Consumer Law

EPA orders Volkswagen recall; vehicles were designed to trick emission tests, says agency

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the recall of nearly 500,000 Volkswagen vehicles, saying that they were programmed with a “defeat device” that turned on full emissions controls only when the car is being tested. With the full controls turned off for normal driving, the EPA says, the Volkswagen vehicles…

Sep 18, 2015 12:05 PM CDT

Deceptive practices suits say McCormick put 25% less pepper in its usual tin containers

Where’s the pepper? That’s what consumers could be asking, after purchasing McCormick & Co. tin containers that allegedly contain 25 percent less of the product than they used to. Federal lawsuits filed in several jurisdictions say McCormick violated consumer laws prohibiting deceptive practices by not reducing the size of the…

Sep 16, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

RJ Reynolds hit with $34.7M verdict for family of Air Force sergeant who died of cancer

A Florida jury has hit R.J. Reynolds with a $34.7 million verdict in connection with the cancer-related death of a decorated U.S. Air Force sergeant. Law360 (sub. req.) reported Friday that a Pensacola Circuit Court jury awarded $20 million in punitive damages to the family of Garry O’Hara, who died…

Sep 14, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Petco won’t sell goldfish to Persians on spring equinox, lawsuit says

Initially puzzled by a pet store’s refusal to sell him a goldfish, a California man says he found out more during discovery in his civil rights suit. The sale was refused by the Petco in Camarillo because he was trying to purchase the goldfish on March 20, around the time…

Sep 1, 2015 10:50 AM CDT

A class action asks: ‘What is a craft beer?’

When is a craft beer not a craft beer? A class action lawsuit recently filed in California asks that question over claims that Blue Moon beer, despite its label as "artfully crafted" beer, isn't one because megabrewer MillerCoors owns the company.

Sep 1, 2015 6:40 AM CDT

StarKist settlement offers a bonanza for tuna lovers: $25 refund or $50 in tuna

For consumers jaded by seemingly worthless settlements in class-action cases, an agreement between StarKist Co. and a California man offers a bonanza. Purchasing even a single can of specified StarKist tuna products between Feb. 19, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2014 entitles the consumer to either a $25 cash refund or…

Aug 27, 2015 4:10 PM CDT

Lawsuit calls keyless ignition system a deadly defect in millions of vehicles

Two well-known trial law firms sued 10 automakers Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles, contending that millions of vehicles equipped with keyless ignition systems pose a danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Without an automatic shutoff, the electronic ignition systems can result in a car running indefinitely. In an enclosed…

Aug 26, 2015 4:55 PM CDT

Ethics case alleges ‘settlement shakedown’ by lawyer whose Prenda firm sued porn downloaders

Attorney disciplinary authorities in Illinois are pursuing a legal ethics case against a Chicago lawyer known for filing a large number of copyright cases against individuals over claimed illegal downloading of pornographic materials. Filed Thursday against John Lawrence Steele, the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission ethics complaint (PDF) alleges…

Aug 24, 2015 9:35 AM CDT

Canadian lawsuit seeks $578M over dump of hacked info from Ashley Madison dating site

Two Canadian law firms filed a class action lawsuit in Windsor, Ontario, on Thursday over a much-publicized data dump this week by unknown hackers of information about users of the Ashley Madison dating site. Although a disabled widower is currently the only named plaintiff, attorney Ted Charney of Charney Lawyers,…

Aug 24, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Data brokers sold consumer info to scammers who stole $7M, FTC says

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against a Florida-based data broker operation. It contends two affiliated companies collected and sold consumer payday loan applications between 2009 and 2013 to a company that used the information for a $7 million fraud. While defendants Sequoia One and Gen X Marketing…

Aug 12, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Nearly 4 million affected by hack on medical records systems software company, feds say

Nearly 4 million patients of 11 health care providers in multiple states were affected by a hack attack earlier this year on Medical Informatics Engineering. The Indiana-based company creates software for Internet-based medical records systems used by health care providers, the Associated Press explained when the intrusion was announced in…

Aug 4, 2015 2:50 PM CDT

Bank has standing to challenge constitutionality of federal consumer agency, appeals court says

A federal appeals court has ruled that a bank has standing to challenge the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Friday in the suit by the State National Bank of Big Spring, report the National Law…

Jul 27, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

US seeks unprecedented life sentence for peanut executive in food safety case

The U.S. government is asking a federal judge to impose a life sentence on the former owner of a peanut-processing company who was convicted for covering up salmonella contamination. If a judge agrees with the calculation in sentencing Stewart Parnell, the 61-year-old former executive would receive the harshest punishment so…

Jul 27, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Buyers of ‘Weight Loss Cure’ would get $11 checks under refund plan; receiver seeks missing millions

A federal judge in Chicago gave tentative approval on Tuesday to a plan to send $11 refund checks to buyers of a book called The Weight Loss Cure ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman said he would give lawyers for TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau…

Jul 22, 2015 1:56 PM CDT

Feds face tough laws requiring specific intent in possible criminal case over GM ignition issues

After the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, prosecutors charged a BP unit with violating the federal Clean Water Act over the deaths of brown pelicans. Like similar consumer-safety laws involving pharmaceuticals and food, no specific intent is required to prove a violation, the New York Times (reg.…

Jul 21, 2015 12:35 PM CDT