If you’re a movie studio, you want as many people as possible to pay to see your films. If you’re a movie theater chain, you don’t want competing theaters to showing the same movies you’ve got, especially if that competitor has luxury features you don’t offer. But is it legal to use your leverage as the nation’s biggest theater chain to stop movie studios from licensing their films to the newer, fancier kid on the block? [More]
texas
Feds Accuse Bar Of Charging Cover Fees To Non-White Customers
By 10.3.16
Federal law prohibits restaurants and bars from discriminating against customers on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin, but prosecutors say a popular Houston bar actively discouraged non-white customers by, among other practices, demanding cover charges that were not required of white customers. [More]
Some Big Chains Like To Pretend Their Stores Are Closed When It Comes To Paying Tax
By 9.12.16
A big-box store is, by definition, well, big. All that retail, storage, and parking space takes up a fair amount of land. So you’d think that in any state with a property tax, stores would, well, be taxed on their property. And they are… until they’re not. [More]
Petsitter Loses $1 Million Lawsuit Over Negative Yelp Review
By 8.30.16
The six-month saga of the Texas petsitter who sued a customer for up to $1 million in damages over a negative Yelp review appears to have come to an end, with a judge agreeing to dismiss the case that made national headlines. [More]
Health Department Imposes $850K Fine On Blue Bell For Listeria Outbreak, Company Only Paying $175K For Now
By 8.1.16
The state health department in Texas has taken an unusual step in while punishing Blue Bell Creameries for manufacturing and distributing Listeria-laden ice cream: The state has imposed an $850,000 fine on the company for the Listeria contamination in ice cream that sent 12 customers to the hospital and is blamed for the deaths of three people who were served the ice cream while in the hospital for pre-existing conditions. [More]
Punch Up Your Real Estate Listing By Posing In A Panda Costume In Every Photo
By 6.16.16
If you’ve ever spent hours online looking for a home — especially in a region where most of the properties have similar layouts and designs — your eyes might glaze over as you skim through countless nearly identical photos. Then, wait — was that a woman in a panda suit? [More]
Former Uber And Lyft Drivers In Austin Sue Over Abrupt Pullout
By 6.10.16
In Austin, TX last month, city voters approved a ballot measure that would require drivers for ride-hailing apps to pass city background checks and be fingerprinted. Both companies immediately pulled out of the city, suddenly leaving thousands of workers, many of whom were driving for their full-time jobs, out of work. Now drivers are suing the companies, alleging that they were owed notice under the WARN Act. [More]
Couple That Was Sued For $1M Over Yelp Review Asks Court To Dismiss Lawsuit
By 6.2.16
For months, we’ve been following the saga of the Texas couple who were first sued by their petsitter for $6,766 over a negative Yelp review, only to have that case dropped and re-filed as a full-on defamation lawsuit seeking up to $1 million in damages. Now, the couple is asking the court to just throw the entire case out because it should be prohibited by Texas state law. [More]
Walmart Launches Mobile Payment App In Arkansas And Texas
By 5.16.16
Walmart resisted accepting any of the big mobile payment systems from companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung, instead becoming part of the CurrentC consortium, then developing its own proprietary payment app. As of today, customers can use Walmart Pay at 590 stores in Texas and Arkansas. [More]
Petsitter Now Suing Couple For Up To $1 Million For Negative Yelp Review
By 5.5.16
A couple months back, we told you of the Texas couple that was being sued for a few thousand dollars by a petsitter over a negative Yelp review that allegedly violated a “non-disparagement” clause in the petsitter’s contract. That suit was quickly dropped, but a new complaint filed by the petsitting business has ramped up the allegations and the dollar amount, now seeking between $200,000 to $1 million in damages. [More]
Man Arrested, Accused Of Stuffing Steak Down Pants At H-E-B
By 4.13.16
As part of our ongoing coverage of people stuffing meat down their pants, here’s the latest incident out of Texas: an employee spotted a man stuffing steak down his pants in the meat department. The suspect took off on foot, and police caught up with him not far away. He was charged with theft and with evading arrest. [KOSA] [More]
H-E-B Packs Of Apple Slices Recalled For Possible Listeria Contamination
By 4.6.16
Consumers’ preference for pre-prepared but fresh and healthy snacks is a great trend for public health, but there’s one side effect that people may not have expected: fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables can carry dangerous pathogens right along with those fresh and healthy snacks. Listeria bacteria was found in apples that may be in prepared fruit platters and snack packs from supermarket H-E-B, and they’ve all been recalled. [More]
New Frontier Customers Get Bad First Impression After Verizon Sale And Switchover
By 4.5.16
Back in February, Frontier Communications and Verizon announced a massive deal where Verizon sold broadband, cable TV, and voice markets in California, Texas, and Florida to Frontier. Millions of customers came along with the sale, and they were supposed to be switched from Verizon to Frontier on April 1. Considering how well the switch went, that wasn’t a good date to choose. [More]
Rude Note On Domino’s Box Scolds Customer For Late Order
By 4.4.16
Having worked in the foodservice industry, I am familiar with that unique sensation of “C’mon… seriously?” when someone wants to place an order only minutes to go before shutting down for the night. At the same time — unlike the workers at a Texas Domino’s store — I never vented my frustration with a mean little note for the customer to take home with them. [More]
Yes, There Are Still Blockbuster Video Stores, Just Fewer Of Them After This Weekend
By 3.28.16
The elder ones among us may remember a time when you had to leave the house to see a movie, even if you were going to rent it at Blockbuster Video and watch it on your tiny 48″ TV. While the merciless VHS blight of 2013 killed off most of the remaining Blockbuster stores, a hearty handful remained, wandering the strip malls of America in search of sustenance. That’s why we’re sad to report that the Netflix diaspora now has four fewer among its ranks. [More]
Here’s The List Of Sports Authority Stores That Are Closing
By 3.3.16
Yesterday, Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy, and right now they have two choices about how to go forward: sell out to a competitor or reorganize the company and their $1.1 billion in debt. they’re kicking off the proceedings by closing 140 stores. Here’s the preliminary list of stores that will close, which are scattered across the country but concentrated in Texas. [More]
Report: Sports Authority To File For Bankruptcy As Early As Next Month
By 2.24.16
A week after Sports Authority told employees it would close all of its Texas locations, the sporting goods retailer appears to be on the brink of filing for bankruptcy protection and closing nearly half of its stores. [More]
Petsitter Sues Couple For $6,766 Over Negative Yelp Review
By 2.18.16
So you hired a pet sitter to take care of your companions while you were out of town, but you weren’t happy with the service you received. You’re free to go online and publicly share your thoughts about that experience, as long as what you write is truthful. But you still might be sued by that pet sitter if your contract included a clause forbidding you from posting anything negative about the company. [More]
