Consumer Law

Lawsuits Blame Fires on Stainless Steel Flexible Gas Lines

Several lawsuits blame flexible stainless steel gas lines for fires sparked by lightning strikes. The flexible corrugated tubing, developed in Japan to avoid breaks in earthquakes, is being used more frequently in new homes in the United States, the Associated Press reports. But some fire officials are raising concerns that…

Dec 22, 2011 12:32 PM CST

Federal Construction-Defect Probe Looks at Allegedly Rigged HOA Elections at Las Vegas Condo Complex

A number of individuals who bought homes in big Las Vegas condominium complexes during the last decade or so were looking for a quiet life in retirement. Little did they realize the excitement that awaited them there, as contractors and real estate attorneys vied for a piece of the construction-defect…

Dec 20, 2011 2:53 PM CST

NY Animal Lovers Can Once Again Be Buried with Pets, Thanks to Lawyer’s Effort

Pet cemeteries in New York may once again accept human ashes because of a New York lawyer’s effort to honor the wishes of her deceased uncle. The state’s Division of Cemeteries has issued new regulations allowing the practice after a campaign by lawyer Taylor York, a criminal justice professor at…

Dec 20, 2011 12:32 PM CST

Senate Blocks Cordray to Head New Consumer Bureau in Spat over Its Powers

Democrats failed to get enough votes on Thursday to stop a filibuster of President Obama’s nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Republicans say they won’t approve anyone to head the bureau until the law is changed to subject the agency to more accountability, report the New York…

Dec 9, 2011 12:31 PM CST

‘Lemon Law King’ Blasts New Law Limiting Attorney Fees, Says He Won’t Represent Republicans

A Milwaukee lawyer who calls himself the “lemon law king” is vowing to never take on a Republican client because of a new law limiting attorney fees in Wisconsin. The lawyer, Vince Megna, apparently inspired Wisconsin lawmakers to pass the bill that he so abhors, the Associated Press reports. Megna…

Dec 8, 2011 3:18 PM CST

HHS Secty Nixes FDA’s OK of Nonprescription Sale of Plan B Emergency Contraceptive to Teens Under 17

The Food and Drug Administration was ready to approve a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. proposal to sell the company’s Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive to girls under age 17 over the counter, without a prescription. But, in an unusual move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today blocked the…

Dec 8, 2011 12:32 AM CST

Woman Sues, Says Dealer Didn’t Disclose Her Smelly Used Car Once Held a Corpse

A woman has sued a used-car dealer in greater Detroit and the company that financed her 2006 Ford Expedition, contending that she wasn’t told when she purchased the vehicle used that it had once held a corpse. “They bought the car while it was still cold out in March,” attorney…

Dec 6, 2011 10:22 PM CST

Public Records Dispute Leads to Lawsuit Seeking $1.25 in Damages

A dispute with a resident over a $1.25 copying charge has bought a Florida town a lawsuit. Bill Di Scipio says he was told he couldn’t himself photograph the Southwest Ranches records he wanted to see, forced to purchase photocopies as a result and then shortchanged, reports the South Florida…

Dec 6, 2011 5:46 PM CST

New Smartphone Suit re Data-Sharing Software Targets Apple, Wireless Cos., Device Makers, Carrier IQ

In at least the third would-be class action filed since technology blogger Trevor Eckhart last month reported that smartphones are providing carriers with private information about individual users, eight major defendants are accused in a federal lawsuit (PDF) filed Dec. 2 in Delaware of violating wiretap law via their common…

Dec 6, 2011 1:44 AM CST

Unhappy Patient Sues When Dentist Seeks to Enforce Contract Banning Bad Reviews

A dental patient unhappy with a bill totaling nearly $4,800 is suing to overturn a contract he signed banning him from criticizing his dentist. Public Citizen filed suit on behalf of Robert Lee, who now lives in Huntingtown, Md., according to Ars Technica’s Law & Disorder blog, the New York…

Dec 1, 2011 2:53 PM CST

Don’t Try This at Home, Experts Warn Parents Tempted to Infect Kids With Chicken Pox via Web Aids

Thinking to protect their children against a vaccine some are fearful of, parents have put an Internet twist on a longtime custom of intentionally infecting their kids with chicken pox. But this is a bad idea for a number of reasons, experts warn. Among them, it is a federal offense…

Nov 29, 2011 12:51 AM CST

Shopping Malls Put Hold On Plan to Monitor Cellphones After Lawmaker Asks Questions

A plan by two shopping malls to track shoppers’ movements via their turned-on cellphones has been put on hold, after a lawmaker asked questions. The survey, by malls in California and Virginia, began on Black Friday, as scheduled. But after someone called over the weekend on behalf of Sen. Charles…

Nov 28, 2011 7:40 PM CST

7th Circuit Nixes Class Action Over Junk Faxes, Criticizes How Plaintiffs’ Counsel Obtained Clients

Reversing a trial court’s green light for a would-be class action, a federal court of appeals yesterday nixed the expansion of a case over junk faxes. In doing so, the court criticized the way Chicago-based Bock & Hatch lined up clients for the case, Reuters reports. Promising confidentiality to a…

Nov 23, 2011 6:52 PM CST

Big Brother May Not Be Watching You, But Some Shopping Malls Know Where You Are at All Times

In an example of how cutting-edge technology apparently may be far ahead of lawmakers, PC Magazine is reporting that at least two U.S. shopping malls, in California and Virginia, will be tracking customers through their cellphones this holiday season. The Footpath system, which tracks shoppers anonymously, according to those who…

Nov 23, 2011 5:56 PM CST

Calif. AG Subpoenas Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in Wide-Ranging Lending and Foreclosure Probe

California’s attorney general has subpoenaed mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a wide-ranging probe of their lending, foreclosure and property management practices concerning the thousands of properties for which they now serve as landlords, reports the Los Angeles Times, citing an unidentified source. Representatives of the two government-controlled…

Nov 17, 2011 7:52 PM CST