Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary have to pay for the way it marketed antipsychotic drug Risperdal, neglecting to mention its side effects while claiming it was safer and worked better than the competition. In Arkansas, one of 11 states in which J&J has faced legal battles over the drug, a judge ordered the company to pay $1.2 billion to make up for its alleged sins. [More]
settlements
How Much Have The Big Banks Been Penalized Over Mortgage Mess And Where Is All That Cash Going?
By 3.6.12
The last few years have seen numerous settlements between the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders and various federal and state authorities. And while we hear numbers like “a total of $25 billion,” exactly which banks are responsible for the biggest chunks of these settlements? [More]
Citigroup Settles Mortgage Fraud Charges For $158 Million, Admits Fault
By 2.16.12
The U.S. Department of Justice nailed Citigroup on mortgage fraud charges, getting the bank to agree to pay out a $158 million settlement while admitting it tricked a federal insurance program into backing bad loans. When borrowers defaulted, taxpayers ended up footing the bill. [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]
TiVo Twists AT&T's Arm, Gets It To Cough Up $215 Million Patent Settlement
By 1.4.12
If TiVo is in the news in these days of its irrelevance, it’s usually because it’s won another massive settlement dispute with a company it accused of ripping off its tech. After getting $500 million from Dish Network last year, TiVo has now shaken down AT&T for $215 million. [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]
Reebok To Fork Over $25 Million In Refunds For Deceptive EasyTone Ads
By 9.28.11
As we reported yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission was going to announce a huge settlement, involving millions in refunds to consumers, with some big name shoe company over deceptive advertising claims. And today it was revealed that it’s sneaker biggie Reebok that has agreed to fork over $25 million in refunds to buyers of its EasyTone shoes. [More]
Get $500 Each Time Sprint Called You After You Said Stop
By 8.8.11
If Sprint telemarketed you after you told them not to call you again, you could get $500 for each time they rang you up, thanks to a recent class action settlement. [More]
Wells Fargo To Pay $590 Million Over Wachovia "Pick-a-Pay" Loans
By 8.5.11
Nearly three years later, Wells Fargo is still feeling the stomach ache from its decision to gobble up the expired scraps of Wachovia. It was revealed today that the Fargo folks have agreed to shell out $590 million to settle the class-action lawsuit over Wachovia’s “Pick-a-Pay” loans. [More]
Report: Google In Trouble For Advertising By "Rogue Online Pharmacies"
By 5.13.11
News broke earlier this week that Google had set aside $500,000 to settle a mysterious Department of Justice investigation of “advertising by certain advertisers,” and now a report indicates the badvertisers were “rogue online pharmaceuticals.” [More]
Google Sets Aside $500 Million For Ad Settlement
By 5.11.11
Preparing to settle a Department of Justice investigation of “use of Google advertising by certain advertisers,” Google has set aside $500 million to make the investigation go away. [More]
Dish Pays TiVo $500 Million DVR Patent Settlement
By 5.3.11
TiVo has long alleged Dish Network violated its DVR patents, and the satellite provider has settled things by giving TiVo $500 million to put the issue behind them. TiVo can now presumably exact similar settlements from Microsoft, Motorola, Verizon and AT&T, which it’s also suing. [More]
Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit
By 1.5.11
FinallyFast, one of those companies with the late-night infomercials promising to make your computer faster, has settled with the Washington AG for misleading and deceiving consumers, and making it hard to cancel or get refunds. One of their tactics was to make the free scan on their site falsely identify harmless files on your computer as being errors. Consumers can now get some of their money back. [More]
Lowe's Ups Chinese Drywall Settlement To $100,000 Per Victim
By 10.29.10
Instead of a few bucks and some gift cards, Lowe’s has amended its stinky Chinese drywall settlement so that plaintiffs can get up to $100,000 – money that will come in a lot more handy for people whose entire houses and most of their possessions were ruined by the sulphuric fumes. [More]
Stinky-Smelling Drywall Maker Will Repair 300 Homes
By 10.15.10
One of the manufacturers being sued for selling drywall that reeked up houses with the smell of rotting eggs is participating in a pilot program to make repairs on 300 homes. Awesome, only a few more thousand to go. [More]
Feds Make CVS Pay Out $77.6 Million For Not Monitoring Sale Of Meth Ingredients
By 10.15.10
Federal prosecutors shook down CVS for $77.6 million because it did too little to stop meth-makers from hitting up its stores for ingredients. [More]
Google Settles Buzz Lawsuit For $8.5 Million; You Don't Get Any Of It
By 9.6.10
Hey, remember when Google signed everyone up for Buzz without asking and revealed their private contact lists? The company has now settled a class action lawsuit brought by seven Gmail users. The BBC says that 30% will go to the legal team, while each of those seven users will get $2,500. The rest will not be turned into Google stickers or free AdSense ads for you, but instead will be “shared among organisations that promote online privacy.” [More]
SEC Stops Looking At Porn Long Enough To Investigate Dell
By 6.10.10
While some SEC employees were up to their eyeballs in porn during office hours in recent years, apparently some have continued to do their job, as Dell announced today that it is nearing a settlement to a prolonged SEC investigation that could cost the computer company upwards of $100 million. [More]
