Consumer Law

Feds and 15 states sue law firms and attorneys, alleging mortgage-relief scams

Federal agencies and 15 states have announced a wave of litigation against law firms, attorneys, affiliated companies and others that claimed to perform work on behalf of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. California attorney Stephen Siringoringo; the Florida-based firms Hoffman Law Group and Lanier Law; the Chicago-based Mortgage Law…

Jul 23, 2014 9:45 PM CDT

Murder-suicide does not have to be disclosed to home buyer, state supreme court says

A murder-suicide in a home is not a material defect that must be disclosed to the buyer, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled. The court ruled (PDF) on Monday in a suit by the buyer, Janet Milliken, alleging common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation and violation of the state’s consumer protection…

Jul 23, 2014 3:07 PM CDT

Plaintiffs lawyers fight ‘loser-pays’ bylaw adopted in middle of shareholder suit

A shareholder suit over $2.5 million in bonuses paid to executives of a pharmaceutical company is the latest battleground in an ongoing fight over a new corporate “loser-pays” bylaw that may have gotten a green light from the Delaware Supreme Court earlier this year. The bylaw at issue in the…

Jul 22, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Suit says law firm removed estate administrator in effort to block $2M malpractice case

A Houston law firm did not file an adequate medical expert report as required in a wrongful hospital death case, resulting in the “worst possible outcome” when the case was dismissed, an estate administrator says Then Jones Morris Klevenhagen tried to block her from bringing a malpractice case against the…

Jul 22, 2014 3:05 PM CDT

Johns Hopkins to pay $190M to settle case over gynecologist’s secret photos of patients during exams

Allegedly failing to supervise properly a longtime gynecologist who secretly took photos of his patients during pelvic examinations will cost a well-known Baltimore hospital $190 million. That’s the amount Johns Hopkins Hospital has agreed to pay to settle a class action in Baltimore City Circuit Court by more than 9,000…

Jul 21, 2014 9:20 PM CDT

$23.6B in punitives awarded to smoker’s widow; tobacco lawyer says ‘runaway verdict’ won’t stand

Jurors in Florida awarded $23.6 billion in punitive damages on Friday to a Pensacola widow whose chain-smoking husband died of lung cancer. Lawyers representing the widow, Cynthia Robinson, had argued that defendant R. J. Reynolds had deliberately concealed the health hazards of smoking. Robinson’s husband, Michael Johnson Sr., had favored…

Jul 21, 2014 12:53 PM CDT

Company co-founder is personally liable for Buckyballs recall refunds

The Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday announced a formal recall of Buckyballs—and the refunds will be paid by a co-founder and former head of the now-defunct company that developed the desk toy. The recall effort began in 2012. According to the New York Times, the BB-sized magnetic toys that stack…

Jul 18, 2014 5:01 PM CDT

As leaders blame GM lawyers for ignition woes, lawmaker asks: Why wasn’t general counsel fired?

During a Thursday hearing before a U.S. Senate commerce subcommittee, top General Motors Co. officials blamed in-house lawyers for the company’s delay in dealing effectively with a deadly ignition-switch issue that caused 54 accidents and at least 13 deaths over the course of a decade. But that led the subcommittee’s…

Jul 17, 2014 8:55 PM CDT

State AG sues 2 foreclosure law firms; one agrees to pay $10M and sell or close down

The Colorado attorney general filed suit Tuesday against the state’s biggest foreclosure law firms and two related companies. He alleges they racked up millions of dollars in profits by charging excessive fees to all parties involved in the cases, in violation of antitrust, consumer protection and debt-collection statutes. One of…

Jul 16, 2014 8:06 PM CDT

Apple OKs high-low settlement of as little as zero and as much as $400M in e-book price-fixing case

Faced with ongoing federal antitrust litigation contending that Apple Inc. conspired with publishers to fix the prices of e-books, the company insists that it did nothing wrong. However, Apple has nonetheless agreed to a high-low settlement of the case, contingent on what happens in a pending federal appeal, according to…

Jul 16, 2014 5:59 PM CDT

Judge will review undercover video in UPL case against Legal Docs by Me

A New York judge will review undercover video in a case alleging Legal Docs by Me engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. Judge James McClusky of Watertown said on Tuesday that he will review video recorded by investigators for the New York Attorney General’s office, report Time Warner Cable…

Jul 16, 2014 2:15 PM CDT

Law firm operates ‘more like a factory’ in filing hundreds of thousands of debt suits, CFPB alleges

A Georgia-based law firm uses automation and support staff to sue hundreds of thousands of consumers to collect debts for credit card companies and debt buyers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges in a lawsuit. In some cases, the consumers don’t owe any money, or they owe money in lower…

Jul 15, 2014 5:01 PM CDT

Illinois AG sues over claimed student-loan debt-settlement ‘scams’

Lawsuits filed Monday by the Illinois attorney general over what she described as student-loan debt-settlement “scams” are said to be the first such suits to be filed by any state. Lisa Madigan sued Broadsword Student Advantage in Champaign County Circuit Court and First American Tax Defense in Cook County Circuit…

Jul 14, 2014 8:45 PM CDT

Citi to pay $7B in latest settlement of US claims that sub-par mortgages caused financial crisis

A $7 billion pact with Citigroup is the latest announced settlement of claims by the U.S. that sub-par mortgages knowingly sold by banks to unwitting investors in the form of derivative products, including Citi’s securitized loans caused the financial crisis that began in 2008, The bank will pay $4 billion…

Jul 14, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

FTC sues Amazon, says it let kids make in-app purchases that ran up big bills for parents

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Thursday. The agency contends that the online retail giant violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by allowing children playing games such as Angry Birds and Ice Age Village to make in-app purchases that ran up a big bill for their parents, without their…

Jul 11, 2014 12:49 PM CDT