One case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that the maker of a product called Muscle Milk does not contain milk. The allegations also complain that the maker, Cytosport, falsely advertises Muscle Milk as being a healthy and nutritious product, when in fact the products are filled with fats. The complaint alleges that the labels on Muscle Milk products falsely lead consumers to believe that they are lean products that contain significant muscle-building ingredients.
]]> A suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of California against Hain Celestial, a well-known health product label. It is claimed that Hain is resorting to false advertising when it labels its tea products as "100 percent natural." The complaint alleges that two of the ingredients are from genetically modified crops, making them definitely not natural.The third case was filed against another well-known health product manufacturer, R.W. Knudsen, and its product called Family Organic Blueberry Pomegranate Juice. These juices are advertised as "100 percent natural," according to the plaintiffs. It is alleged that the label omits ingredients and contains reconstituted items and is otherwise a processed juice that is not natural. The complaint alleges a number of deceptive business practices, and seeks injunctive relief along with monetary damages. In each case, the federal court located in California will have to first determine whether the requirements of a class action are sufficiently met to certify the class going forward.
Source: bevnet.com, "Class Action Lawsuits Target Muscle Milk, Hain Celestial, R.W. Knudsen", Ray Latif, Feb. 12, 2015
]]>The breach was particularly devastating in that it affected some 80 million customers, former customers and even employees of the giant healthcare complex. Moreover, the amount of information is alarming, consisting of names, addresses, social security numbers, email addresses, income and employment data. In other words, there was enough information stolen to easily assume an individual victim's identity for any number of criminal purposes.
]]> The disaster is reportedly one of the largest breaches ever of customers' personal information. Experts say that Anthem did not encrypt the consumer data that it stored. It also was allegedly not stored in separate databases that could be locked in the event of an attack. An Anthem spokesperson, however, stated that encryption would not have prevented the breach because the hacker used a system administrator's identification and password to enter the system.The California consumer class-action claim was filed in a federal district court on behalf of policy holders. The complaint alleges that the victims paid more for coverage than they would have if they had known how Anthem had failed to protect and had misused their personal information. It alleges also that Anthem employed "shoddy security protocols" with respect to the databases. Additionally, a multi-state investigation was announced by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Source: californiahealthline.org, "Lawsuits Filed Over Anthem Data Breach in California, Other States", Feb. 9, 2015
]]>The settled case was filed by the Federal Trade Commission against TracFone, and its fictitious name brands of Straight Talk, Net 10, Simple Mobile and Telcel America. The government agency accused TracFone of violations of federal provisions prohibiting deceptive marketing. These services would advertise unlimited prepaid data plans but when the customer approached a certain level of use, his or her access would be throttled or cut off.
]]> Persons believing that they may be victims of the scheme can go to a special FTC website to check on eligibility. Someone who is unsure may nonetheless apply and get an answer on whether he or she is covered. The eligibility will apply to persons paying for the service prior to Jan. 2015 and who were cut off or throttled. The term throttled apparently refers to the practice of substantially slowing down the person's data transmissions.The funds are to be turned over immediately and TracFone will not seek return of any funds. The funds may be used toward settlement of numerous private class action suits filed in California and other states. None of the money, however, can be applied toward legal fees, litigation expenses, court costs or incentive payments to class representatives. That in effect means that TracFone must still put out additional funds to settle the private suits that have been filed. It's a common phenomenon to see government-sponsored class actions filed alongside private actions based on the same basic set of facts alleging deceptive business practices or consumer fraud of some sort.
Source: consumerist.com, "TracFone To Refund $40 Million To Customers For Deceptive "Unlimited" Data Claims", Chris Morran, Jan. 28,. 2015
]]>The lawsuit claims that the company has deceptively advertised that the Budweiser brand Bud Light Lime-A-Rita is low in calories. The suit claims that it has more calories than any other Budweiser product. The court papers set forth the numbers of calories for each product, and allege that Lime-A-Rita has more calories than them all.
]]> The suit alleges that the brewer was deceptive in concealing, omitting and misrepresenting the numbers of calories in the product. It seems self-evident that the smaller can of Bud Light Lime-A-Rama contains about 50 percent more calories than a regular can of Budweiser. It contains twice as many calories as a can of Bud Light.Is the plaintiff, however, exaggerating a claim against the beer-maker under circumstances where the information on calories is presumably printed right on the can? Doesn't the consumer have a duty to seek out the truth and not rely on an ad that is for general consumption? The answers will come only when the court gets down to deciding the specific issues in the context of the actual evidence.
However, it may be argued that the plaintiff's assertions in this consumer class-action claim are reasonably well-stated. This may be particularly true based on prior holdings in food mislabeling cases. Deceptively false claims, for example, that a product is "all-natural," have supported California class-action claims even though the label revealed that the product contained chemicals or substances not considered natural. Therefore, it is arguably the law that where there is a material contradiction in the information presented to the consumer, the company is culpable and should be held responsible legally for that discrepancy.
Source: postcrescent.com, "Lawsuit filed against Bud Light Lime-A-Rita", Reg Wydeven, Jan. 25, 2015
]]>The agreement had the effect of stifling mobility and earnings for engineers employed by the companies. The plot was revealed by the Justice Department in 2010. The class action cases were consolidated as a group and are being heard by the same federal district court judge.
]]> There was a tentative settlement in 2013 in which the four companies would pay $324.5 million to the 64,000 class members. However, both the employees and the presiding federal judge nixed the agreement as being too paltry. It would have paid each of the class members a few thousand dollars each.This time around, insiders report that the amount is $415 million. It is generally being reported that the judge will likely approve this proposal. It appears that the defendants do not want a trial, which could expose some of the seedy details of the claimed misconduct.
