The mobile app GymPact, later known as Pact, was a tool that gave users a financial incentive to exercise, eat fruits and vegetables, and to log what they ate. Only the Federal Trade Commission claims that Pact users were charged when they weren’t supposed to be, and some lost hundreds of dollars in a negative-option mess that they couldn’t cancel. [More]
settlements
The Honest Company Settles False Advertising Lawsuit For $1.5M
By 6.7.17
Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company has agreed to pay $1.55 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit that accused the brand of using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in its products — an organic chemical derived from coconut oil and found in common items like laundry detergent and toothpaste — despite the fact that the company had pledged not to include that ingredient. [More]
Facebook Promises To Quit Snooping On Private Messages For Ad-Targeting Purposes
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
More than three years after a group of Facebook users sued the social media network, claiming that it was sharing links sent in private messages with marketing companies in order to boost its ad revenue, The Zuck’s company has agreed to stop eavesdropping on those communications. [More]
Legal Fund Accused Of Deceiving 9/11 First Responders & NFL Players Out Of Settlement Payments
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.8.17
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state of New York have accused a New Jersey company of defrauding customers — including Sept. 11 first responders and former NFL players suffering from long-term brain injuries — into signing away millions of dollars in settlement payouts. [More]
Judge Says Amazon Must Hand Over Names Of Customers Eligible For WEN Hair Care Settlement
By 12.22.16
Which is more important to you: keeping your personal data private, or the knowledge that a product you purchased is involved in a settlement that may entitle you to compensation? According to a federal judge, the latter is more beneficial to consumers. [More]
DeVry University Must Pay $100 Million To Former Students For Misleading Ads
By 12.15.16
At the beginning of the year, the Federal Trade Commission sued popular for-profit college DeVry University, claiming the school’s advertising misled would-be students about how likely a DeVry degree is to get them a job. And now to ring out the year, the school and the Commission have reached a $100 million settlement that sends all that money right back into students’ pockets. [More]
$88M In Refunds From AT&T Settlement With FTC Now Heading To Consumers
By 12.8.16
A few million current and former AT&T wireless customers can look forward to a bit of a well-timed holiday surprise this year: money! AT&T promised to refund customers at least $80 million as part of a settlement it reached with the FTC over unlawful wireless bill charges, and the Commission announced those checks started going into the mail today. [More]
Navajo Nation, Urban Outfitters Settle Lawsuit Over Clothing Designs
By 11.18.16
Urban Outfitters is no stranger to accusations that it’s ripped off designs belonging to others, or offended an entire culture with its clothing, but it can now put one more of those claims behind it after settling a lawsuit brought by the Navajo Nation in 2012. [More]
Marketer Of Pills Claiming To “Prevent & Reverse” Graying Hair Ordered To Refund $391K
By 9.23.16
Sporting an ashen ‘do can make a person look distinguished — or fashion forward — but there will always be people who want to stave off the gray as long as possible. But why shell out big bucks for dye jobs, when dietary supplements promise to actually reverse the presence of gray hair? Maybe because there’s no proof that those pills will actually do anything to get rid of the grays? [More]
Judge Rejects $100 Million Settlement Proposal In Uber Drivers Class Action
By 8.19.16
The man who ended up as the named plaintiff in a lawsuit of Uber drivers in Califoria and Massachusetts is dissatisfied with the proposed settlement of $100 million to be shared among all class members, and it turns out that the judge in the case doesn’t approve of that offer, either. The judge in the case agrees with him, it turns out, and both sides have been sent back to negotiate a new settlement. [More]
UPDATE: Ticketmaster Voucher Codes Vanish, Then Reappear
By 6.21.16
It looks like Ticketmaster has made those free and discount voucher codes available again to customers affected by its recent settlement. [More]
Check Your Old E-Mail Addresses And Ticketmaster Account: You Might Have Free Tickets
By 6.19.16
Class action lawsuits are not a swift or lucrative route to consumer justice, but at least they force companies to pay for the ways they’ve wronged their customers over the years. For example, you may not have received an e-mail about it, but if you have a Ticketmaster account, you might have vouchers for free tickets waiting for you now. [More]
FedEx To Finally Settle Decade-Old Employee Misclassification Lawsuits
By 6.16.16
Back in 2005, FedEx drivers filed the first of many misclassification lawsuits by drivers for that company. Now, as a whole new generation of employers is being accused of misclassifying their workers, the delivery company has proposed a settlement with its former independent contractor drivers. The lawsuits were combined in a single case in Indiana, and involved 12,000 drivers from 20 states. [More]
Trader Joe’s And Pepperidge Farm Settle Lawsuit Over Sandwich Cookies
By 3.30.16
The food fight between Pepperidge Farm and Trader Joe’s over Belgian chocolate sandwich cookies has been put to bed, after the two sides agreed to settle their issues out of court. [More]
Spotify Hopes $21 Million Settlement Will Make Musicians Stop Suing
By 3.18.16
Spotify is the biggest music streaming service, with a wide selection of artists and types of music. That means it has the widest variety of artists who may become annoyed at its royalty structure, or artists and composers who the service can’t even find. The Sweden-based company settled with one group of publishers, reportedly putting up $21 million to cover unpaid royalties. [More]
Judge Signs Off On Settlement That Will Ensure Subway’s Footlong Sandwiches Measure Up
By 2.29.16
Our national nightmare is nearly over: the so-called “Footlong” sandwich from Subway will finally have to measure up to a full 12 inches in length. [More]
Lyft Will Pay California Drivers Total Of $12.25M, Still Won’t Call Them Employees
By 1.27.16
The companies operating the two largest ride-hailing fleets, Uber and Lyft, both have lawsuits against them in California where drivers seek “employee” status. The lawsuit against Lyft has been settled, but only one part of it: the company has agreed not to terminate drivers without giving them a reason why, but will not grant them minimum wage, overtime pay, vehicle expense reimbursement, or any other benefits that they would get as employees. [More]
30 Online Retailers Agree To Stop Selling Toy Guns That Look Like The Real Thing To New York Residents
By 12.15.15
After an investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a long list of online retailers that sold authentic-looking toy guns through Amazon.com have now agreed to stop peddling the toys to state residents. [More]
