MeetMe has inadequate privacy protections for minors, city attorney alleges in lawsuit

The MeetMe social networking site is facing a lawsuit that claims it has inadequate privacy protections, putting minors at risk of targeting by sexual predators. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit on Monday, report the San Francisco Examiner, Bay City News Service and the Los Angeles Times. The…

Feb 4, 2014 6:00 PM CST

Generic drugs leave a bad taste for patients filing tort suits

Feb 1, 2014 9:40 AM CST

Family sues Uber over death of girl, 6, says smartphone app violates state distracted-driving law

It hasn’t taken long for a test case to arise concerning the potential liability of technology companies for smartphone apps that connect private drivers with paying passengers. The family of a six-year-old girl killed in New Year’s Eve auto accident filed a lawsuit against both the driver and Uber on…

Jan 28, 2014 3:25 PM CST

Survey leads to multiple federal complaints of widespread discrimination against deaf renters

A yearlong national survey showed a “disturbing” amount of discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing would-be renters and led to the filing of nine federal fair-housing administrative complaints by advocacy groups and calls for better training of those who deal with individuals with hearing impairments. So-called matched-pair testing by the National…

Jan 27, 2014 7:40 PM CST

Judge Judy is behind a new courtroom TV show, ‘Hot Bench’

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considered a “hot bench,” whose judges don’t hesitate to jump in and fire tough questions at lawyers appearing before the court in oral arguments. And that’s even more true of the U.S. Supreme Court, said Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook in a…

Jan 23, 2014 11:09 PM CST

Man who responded to Craigslist ad for a sperm donor is a dad, must pay child support, judge rules

William Marotta didn’t intend to be a father when he responded to a Craigslist ad for a sperm donor in 2009, and the two women who sought one didn’t want that result, either. But, because they didn’t have a physician perform the artificial insemination procedure, the written waiver of his…

Jan 22, 2014 11:45 PM CST

There’s an app for that: Fed-up motorist helps others fight parking tickets, for a fee

A San Francisco motorist who got so many parking tickets that he became something of an expert at fighting them has created an application to help others do so, for a 25 percent fee if there is a dismissal. David Hegarty’s Fixed app, launched in a trial beta version last…

Jan 22, 2014 9:00 PM CST

Proposed bill would limit consumer lawsuits against retailers who comply with data-security rules

In the wake of massive security breaches that reportedly took place in recent months at Target, Nieman Marcus and, security experts say, probably other retailers as well, federal lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would impose new requirements on companies concerning the protection of confidential information related to credit…

Jan 21, 2014 7:00 PM CST

Husband sues hospital to force it to take his brain-dead, pregnant wife off life support

A Texas paramedic has sued a Fort Worth hospital in an effort to get a court order requiring it to remove the body of his pregnant wife from life support. Marlise Munoz, who also is a paramedic, was found unconscious Nov. 26. Her husband, Erick Munoz, says in the suit…

Jan 14, 2014 9:30 PM CST

FCC lacked authority to impose ‘Net neutrality’ on broadband carriers, federal appeals court rules

In a victory for Verizon Communications Inc., a federal appeals court has ruled that a government agency does not have the power to require broadband carriers to comply with so-called Net neutrality regulations concerning Internet traffic. Having opted “to classify broadband providers in a manner that exempts them from treatment…

Jan 14, 2014 8:55 PM CST

Mississippi AG’s suit against LCD screen makers may remain in state court, SCOTUS says

A lawsuit against makers of LCD screens filed by Mississippi’s attorney general is not a “mass action” that may be removed by the defendants from state to federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The suit, which claimed the defendants formed a cartel to restrict competition and raise prices,…

Jan 14, 2014 4:45 PM CST

SCOTUS to decide if Pom Wonderful may challenge competitor’s label under federal law

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider Pom Wonderful’s right to challenge the labeling of a Coca-Cola juice product under federal trademark law. Pom claimed Coca-Cola’s pomegranate blueberry juice consisted mainly of apple and grape juice, report Reuters and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). At issue is whether…

Jan 13, 2014 3:20 PM CST

Football fan sues over Super Bowl ticket sales

A football fan claims in a lawsuit that the National Football League is violating New Jersey consumer fraud law by withholding most Super Bowl tickets from sale to the general public. The suit by Josh Finkelman of New Brunswick, N.J., says only 1 percent of the tickets are sold to…

Jan 8, 2014 12:56 PM CST

Internet car companies offer convenience, but lawyers see caution signs

Jan 1, 2014 10:00 AM CST

Psychic Love Spell Center stole my money, lawyer alleges in lawsuit

A Houston fortune teller failed to detect a lawsuit in her future, filed by a lawyer who says the money he turned over for cleansing was never returned. Bankruptcy and family-law lawyer Michael Busby Jr. says he gave fortune teller Melena Thorn $2,700 in a box for cleansing, but now…

Dec 19, 2013 1:05 PM CST