Consumer Law

Suit claims sapphire purchased by lawyer for $9,000 is actually worth about $30

A lawyer in Wilmington, Delaware, says he paid $12,000 in 1999 to surprise his wife with a 4-carat pink sapphire ring on her birthday. Lawyer Sam Frabizzio says the sapphire itself cost $9,000, while the gold ring and six diamond baguettes added $3,000 to the cost. When Frabizzio had the…

Jul 13, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Worker sues over Kmart’s plastic paychecks

A worker is challenging Kmart’s practice of paying employees through debit cards. Filed last week in California state court, Donte Winfrey Sr.’s suit contends that the company and Sears Holding Corp. are engaging in unfair business and employment practices by paying workers with plastic, Courthouse News reports. The Riverside suit,…

Jul 7, 2015 3:05 PM CDT

Suit claiming Widener law school used misleading job stats can’t proceed as class action, judge says

A federal judge in New Jersey has refused to certify a class action in a suit that claims Widener University School of Law posted misleading job statistics. In his decision (PDF), U.S. District Judge William Walls of Newark cited two reasons why the case could not proceed as a class…

Jul 6, 2015 12:17 PM CDT

2nd Circuit OKs verdict against Apple in $450M e-book price-fixing case

A divided federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a 2013 antitrust verdict against Apple Inc. It centers on the company’s participation in a price-fixing conspiracy concerning e-books, as Apple was promoting its new iPad in 2010. Agreeing with a trial judge that the company conspired with publishers, the New York-based 2nd…

Jun 30, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

FCC seeks to impose record $100M fine on AT&T for slowdown on ‘unlimited’ data plans

The Federal Communications Commission announced on Wednesday that it will seek to impose a $100 million fine on telecommunications giant AT&T for misleading consumers about the company’s “unlimited” data plans for mobile devices. The plans could involve speeds considerably slower than what AT&T advertised, as the company throttled down traffic…

Jun 17, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

New court service alerts property owners when deeds or other documents are filed

For those willing to forge documents, stealing someone else’s home may not be difficult. Anyone who wishes to generally can file a document at the county courthouse, and most property owners likely would have no idea that a fraudulent claim to ownership had been made. However, some court officials are…

Jun 16, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Letters from unknown ‘Watcher’ spark suit against seller of upscale home and title company

One of their reasons for purchasing a $1.3 million home in Westfield, New Jersey, was the New York City bedroom community’s reputation for safety, the buyers say. But a letter they received from “The Watcher” a few days after closing destroyed their sense of security, making it impossible for them…

Jun 16, 2015 1:20 PM CDT

GM, outside firm conspired to hide faulty ignition switches, lawyer alleges

A plaintiff’s lawyer has accused General Motors Co. of conspiring with an outside law firm to conceal faulty ignition switches in millions of cars. Court documents filed by Texas lawyer Bob Hilliard, who represents consumers suing the automaker in a consolidated federal court case in New York, say GM and…

Jun 11, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Pennsylvania AG sues firm, saying it misrepresented law in debt collection letters

An Allentown, Pennsylvania, firm and one of its lawyers is being sued by the state’s attorney general for allegedly misrepresenting the law to intimidate family members into paying off relatives’ medical debts. The suit, filed late last month by Attorney General Kathleen Kane, seeks a permanent injunction against James A.…

Jun 10, 2015 4:05 PM CDT

Suit alleges InfiLaw paid poor performers $5K to delay taking the bar exam

Updated: A graduate of Arizona Summit Law School claims in a lawsuit (PDF) that school owner InfiLaw offers poorly performing students $5,000 to delay taking the bar exam. The suit by law grad Paula Lorona says InfiLaw offered the payment to students at all three of its law schools who…

Jun 8, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Suit accuses Florida man of exploiting glitch in hotel rewards program

Choice Hotels claims in a May 21 lawsuit that a Florida man exploited a glitch in its reservations system to earn gift cards worth $48,500. The booking system failed to erase awards points earned when a reservation was canceled. According to the suit, Robert Chat, 38, of St. Petersburg discovered…

Jun 4, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Elizabeth Warren targets auto loans

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is trying to find a co-sponsor for a bill to bring auto lending within the oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but so far she has found no takers. Warren raised the issue in speeches this spring, Politico reports. “While the CFPB has oversight for…

Jun 3, 2015 10:57 AM CDT

Snake infestation forced home buyers from house, $2M suit alleges

Home buyers in Maryland claim in a $2 million lawsuit that they were forced to move out of their Annapolis home after spending nearly $60,000 in a fruitless effort to eradicate snakes that were nesting in the walls. The suit by Jeff and Jody Brooks, filed in Anne Arundel County,…

Jun 3, 2015 10:07 AM CDT

Florida lawyer asks appeals court to unmask anonymous Avvo reviewer

A Florida lawyer is trying to learn the identity of a negative reviewer on Avvo by seeking to enforce a subpoena in Washington state, where the lawyer-rating website is based. Lawyer Deborah Thomson argued her case last Thursday before an appellate panel, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The National Trial…

Jun 3, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Man sues funeral home after wife’s casket somehow exits concrete vault and floats away in flood

When Richard Lee got a call telling him that his wife’s casket had floated about 100 yards from her Texas burial site because of recent flooding, he thought there must be some mistake. She was laid to rest in 2007 in a concrete vault, so how could that be possible?…

Jun 2, 2015 4:25 PM CDT