Consumer Law

Another AG Sues Countrywide

The attorney general of Florida has sued Countrywide Financial Corp. over its mortgage lending practices, contending that they were deceptive and unfair and not properly disclosed in securities filings. “Underscoring the aggressiveness of its lending practices—aimed at maximizing the company’s profits regardless of credit risk—the complaint said Countrywide’s own underwriters…

Jul 1, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

Taming the Gossipmongers

Websites that dish dirt may soon get their publishers’ hands muddy

Jul 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

eBay Must Pay $63M Damages for Unauthorized Sales of Luxe Goods

For the second time in a month, a French court has held Internet auction site eBay Inc. liable for helping to facilitate the sale of luxury goods outside of authorized outlets. This time, a judge awarded $63 million in damages, after finding that eBay had failed to take the necessary…

Jun 30, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Law Firm’s New Practice Area: Litigation Support for State AGs

A former Washington, D.C., attorney general is co-chairing a new practice group at her new law firm: providing litigation support to her former colleagues in other states. Linda Singer’s new role at Zuckerman Spaeder expands the scope of work being handled by the D.C.-based national litigation boutique, which ordinarily represents…

Jun 27, 2008 10:09 PM CDT

AGs in 2 States Sue Countrywide, Allege Deceptive & Unfair Practices

Updated: The attorneys general of California and Illinois filed lawsuits today against Countrywide Financial Corp., claiming that the mortgage lender engaged in deceptive and unfair practices. Meanwhile, in third announcement today the governor of Washington state, Christine Gregoire, says it plans to fine the mortgage lender for allegedly discriminating against…

Jun 25, 2008 8:32 PM CDT

High Court to Hear ‘Price Squeeze’ Antitrust Case that Split FTC and SG

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a case that tests the antitrust “price squeeze” doctrine in a case against a unit of AT&T. The issue has divided the government, with the Federal Trade Commission supporting the theory and the Justice Department opposing it. Several Internet providers had sued…

Jun 23, 2008 5:46 PM CDT

Exec Not Served with Subpoenas Gets $3M Consumer Judgment

The Securities and Exchange Commission thought Donald Lines had been served with witness subpoenas, since a process server said he had. But Lines said he wasn’t, and the server, Boston-based Stokes & Levin, never showed up to testify at depositions last year in the Massachusetts state court consumer fraud case…

Jun 19, 2008 9:31 PM CDT

Fla. Law Firm Traffic Case Guarantees Rile Clients

Clients in Collier County reportedly are complaining about several Florida law firms that have given money-back guarantees in traffic cases and then fought losing court battles on behalf of their clients. Although the guarantees apparently may work better on the state’s East Coast, where the law firms are based, they…

Jun 16, 2008 3:56 PM CDT

Lawyers Defend Long-Distance Supervision of Overwhelmed Associate

Two lemon-law lawyers accused of failing to adequately supervise an overwhelmed associate faced skeptical judges on Maryland’s highest court on Friday. Lawyers Craig Kimmel and Robert Silverman of Pennsylvania, founders of the 1-800-Lemon-Law firm, said they supervised the Maryland associate through phone calls and e-mail, the Daily Record reports. Thirty-four…

Jun 9, 2008 5:15 PM CDT

Debt Collectors Clog Chicago Courts With Sometimes-Dubious Claims

A key function of Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago is to act as a debt-collection machine. Since 2000, the volume of debt collection cases in Cook County has more than doubled, to not quite 130,000, reports the Chicago Tribune. But busy debt collectors—who historically have won default judgments in…

Jun 9, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Worried About Class Action Damages, Banks Block Private Auction-Rate Sales

Among those who bought auction-rate securities based on widespread expectations that they could easily be sold is San Diego lawyer Chris Longman, 35. But now he and his wife reportedly have a problem. They want to use the $375,000 to buy a house, but they can’t liquidate, even at a…

Jun 6, 2008 4:23 PM CDT

Latest Mortgage Foreclosure Stats Hit Almost 30-Year High

Updated: A report today by a trade association on troubled mortgages during the first quarter of 2008 says the number of delinquencies, new foreclosures and the inventory of homes in foreclosure are all at the highest level since 1979. “New foreclosures rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.99 percent of all…

Jun 5, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

Is This ‘Professional Objector’ a Safety Check or Frivolous Filer?

Ohio lawyer Edward Siegel is a transactional lawyer with an unusual source of extra income. In these cases, he doesn’t make money from bringing lawsuits and reaching settlements. Instead he earns fees by challenging the deals that other lawyers make. Siegel is a so-called professional objector who challenges attorney fees…

Jun 5, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Claimed Calif. Land Grant Scheme Scams 400-Plus Homeowners

Authorities say more than 400 struggling California homeowners, many of them Spanish-speaking, were tricked into paying up to $10,000 for worthless “land grants” and other bogus measures claimed to provide protection from foreclosure. Four individuals have been arrested and a fifth is being sought in a case that involves over…

May 27, 2008 5:01 PM CDT

Dared by LifeLock CEO to Steal SS#, Someone Did; Customers Sue

An advertising campaign in which LifeLock CEO Todd Davis provides his social security number on the air, in newspapers and on billboards in an effort to prove the effectiveness of his company’s identity protection services apparently may have backfired just a bit. It reportedly has resulted in 87 efforts to…

May 23, 2008 6:54 PM CDT