Consumer Law

Jurors paid with debit cards don’t get full amount mandated by law, lawsuit claims

Lawyer William Mark Scott says in a lawsuit that he never got the full, required payment for jury duty when he served in Washington, D.C., last July because he was paid with a debit card that charged “excessive and unreasonable fees.” Scott’s Feb. 7 federal lawsuit (PDF) against JPMorgan Chase…

Feb 9, 2017 9:35 AM CST

Suit claims legal funding firm misled 9/11 responders, retired NFL players about its cash advances

A company that provides advances to people expecting settlement money misrepresented the terms of its deals to Sept. 11 responders and professional football players with Alzheimer’s disease, a lawsuit alleges. The suit was filed Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, according to…

Feb 7, 2017 1:41 PM CST

Trial ends for foreclosure law firm accused of conspiring to inflate prices

A lawyer for the state of Colorado argued last week that Colorado’s largest foreclosure law firm conspired with competitors and related businesses to fix prices and maximize profits. The Denver-based Castle Law Group, along with the husband and wife team who ran it, are facing a civil suit that claims…

Feb 2, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Three Takata executives are indicted in airbag scandal; company settles with Justice Department

Updated: Three former executives with the Takata Corp. have been indicted on wire fraud charges in connection with its production of faulty air bags that sometimes exploded. The executives were accused of deceiving automakers about the safety of the air bags, report the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal (sub.…

Jan 13, 2017 11:31 AM CST

Drugmaker’s claim that Prevagen boosts memory is fraudulent, FTC lawsuit says

The Federal Trade Commission and the New York State Attorney General have filed suit against dietary supplement makers Quincy Bioscience over its popular supplement, Prevagen. On Monday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the Federal Trade Commission announced that they had jointly filed a complaint (PDF) with the Manhattan…

Jan 10, 2017 4:05 PM CST

Two of the top credit reporting companies agree to pay $23M to resolve deceptive marking claims

Credit reporting companies Equifax and TransUnion have agreed to pay more than $23 million to resolve claims that they misled consumers and lured them into paying monthly fees for credit-related products. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced consent orders against the companies on Tuesday, report the Chicago Tribune and the…

Jan 5, 2017 3:39 PM CST

Chemerinsky: Free speech on the SCOTUS docket

The January oral argument calendar includes two major cases about freedom of speech. Although they arise in quite different contexts, they each raise questions of how far the First Amendment extends to limit government regulation. Lee v. Tam Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), provides that no…

Jan 5, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Judge tosses consumer fraud claims against Arizona Summit Law School

A federal judge in Arizona has dismissed part of a lawsuit claiming the Arizona Summit Law School committed fraud by failing to report information about students admitted through an alternative program. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake tossed the claims of fraud, consumer fraud and misrepresentation in a Dec. 27 order…

Jan 3, 2017 3:32 PM CST

Payday lender Moneytree agrees to $500K federal fine over deceptive practices

Moneytree, a payday lender, has entered a consent order with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, agreeing to pay more than $500,000 in fines for allegedly engaging in deceptive advertising and collection practices. The allegations stem from a variety of things, including advertising about the company’s tax-refund check cashing, the…

Dec 22, 2016 2:10 PM CST

DeVry agrees to $100M settlement in FTC suit alleging misleading ads touted graduate success

DeVry University has agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims by the Federal Trade Commission that its ads misled prospective students about its graduates’ job success. DeVry did not admit or deny the allegations, report the New York Times, CNN Money and Bloomberg’s Technology, Telecom and Internet Blog. The…

Dec 16, 2016 10:08 AM CST

Ashley Madison agrees to pay $1.6M in connection with hacking of its network

The Ashley Madison dating website has agreed to pay $1.6 million to resolve allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and more than a dozen states that it failed to protect user data and misled consumers. The Federal Trade Commission announced the settlement on Wednesday, report the Washington Post, USA Today…

Dec 15, 2016 2:37 PM CST

Lawyer who sued over $75 boot fee for Porsche paid $56K in sanctions; no discipline recommended

A special master considering two grievances filed against a Georgia lawyer who carried through on a threat to sue over his booted Porsche Cayenne has concluded that there is no need for disciplinary action. The special master last week recommended no discipline for lawyer James Potts II, two months after…

Dec 8, 2016 10:17 AM CST

In bid to protect online reviews, Congress OKs bill banning gag clauses in consumer contracts

Congress has passed a bipartisan bill that aims to protect negative online reviews by banning nondisparagement clauses in nonnegotiable consumer contracts. The bill is called the Consumer Review Fairness Act, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Ars Technica, the Danbury News Times and a press release. The bill voids…

Dec 2, 2016 10:41 AM CST

Some windfall winners need a lawyer to protect them from themselves

You could say Laura Kelly is in the big-money end of the legal profession. But for Kelly, a partner practicing wealth preservation and estate planning at McCarter & English in Newark, New Jersey, much of that money belongs to her often newly wealthy clients.

Dec 1, 2016 4:40 AM CST

Trump University settles fraud suits for $25M; New York AG calls deal ‘a stunning reversal’

Trump University has agreed to pay $25 million to settle lawsuits claiming its real estate investment seminars defrauded students who paid $1,500 to $35,000 for classes. New York Attorney General announced the settlement Friday. Schneiderman called the deal “a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the…

Nov 18, 2016 2:57 PM CST