Consumer Law

Does $350M case at trial against Apple have a lead plaintiff? Judge hasn’t yet ruled

One of two lead plaintiffs dropped out of a $350 million antitrust class action against Apple Inc. last week, after lawyers for the computer goliath questioned whether she had purchased one of the iPods at issue in the California case. However, the federal judge overseeing the trial that is now…

Dec 8, 2014 5:40 PM CST

Uh-oh. Did lead plaintiffs seeking $350M in Apple trial purchase iPods as required?

Several days into the trial of a federal antitrust class action in which some 8 million iPod purchasers seek $350 million in damages from Apple Inc., a problem has arisen. It isn’t clear that the two lead plaintiffs did, in fact, purchase devices at issue in the nearly 10-year-old case,…

Dec 5, 2014 10:15 AM CST

Woman sues Chick-fil-A and cherry supplier, says milkshake caused tooth damage and heart attack

A Colorado woman is suing Chick-fil-A and a maraschino cherry supplier, alleging that a milkshake she ordered in May at one of the chain restaurant’s Dallas-area eateries caused tooth damage and a heart attack. Plaintiff Cyndi Scruggs says the shake came with whipped cream and a cherry on top. When…

Dec 4, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Plaintiffs are seeking $1B in Apple trial over software that required iTunes to be played on iPods

Technology has moved on in the nearly 10 years since a class action was filed against Apple Inc. over the company’s handling of songs downloaded onto iPods from its iTunes Music Store. However, that won’t prevent the computer goliath from being hit with a costly damages award, if a federal…

Dec 4, 2014 10:25 AM CST

Paying workers with health issues to get exchange-market insurance violates the law, feds say

Many major companies are self-insured. So paying employees with significant health issues to opt out of the company medical plan and get coverage on the insurance exchange market could be a big cost-saver. Someone with hemophilia or hepatitis could rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in medical costs.…

Nov 25, 2014 5:15 PM CST

Fast-food sellers must list calories ‘clearly and conspicuously’ on menus within a year, FDA says

Setting new rules Tuesday despite opposition from food sellers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said menus and billboards from which customers order must “clearly and conspicuously” list calorie counts by next November. The purpose of the new rules, which were imposed under a little-known provision of the Affordable Care…

Nov 25, 2014 3:55 PM CST

Posner: ‘Outlandish’ attorney fees in glucosamine settlement were part of a ‘selfish deal’

A nationwide class-action settlement calling for the payment of $1.93 million in attorney fees represented “a selfish deal” between class counsel and a company that makes glucosamine pills, a federal appeals court has ruled in an opinion by Judge Richard Posner. The settlement by NBTY and its subsidiary Rexall Sundown…

Nov 25, 2014 10:03 AM CST

Are tech elite above the law? Columnist questions whether industry promotes lawless hubris

Do those who rule the Internet and run the technology industry intertwined with it have to follow the same rules that apply to the rest of humanity? That question was raised by a writer for the Washington Post (reg. req.), in the wake of news that Uber Technologies executive Emil…

Nov 20, 2014 4:45 PM CST

Police put brakes on body-camera plan, citing records request; earlier dashcam suits were costly

A plan to equip more than 1,000 police officers in Seattle with body cameras may not fly, due to the potential cost of citizen public records requests, officials say. A Tuesday request by an individual known only by his email address, [email protected], sought a broad swath of police records, the…

Nov 20, 2014 1:05 PM CST

Suit smells something amiss with unscented deodorant

A class action lawsuit against five deodorant companies claims they are misleading consumers by labeling deodorants as “unscented” despite their discernible smell. The suit (PDF) by lead plaintiff Melissa Fogarty of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, alleges the targeted products have “a noticeable and unmistakable scent detectible by any reasonable consumer.”…

Nov 20, 2014 11:00 AM CST

Feds cite ‘epidemic’ of debt-collection abuse, charge 7 individuals and company in ongoing probe

A Georgia-based debt-collection company, its owner and six employees have been criminally charged in what is described by federal authorities as a $4.1 million national scheme that took advantage of more than 6,000 people. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan, who is overseeing the case, says a larger investigation of…

Nov 18, 2014 5:17 PM CST

Google wins SLAPP motion, has constitutional right to list search results as it wishes

Unhappy about search-engine results that put its website way down in the list of results, the owner of CoastNews sued Google, alleging antitrust law issues and seeking some $5 million in damages. But the search-engine Goliath not only prevailed but did so in a motion to dismiss under California’s SLAPP…

Nov 18, 2014 2:30 PM CST

Passengers get $2,500 for 10-hour ordeal on cold subway during 2010 snowstorm

Passengers who spent 10 hours stuck on an unheated New York City subway train without food or water during a major 2010 snowstorm are getting paid about $250 an hour for doing so. A settlement reached between the Metropolitan Transit Authority and 38 passengers calls for each to get a…

Nov 18, 2014 11:35 AM CST

Unconscious woman with medical insurance is taken to out-of-network hospital, owes $50K

When Megan Rothbauer had a heart attack in 2013, she was, luckily, covered by medical insurance. Unfortunately, she wound up in the emergency room of a Madison, Wisconsin, hospital outside her Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance network. Ironically, another hospital a few blocks away was in-network. Now the 30-year-old is…

Nov 12, 2014 5:20 PM CST

It’s unethical for prosecutors to lend out letterhead to debt collectors, ABA opinion says

District attorneys should not contract out their letterhead to private debt collection companies, who then use that official letterhead to scare consumers into paying debts. ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 469 (PDF) explains that this practice violates ABA Model Rules against lawyer conduct involving dishonesty or misrepresentation and aiding or assisting…

Nov 12, 2014 7:02 AM CST