts them. [More]
New York Tells DraftKings & FanDuel To Cease Operations In The State
By 11.10.15
Almost a month after Nevada declared that daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are unlicensed gambling operations and barred them from operating in the state, New York appears to have come to a similar conclusion. [More]
Lowe’s Agrees To $1.1M In Refunds Over Sketchy Flooring Installation Price Quotes
By 11.5.15
When a company tells gives you a “per square foot” price for flooring, it would be nice to know if that means “per square foot of the floor(s) being covered” or “per square foot of the material ordered to do the job,” because those are often two very different numbers. For years, Lowe’s failed to make this distinction, which is why the home improvement retailer has agreed to refund up to $1.1 million to flooring customers in New York state. [More]
Lyft Can Send You Free Zombies On Demand For Halloween
By 10.28.15
Companies that send vehicles on demand also enjoy giving people the ability to summon other things with the power of their smartphones, like when Uber let people in select cities summon puppies and kittens or free fruit deliveries when the company was suspended from giving rides in Germany. Lyft’s Halloween publicity stunt is less cuddly and more spooky: they’ll send you zombies on demand if you order one. [More]
State Attorney General Wants To Know If New Yorkers Are Actually Getting The Broadband They Pay For
By 10.26.15
It’s a pretty basic tenet of American commerce: if someone advertises something to you at a certain price, they actually have to provide you that thing at that price. Like, for example, a broadband internet connection: if a company like Verizon, Cablevision, or Time Warner Cable says it will give you a connection of a certain speed, it’s supposed to make good. But in one sate, the top legal office thinks the ISPs may not be making good on their claims, and wants to know what’s up. [More]
Settlement Between New York, Tobacco Companies Provides $550M For Smoking-Related Health Costs
By 10.20.15
A decades-long dispute between the New York Attorney General’s Office and major tobacco firms over payments the companies were required to make for smoking-related public-health costs, but refused to dish out, has come to an end. A new settlement between the parties directs the tobacco companies to deliver $550 million to the state, New York City and other counties. [More]
If You Want To Use Amazon Fresh You’ll Have To Pay $299/Year For PrimeFresh First
By 10.19.15
How much are you willing to pay to have bags of fresh produce, and other grocery items delivered to your door anytime of the year? If you live in Seattle, Philadelphia, or New York, Amazon’s hoping $299/year is the magic number. [More]
NYC Officials Grill Verizon About Incomplete FiOS Rollout
By 10.14.15
A few months back, the city of New York released a damning audit of Verizon’s FiOS rollout in the Big Apple. According to Verizon, they have met their obligation to bring service to New York as laid out in the franchise agreement. But according to New Yorkers, the telecom giant has a long, long way yet to go. [More]
New York Attorney General Looking Into DraftKings & FanDuel
By 10.7.15
With the higher profile of unregulated fantasy sports betting comes more scrutiny from the public and more concerns from law enforcement about how these businesses might be running afoul of the law. Days after it was confirmed that a DraftKings employee had made $350,000 in one weekend gambling on competing site FanDuel, the attorney general for the state of New York has opened an inquiry into this growing industry. [More]
13 Mayors (And One Almost-Mayor) Ask Verizon To Stop Dragging Its Feet On FiOS
By 10.5.15
Earlier this year, Verizon made clear what many industry watchers had known for years — that it was reaching the end of its first major buildout phase of Verizon FiOS service and that the company was going to focus on getting customers onto that network. But more than a dozen mayors, including the presumed future mayor of Comcast’s home city, have written the company to ask that it bring much-needed competition to their markets. [More]
Woman Claims Lucille Roberts Gym Accused Her Of “Trespassing” For Working Out In A Skirt
By 10.2.15
Should you be able to wear whatever you want when you exercise? A New York City woman says that employees of the Lucille Roberts gym chain were so upset about her insistence on wearing a skirt while working out that they harassed her and even threatened to call the cops on her. [More]
New York Is Now Investigating Volkswagen Recall
By 9.22.15
While federal regulators have yet to publicly confirm a reported criminal investigation into Volkswagen’s alleged attempt to deceive consumers and emissions tests, New York state is letting it be known that it plans to hold the carmaker accountable. [More]
Etsy To Try Same-Day, Next-Day Delivery In New York City
By 9.11.15
With Amazon’s new “Handmade” platform trying to nose into territory that has long been the domain of Etsy, the online crafts and vintage marketplace is taking a page from Amazon’s playbook and trying its hand at same-day and next-day delivery. [More]
Court Sides With Consumer In Suit Against Retailer That Charges $250 When Customers Threaten To Complain
By 8.26.15
Last summer, a consumer in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against online retailer Accessory Outlet over what she called a bogus $250 fine the company imposed, claiming she breached the terms of sale when she threatened to have the charge canceled after the iPhone case she ordered never shipped. Today, a New York court sided with the consumer by granting a default judgement in the case, essentially agreeing that Accessory Outlet’s “terms of sale” and the debt it alleged the woman owed were void. [More]
Family Sues American Airlines After Father With Alzheimer’s Goes Missing From Airport
By 8.24.15
It’s not uncommon for an airline to lose a piece of luggage for one reason or another during any particular trip from point A to point B; that’s just the risk we take when we hand over a $25 fee and our belongings. While material items can generally be replaced, people can’t be. So, when American Airlines somehow lost track of a passenger with Alzheimer’s earlier this year, his family was worried, and angry with the airline. Thankfully, the man was eventually found, and now his family is filing a lawsuit accusing the carrier of negligence. [More]
Walmart, Sears, Amazon & Other Retailers Agree Not To Sell Realistic-Looking Toy Guns In NY
By 8.3.15
Almost eight months after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to several retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Sears and Kmart, those companies have agreed not to sell realistic-looking guns in the state. [More]
Court Says Facebook Can’t Challenge Search Warrants For User Data
By 7.24.15
If a company like Facebook receives a subpoena for user data in a civil lawsuit, it can make its case to the court about why it should not have to oblige. But when that information request is in the form of a search warrant in a criminal investigation, Facebook doesn’t have that option. [More]
