Consumer Law

Lawyers Plan to Sue 20 More Law Schools over Employment Stats

A lawyer participating in suits against 14 law schools has more ambitious plans in his quest to improve reporting of employment rates for graduates. On Wednesday, New York lawyer David Anziska announced plans to sue 20 more schools. He hopes there will be more. “I truly believe that at the…

Mar 15, 2012 12:23 PM CDT

Truck Driver Who Won Small Claims Victory re Unlimited Phone Plan Spurns AT&T Offer to Settle Case

Victorious in a small claims case against telecommunications giant AT&T, which had slowed down his use of his “unlimited” phone plan, a California truck driver has spurned a settlement effort by the company. After receiving a letter dated Friday from a law firm representing AT&T that urges him to sit…

Mar 13, 2012 10:17 PM CDT

3 Attorneys Face Felony Charges Over What Calif. AG Calls a Law Firm Home-Loan Modification Scam

Three partners of a law firm based near Sacramento, Calif., were arrested today and and face felony charges on accusations that they were operating what the state attorney general describes as a law firm home-loan-modification scam. Gregory Flahive, 39, Cynthia Flahive, 41, and Mike Johnson, 42, who serves as managing…

Mar 8, 2012 11:33 PM CST

Movie Fan Sues over Theater’s High Snack Prices and Ban on Outside Food

A class-action lawsuit filed by a movie fan in Michigan claims the snack prices at AMC Theaters are so high that they violate price-gouging provisions of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. Lawyer Kerry Morgan of Wyandotte filed the suit last week on behalf of Joshua Thompson, who is a “20-something…

Mar 6, 2012 12:44 PM CST

LegalZoom Closing in on IPO Filing, Reuters Reports

The country’s largest online legal document service company—LegalZoom—is within weeks of filing for an initial public offering, Reuters is reporting. LegalZoom, co-founded by former O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro, is in the process of selecting underwriters for the IPO, the news agency reports. The Los Angeles-based company acknowledged last July…

Feb 29, 2012 8:31 PM CST

Pro Se Plaintiff Wins $850 Small-Claims Award in Data-Throttling Case Against AT&T

Individuals who purchased “unlimited data” plans from AT&T in years past presumably may have expected to use as much as they wanted. But, after warning customers, the telecommunications company has started slowing down the speed at which the heaviest users of such plans can proceed. It stopped selling such plans…

Feb 24, 2012 9:50 PM CST

ABA Urges Protection for Privileged Banking Material Shared with New Consumer Bureau

The ABA is urging Congress to update federal legislation to provide explicit protection for privileged bank materials shared with the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In letters to key House and Senate leaders, ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III says he supports pending legislation to make clear there…

Feb 24, 2012 5:38 PM CST

ABA President Backs Obama’s Budget Request for Legal Services Corp.

ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III is endorsing President Obama’s $402 million budget request for the Legal Services Corp. in fiscal 2013. The amount is $68 million less than the amount requested by the LSC, an agency that delivers civil legal help to low-income Americans, according to The BLT:…

Feb 24, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Suit by Law Student Claims Her School Negligently Admitted Her

A law student in Tennessee with $80,000 in education debt claims in a suit filed this week that her school should not have admitted her. The $750,000 suit by Morgan Crutchfield says Lincoln Memorial University accepted her even though she had not completed her undergraduate degree and will be ineligible…

Feb 17, 2012 12:30 PM CST

New FCC Rules Limit Robo-Calls, Require Written Consent and Immediate Automatic Opt-Out Opportunity

In a move that could help bring relief to consumers pestered by dozens of robo-calls daily despite putting their phone numbers on the Do Not Call list, the Federal Communications Commission today unanimously adopted new restrictions on such auto-dialing. Under the new FCC rules, telemarketers must obtain prior written consent…

Feb 15, 2012 11:28 PM CST

Feds File Fair-Housing Suit Against NY Co-Op Over Its Refusal to Allow Mini Schnauzer ‘Comfort Dog’

A federal prosecutor has filed suit against a New York housing co-operative, contending that it violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a miniature schnauzer “comfort dog” as a reasonable accommodation for a resident’s disabilities despite a no-pets policy. Sandra Biegel died in 2007 at age 74, a…

Feb 14, 2012 8:35 PM CST

Lawyers Get Paid, 1 Client Gets $5K, 125K Others Zip If Judge OKs Pact in Suit Against Law Firm

When thousands of clients retained a Maryland-based law firm to help them reduce their consumer debt, they weren’t made aware of a few key facts, a federal class action lawsuit contends. Among them: That the money they paid would go first to cover attorney fees to Persels & Associates. Hence,…

Feb 14, 2012 7:32 PM CST

Cheesecake Factory Will Post Drink Prices in Mass. After Threatened Suit; Law Prof Cites UCC

The Cheesecake Factory will begin posting drink prices at its seven Massachusetts locations after a lawyer threatened a lawsuit. Buoyed by the change, Newton lawyer Ross Mitchell tells the Boston Herald he will pursue other restaurants as well. “At this point we’re looking at other national chains,” he said, “but…

Feb 13, 2012 1:45 PM CST

Did FDA Regulations Cause a Drop in America’s Transfat Levels?

Americans may be at less risk of heart attacks today because of labeling requirements by the Food and Drug Administration. A new study has found that transfat levels in the blood of white Americans dropped by 58 percent from 2000 to 2009, report the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal…

Feb 9, 2012 3:50 PM CST

2 Former TSU Law Students Sue Over ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’ D Grade in First-Year Contracts Class

Updated: Jonathan Chan and Karla Ford expected to be second-year law students at Texas Southern University this year. Instead, the two are making headlines after filing an unusual federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas last week. It contends the D grades they got from an adjunct professor teaching…

Feb 8, 2012 7:50 PM CST