Judge acquits tourist in Macy’s shoplifting case linked to racial profiling claims

A New York City judge has acquitted a Venezuelan tourist who had been accused of shoplifting from Macy’s, in a case that has been linked by her lawyer to claims of racial profiling by a number of major Big Apple retailers. Maria Paez said she had simply put items in…

Apr 1, 2014 5:25 PM CDT

Website raises legal questions about homeowners and tenants hosting travelers

Apr 1, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

Potential liability for missing Malaysia Air flight depends, in part, on finding plane

AHMAD FAIZAL YAHYA / Shutterstock.com Updated: More than two weeks after a Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared en route to Beijing, it is now thought to be at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia. All 227 passengers and 12 crew members are presumed dead. What happened and…

Mar 25, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Microsoft used Hotmail account to ID leaker, but says it will handle future probes differently

Criticized for using an employee’s personal Hotmail account as an investigative tool in an internal probe, Microsoft Corp. has promised to handle such situations differently in the future. The company has access to Hotmail because it provides the service. Hence, when a former employee, now charged by federal prosecutors, was…

Mar 21, 2014 12:10 PM CDT

Infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau gets 10 years in criminal contempt case over diet-book claims

Showing no sympathy for the current situation of a television infomercial pitchman said to have earned—and lost—some $37 million as a result of diet-book sales and other ventures, a federal judge in Chicago on Monday blasted Kevin Trudeau and sentenced him to 10 years in prison for criminal contempt. Described…

Mar 18, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

5th Circuit: Law firm sued for libel over website seeking clients isn’t protected by SLAPP statute

Agreeing with a trial court that statements made by a Texas law firm on a website seeking legal clients are commercial speech, a federal appeals court has ruled that the firm and two partners must defend a defamation claim made by a national dental firm that was an intended litigation…

Mar 18, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

Solo practitioner ‘single-handedly set the stage’ for massive GM recall

Although it had known for years about an issue with ignition switches in some General Motors vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn’t require a recall, lawyer Lance Cooper told Bloomberg. It wasn’t until the Georgia solo practitioner dug for evidence against the automaker in a wrongful death case…

Mar 17, 2014 5:40 PM CDT

Frequent filer keeps the legal system busy despite ‘vexatious litigant’ status

Raghvendra “Raj” Singh was placed on a California list of vexatious litigants in 2003. But the 51-year-old has found various alternatives that have allowed him not only to continue to file civil cases but to do so for free, KXTV reports. Singh receives tax bills for 24 properties owned in…

Mar 13, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

See the video: Both $4 plastic cup of beer and taller $7 version hold the same amount, lawsuit says

A YouTube video which seems to show that a $4 cup of draft beer sold at a hockey game in Boise, Idaho, holds the same amount of brew as a “large” $7 cup was quickly followed by a lawsuit. Four other Idaho Steelheads fans filed suit in state court in…

Mar 13, 2014 3:40 PM CDT

Justice Department is reportedly probing GM ignition recall

The Justice Department has reportedly opened a preliminary criminal investigation into General Motors’ delayed recall of cars with faulty ignitions, several news outlets are reporting. Spokespersons for the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York did not comment on the report, the Associated Press reports. Among the…

Mar 12, 2014 1:41 PM CDT

Thefts of $470M in bitcoins spur lawsuits, calls for regulation; a ‘bitcoin paradox,’ law prof says

Following recently discovered thefts of some $470 million in virtual currency that shut down the world’s largest bitcoin exchange and a Canadian bitcoin bank, hundreds of investors who lost assets are looking to seek redress in class actions. But observers are wondering how it will be possible to solve crimes…

Mar 5, 2014 11:30 PM CST

Man sues moistened-wipes makers over plumbing bills; defendant stands by product’s ‘flushability’

A New York dentist apparently missed news reports that so-called flushable wipes are responsible for massive “fatberg” formations in a number of municipal sewer systems. However, Dr. Joseph Kurtz is now seeking redress in federal court in Brooklyn, contending that manufacturers’ false claims that moistened wipes can be safely flushed…

Mar 4, 2014 7:35 PM CST

Sprint worker uploaded intimate photos from my trade-in phone to my Facebook page, woman’s suit says

A woman is suing Sprint Corp., contending that an employee browsed through her phone—which she traded in for an upgraded model at a Sprint store last year—then posted intimate photos on the plaintiff’s Facebook page through an application on the phone. The woman—who had forgotten those photos were among the…

Mar 3, 2014 9:30 PM CST

New credit card terms provide for home and workplace visits, phone call spoofing

Capital One doesn’t actually do this, a spokeswoman tells a newspaper columnist. But the language in a recent amendment to the credit card issuer’s contract with consumers says “we may contact you in any manner we choose,” including personal visits to a customer’s home or workplace. The contract language also…

Feb 18, 2014 5:35 PM CST

Major legal publishers to offer law firm refunds for automatic renewals

Without admitting any violation of consumer protection laws, two major legal publishers have voluntarily agreed to the Florida state attorney general’s request that they change their business practices concerning automatic subscription renewals and shipments of materials that were not specifically ordered. West Publishing Corporation and Thomson Reuters Tax Accounting Inc.…

Feb 6, 2014 4:05 PM CST