Consumer Law

Latest ID Theft Target: Mayor Bloomberg

Someone at the bank noticed when two fraudulent checks for a total of more than $400,000 were drawn against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal account. But an earlier fraudulent Internet withdrawal for a mere $10,000 reportedly went undetected until the subsequent scam was investigated. Two New Jersey men have…

Oct 2, 2007 11:06 PM CDT

NY AG to Facebook: Consumer Fraud?

The social networking site Facebook reportedly has been warned by the New York attorney general’s office to stop overstating the safety of the site for youngsters. Claims by Facebook administrators that Facebook is safer for minors than other online sites don’t appear to be true, and may give parents a…

Oct 1, 2007 3:58 PM CDT

Five Firms in Attorney Fee Free-for-All

After fighting together to win a settlement in a class action over mortgage lender closing costs, a group of Illinois plaintiffs lawyers squared off for a new battle—fighting with each other about how to divide the $1.6 million attorney fee. It appears that a badly drafted attorney fee letter agreement…

Sep 27, 2007 9:23 PM CDT

Small Firm, Big Litigation

In more than 30 years of mass torts practice, Mark Robinson has helped his small Calfornia law firm make a big mark. Founded in 1978 after Robinson won a $128 verdict for a 13-year-old plaintiff with burn injuries in a Ford Pinto gas-tank case, Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson had evolved…

Sep 27, 2007 7:48 PM CDT

No Free Lunch: Bank Sued re Sandwiches

The state of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against Citibank contending that a free sandwich offer was deceptive. Because this and at least one other offer promising free food to college students who showed an ID made no mention of the fact that they would also have to apply for…

Sep 24, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Lender Battles Could Cost Homeowners

As if struggling homeowners didn’t already have enough to worry about, insolvent lenders could saddle some with unexpected bills. In a bankruptcy court battle in Delaware between American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. and Freddie Mac, for instance, the U.S.-chartered housing financier says it has seized some $7 million in mortgage…

Sep 12, 2007 10:12 PM CDT

Cost of TV-Phone-Net Deals: No Privacy

Big Brother may not be watching you. But, chances are, Corporate America is—especially if you have a package cable television or telephone deal. If you read the fine print on your contract for phone, cable television and Internet service with certain providers, it’s clear that “not only does the company…

Sep 12, 2007 3:44 PM CDT

Miles, Pints Remain Legal UK Measures

In a reprieve for reluctant adopters of the metric system of measurement that is common throughout Europe and the rest of the world (except in the U.S.), the European Union has amended a previous plan. Britain and Ireland can retain beloved imperial measurements, such as the mile—and the pint—that date…

Sep 11, 2007 9:17 PM CDT

2 NJ Law Firms Sued re Foreclosure Fees

Two law firms in New Jersey and the mortgage lenders who retained them are defending possible class actions over unauthorized fees that they allegedly imposed on homeowners facing foreclosure. While representing mortgage lenders in foreclosure cases, the two firms charged individual homeowners unspecified fees that weren’t authorized by statute or…

Sep 6, 2007 7:18 PM CDT

Vioxx Class Action Rejected

The New Jersey Supreme Court has refused to certify a nationwide class action against the company that makes the Vioxx painkiller, rejecting the plaintiffs’ efforts to prove losses through a “fraud on the market” theory. A superior court judge had granted class action status to the suit against Merck &…

Sep 6, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Banks Try to Lend to Subprime Borrowers

As federal and state legislators ponder possible legislation to deal with a spate of mortgage foreclosures attributed to an explosion of risky subprime lending in recent years, some say a new issue could be developing. As the housing market stagnates, prices, in many areas throughout the U.S., are sliding, and…

Sep 4, 2007 7:02 PM CDT

$75 Million Attorney Fee an Iowa Record?

A judge’s approval today of a $180 million antitrust settlement by Microsoft Corp. includes $75 million in attorney fees and costs, which apparently sets an Iowa record. Lead counsel Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, who brought the case with Richard Hagstrom of Minneapolis, says one reason why the legal bill…

Aug 31, 2007 10:22 PM CDT

New Bush Policies Help Homeowners

Updated: Several federal agencies will make major changes in housing-related rules, offering significant help to homeowners struggling with subprime mortgages, President Bush has promised. News reports say his announcement today–and adoption of programs that Democrats say they suggested–signals an expected Congressional reform of Federal Housing Administration programs and perhaps other…

Aug 31, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

Nonprofit Offers Payday Loans

A nonprofit organization with a humanitarian mission is now competing with private companies to offer what has to be one of the most usurious forms of lending around: payday loans. Set up as a short-term fix for those who live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have bank accounts, the controversial…

Aug 28, 2007 9:01 PM CDT

Class Action Clash in Receipts Cases

Plaintiffs lawyers bringing class action lawsuits against companies for financial privacy violations are running into a roadblock, and his name is U.S. District Judge John Walter. The suits claim the companies printed too much credit card information on receipts in violation of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Recorder…

Aug 27, 2007 1:03 PM CDT