Consumer Law

Microsoft Sues 3 in Landmark ‘Click Fraud’ Web Ad Enforcement Case

In a lawsuit that reportedly may be the first of its kind, Microsoft has sued three individuals in the same family alleging that they fraudulently boosted the rankings of their auto insurance and World of Warcraft-related websites on the computer goliath’s search engine. At the time of the claimed Internet…

Jun 16, 2009 10:30 PM CDT

Obama Hints at Med-Mal Tort Reform, But Cutting Awards May Not Be Answer

Although he made no specific promises, President Barack Obama suggested in a speech yesterday at a Chicago meeting of the American Medical Association that his administration may support some type of medical malpractice tort reform as part of a national program to improve health care services. Appealing for physicians’ support…

Jun 16, 2009 4:02 PM CDT

‘Stealth Coop’ Can Smooth Neighbors’ Ruffled Feathers Over Backyard Chickens

Although some neighbors are squawking about a potential farm nuisance in an urban area, backyard chickens are a growing trend in cities throughout the country. Among those now struggling with the issue are officials in New Haven, Conn., who held a contentious public hearing on the issue this month, reports…

Jun 15, 2009 8:53 PM CDT

‘Greenwashing’ Disputes Become Hot Area of False Advertising Law

There’s a hot new area of false advertising law: “greenwashing” lawsuits that claim companies are making false claims about the environmental benefits of their products. Greenwashing lawsuits are already on the increase, and there could be “an explosion in these kinds of cases,” lawyer Eric Lane of the Green Patent…

Jun 10, 2009 1:26 PM CDT

Mattel Agrees to Record $2.3M Fine in Lead-Tainted Toy Recall

Agreeing today to pay $2.3 million in penalties without admitting to any law violation, Mattel Corp. and its Fisher-Price division concluded a Consumer Product Safety Act case in which the companies had been accused of knowingly importing lead-tainted toys from China. The fine was the largest ever imposed by the…

Jun 5, 2009 8:58 PM CDT

House Panel Backs 13% Budget Hike for Legal Services Corporation

In a move that could enhance funding for programs that provide legal services to low-income individuals and families, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies today recommended a $440 million budget for the Legal Services Corporation for fiscal year 2010. This figure represents almost a 13…

Jun 4, 2009 9:21 PM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Claiming Crunchberry Deception by Cap’n Crunch

Cap’n Crunch is not a real person, and his cereal’s crunchberries aren’t real fruit. A consumer who claimed to have been misled, but only about the crunchberries’ nutritional message, has seen her lawsuit tossed by a federal judge in California. Plaintiff Janine Sugawara had claimed she was deceived by the…

Jun 4, 2009 4:02 PM CDT

Law Firm Sued in Debt-Collection Class Action Claims Negative Net Worth

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has been a pitfall for unwary law firms sued on a variety of theories. But Wolpoff & Abramson may have been particularly unlucky in this regard. Under Connecticut law, debt collectors are required to register with the state’s Department of Banking, although the…

May 28, 2009 7:21 PM CDT

Oops. Fooled By Fake No-Parking Signs, Police in Fla. Town Issue 233 Tickets

The no-parking signs around a popular city restaurant looked legitimate, apparently even to police officers in Tarpon Springs, Fla. They reportedly issued 233 citations for “violations” of the seeming parking ban over a two-year period. But the signs were actually fakes for which a local developer with a beef against…

May 28, 2009 6:51 PM CDT

Donald Trump Name Sells Condos, But Is He Liable for Failed Project?

Donald Trump’s famous name helped developers of a high-rise condominium project along the Pacific Ocean in Baja Mexico collect some $32 million in deposits from prospective buyers, including a number of Southern California residents. But when the project failed, many were stunned to find out that Trump only licensed his…

May 5, 2009 6:31 PM CDT

EPA Raids Chicago Suburb Accused of Providing Toxic Water to Residents

Criminal investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency raided a suburban Chicago municipality today, presumably seeking information about the Village of Crestwood’s alleged provision of contaminated well water to the public. After raiding the village hall and Crestwood’s public works department, the investigators planned to hit the police department next,…

Apr 29, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Hot, Tired, Hungry and Stuck on Plane: Passengers are Ready for Reform

A three-hour flight on Good Friday became a 13-hour ordeal for passengers taking Delta Flight 510 to Atlanta from the Carribean. Their April 10 experience—which included five hours without food or water waiting on the hot tarmac in Columbia, S.C., after their flight was diverted because of thunderstorms—may provide new…

Apr 28, 2009 8:08 PM CDT

Web Advocacy Group & BluWiki Sue Apple Over Chat Board Shutdown Demand

In an effort to enforce its iTunes copyright, Apple Inc. threatened last year to sue BluWiki.com if the website didn’t remove from its discussion board a project called iPodhash. The project focused on how one might retrofit iPods and iPhones with open-source software allowing them to work without iTunes. BluWiki…

Apr 28, 2009 6:37 PM CDT

Can Avatars Make Contracts? Virtual Disputes Involve Real-World Issues

The virtual world of Second Life is the backdrop for the real-world development of virtual legal practices that consider cutting-edge legal issues. Are virtual items sold on Second Life protected by intellectual property law? Are contracts enforceable based on agreements by the players’ online alter egos, known as avatars? Those…

Apr 28, 2009 5:45 PM CDT

AGs Call for More Oversight of Web Ads After So-Called Craigslist Murder

A Boston medical student who allegedly attacked or robbed at least two women he met via ads they placed on Craigslist and is now charged with murdering one of them has sparked new calls for stricter oversight of the explicit sex ads for which the website is, in part, known.…

Apr 22, 2009 11:12 PM CDT