Consumer Law

Toyota Lawsuit Tally Tops 30, But One Multidistrict Case May Be the Result

In the wake of Toyota Motor Corp.’s well-publicized recalls of millions of cars over acceleration issues—and customer concerns that other models also have issues or have been adversely affected by the battering of the brand—at least 30 lawsuits have now been filed in the United States and Canada. Many plaintiffs…

Feb 5, 2010 8:40 PM CST

Google Seeks Help from Spy Agency on Hack Attacks, Raising Privacy Concerns

As malicious cyber attacks apparently are occurring more frequently and with more sophistication than ever before, a search engine giant has turned to a U.S. spy agency for help in dealing with a major suspected China-based hacking effort in December. But the move by Google Inc. to work with the…

Feb 4, 2010 11:44 PM CST

Lawsuits Against Toyota Accelerate Amidst ‘Massive PR Mess’

As news of claimed acceleration—and, on hybrid models, brake—problems related to an already-massive recall of Toyota automobiles seemingly exploded today, so did news of an ever-expanding list of lawsuits against the automobile manufacturer. In Ohio, for instance, attorney Stan Chesley filed a potential class action yesterday on behalf of a…

Feb 4, 2010 12:16 AM CST

Ex-Toyota Lawyer’s Battle Over Documents Could Rev Up Other Cases Against Automaker

As plaintiffs attorneys lick their chops over Toyota Motor Corp.’s sudden-acceleration crisis, a former lawyer for the automaker is awaiting a ruling that could add further impetus to an onslaught of litigation against Toyota. Attorney Dimitrios Biller, who until 2007 defended products liability cases against Toyota, is involved in what…

Feb 3, 2010 5:49 PM CST

Judge Rapped Over Order to Pay Class Action Attorney in Store Coupons

Apparently figuring that what is considered reasonable reimbursement for winning clients in class actions is also fair pay for their lawyers, a California state-court judge ordered that a male attorney receive a structured stream of $10 gift cards from the defendant women’s apparel retailer. However, the decision in January 2009…

Feb 3, 2010 12:43 AM CST

New Net Neutrality Battle Could Focus on Whether ISPs Are Common Carriers

As the Federal Communications Commission fights a seemingly uphill battle to force the nation’s Internet service providers to abide by its so-called net neutrality standards, some observers are suggesting an alternative option. Many now anticipate that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will rule against…

Feb 2, 2010 12:00 AM CST

Closing Attorney & Bank Lawyer Must Defend Suit Over Alleged Loan Fraud by Others

A closing attorney and a bank lawyer say they had nothing to do with alleged misrepresentations on loan documents that helped a New York woman obtain a home mortgage that requires her to make a monthly payment equal to about twice her monthly income. But a state-court judge says Portia…

Feb 1, 2010 8:57 PM CST

Plaintiffs Lawyers Consider Injury, Economic Loss Claims Against Toyota

Toyota’s sudden-acceleration headaches are a boon to trial lawyers. Plaintiffs lawyers are eyeing injury claims on behalf of drivers who claim their cars careened out of control and crashed, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Class action lawyers are already filing economic loss claims on behalf of vehicle owners…

Jan 29, 2010 1:18 PM CST

Award Cut to $54K from $1.92M in Music File-Sharing Case

In a decision that is hardly music to the ears of the recording industry, a federal judge in Minnesota last week slashed a stunning $1.92 million award in a landmark file-sharing case concerning a woman found to have stolen and shared 24 songs over the Internet. Reducing the amount owed…

Jan 25, 2010 11:59 PM CST

Debt Collection Law Firm Abruptly Closes; Thousands of Cases Dismissed

A debt collection law firm with 24 offices around the country has abruptly closed, resulting in dismissal of tens of thousands of cases in Maryland alone. The Rockville, Md.-based law firm, Mann Bracken, and its clients had been accused in civil suits of using high-pressure tactics and violating debt-collection laws,…

Jan 15, 2010 1:10 PM CST

Irked Judge Discharges Law Grad’s Student Loans, Critiques Senior Jurist

Ordered to reconsider his earlier opinion discharging the $82,000 student loan debt of a 65-year-old unemployed law school graduate, an obviously annoyed bankruptcy judge has granted Denise Bronsdon the same relief a second time. And, underlining his displeasure with a remand opinion (PDF) issued by the chief judge of the…

Jan 14, 2010 9:44 PM CST

Harvard Law Prof’s ‘Lightning Bolts’ are Losing Power Over Financial Firms, Analyst Says

The frightening prospect to those in the financial industry of seeing a well-known Harvard University law professor at the helm of a proposed new federal consumer watchdog is lessening by the day. Legislative support for creating the independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency proposed by President Barack Obama is rapidly waning,…

Jan 12, 2010 9:36 PM CST

Law Firm and Ex-Associate Battle in Court and on Net Over Badmouth Blog

A federal judge says she plans to order unspecified “limited” restrictions of an ex-associate’s badmouth blog criticizing the New Jersey law firm that formerly employed him. But it appears that some of the most telling blows in the battle between Levinson Axelrod and attorney Edward Heyburn over his Levinson Axelrod…

Jan 12, 2010 6:31 PM CST

Comcast Scores Against FCC in Court Battle Over Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission was on the hot seat today in a much-watched appellate court case implicating the agency’s power to regulate the Internet. Comcast Corp. is appealing a 2008 decision by the FCC that it violates so-called net neutrality standards by slowing or blocking certain peer-to-peer applications that use…

Jan 8, 2010 8:42 PM CST

Lenders May Cut Borrowers’ Principal to Prevent Costly Foreclosures

Several years ago, it would have been virtually unheard of. But a number of lenders are now sometimes willing to consider reducing or deferring part of a borrower’s principal balance on an upside-down mortgage in order to avoid taking an even more costly hit if the loan goes into foreclosure…

Jan 7, 2010 8:41 PM CST