Substantial revelations are found in emails between company executives, and they do not paint a pretty picture. The general perception put out in the media is that the late Steve Jobs was the mastermind and tight-fisted organizer of the plot. If settled, the unattractive aspects of the matter may finally be put to rest for the California high tech companies, along with bringing some measure of satisfaction to the employment claims of the class members. It is also generally agreed among litigants and observers that the extensive litigation process fairly well assures that the companies will not try the same tactics in the future.
Source: The New York Times, "Bigger Settlement Said to Be Reached in Silicon Valley Antitrust Case", David Streitfeld, Jan. 14, 2015
]]>The decision tended to turn on the issue of the employer's control over the employee. The greater control exerted on the on-call workers, the greater the obligation to pay for all of their hours. The case once again demonstrates the far-reaching effects that class-action employment lawsuits can have in the area of employment law.
]]> One attorney involved in the case indicated that the ruling would not apply to government or hospital workers. Some observers complained that the decision will have a devastating impact on the state economy, in light of attempts to recover from the recession. Others hailed it as a great victory for California workers.In the arrangement that was struck down, the security guards were paid for the full eight hours only if they were needed to work at least for three hours. The indicia for determining what workers may be entitled to payment in other situations will depend on the degree of employer control, such as whether worker movements were restricted and whether they could easily leave the worksite on their own business. The decision protects employees from the potentially unfair situation of waiting for eight hours and getting nothing.
In some ways, the debate over these employment claims in California is similar to the minimum wage debate occurring throughout the country. Business interests say that the economy is still recovering from the recession and that increasing wages would set that progress back. Employees point out that with more wages, consumers will be able to buy more products and the economy will be stimulated in the process.
Source: Los Angeles Times, "On-call workers entitled to pay for all hours spent at job, court rules", Maura Dolan, Jan. 8, 2015
]]>The suit claims that instead of providing the advertised amount to users, Apple tries to sell them space in its Cloud. The massive Apple iOS 8 takes up 1.1 Gigabytes of space and it needs 5.8 gigabytes for wireless installation. When it was released, people with older Apples discovered that their units would essentially not work with the new system, or that they would have great difficulty downloading it.
]]> Apple users have complained that their phones have become unusable due to their inadequate storage capacities. It's widely reported that Apple users are effectively compelled to upgrade to newer models. In fact, as the price of the model purchased goes up so does the amount of storage space obtained.It seems that with the increasing power and versatility of emerging smart phone models, along with the endless array of new apps, the price to be paid is in the need for massive amounts of storage to accommodate the increased activities. The economic toll to customers is taxing, but for Apple it's an economic plus to have customers constantly upgrading from older hardware units. One report estimates that Apple will make $3 billion in 2015 from persons upgrading from older Apple models to the current model. As the pattern continues, it may be that there will be more than one consumer class-action claim filed in the federal courts located in California.
Source: The Huffington Post, "Apple Sued Over Storage-Devouring iOS 8", Alexis Kleinman, Dec. 31, 2014
]]>The most recent development in the case is the federal district court's rejection of Facebook's motion to dismiss the case. The Judge ordered the case to move forward due to Facebook's inability to offer an adequate reason why it was justified in scanning members' private messages in order to create targeted ads. The plaintiffs claimed that the company violated both state and federal laws by intercepting private messages on the Internet.
]]> They claim violations of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act and California's Invasion of Privacy Act. The court held that the company could not explain how the practice was an integral part of its normal business activities. The company's argument, that is must handle the content of private messages to ensure proper delivery, was rejected by the court.The court held that customers retain an expectation of privacy regarding their private messages. Facebook also alleged that the case should not move forward because the scanning practice ended in 2012. The Court apparently agreed with plaintiffs that the company could resume such practices at any time, putting plaintiffs essentially in imminent danger of privacy violations. The federal district court located in California has not yet declared whether the class defined by the plaintiffs in this consumer class-action claim will be certified. It would seem that the nature of the damages to each plaintiff would be generally of a similar nature and therefore subject to the kind of universality required by the class action law
Source: techtimes.com, "US Judge: Facebook Cannot Avoid Class Action Lawsuit Over Scanning Users' Private Messages for Advertising Purposes", Sumit Passary, Dec. 26, 2014
]]>Target had asked the court to dismiss the action because it claimed that the plaintiff consumers could not show that they suffered any damage or injury. The judge implied that the motion of Target was disingenuous by pointing out that the plaintiffs had indeed been exposed to numerous damages. These included having to turn in credit cards and obtain new ones, sometimes with a fee charged.
]]> Other claims involved blocked or limited access to bank accounts, inability to pay other bills and resulting late payment fees. The damages were incurred when banks froze the accounts of cardholders who were in the databases that were stolen. This was done to see if any unauthorized transactions could be found and for the purpose of issuing new cards to the affected persons.There were an estimated 110 million Target shoppers who were affected by the massive data theft, one of the largest in U.S. history. The incident affirmed the class action as a vital tool in bringing some justice to those who were negatively impacted. The trial in the case will take place in a federal court in Minnesota, where Target has its headquarters.
Trial is scheduled for 2016, and the class has not yet been certified. The consumer class-action claim is the consolidated collection of many cases, including some from California, that were filed across the country and combined for trial in the U.S. District Court. The lawsuit alleges that Target breached consumer protection laws and data-breach laws. It also alleges negligence in failing to exercise due care to protect the privacy of its customers.
Source: twincities.com, "Judge allows consumer lawsuits from Target breach", Tom Webb, Dec. 19, 2014
]]>The suit was filed in 2003 in federal court on behalf of consumers who were allegedly deprived of a choice. The allegation was that the defendant, Comcast, carved out a large geographical area and applied unfair business practices to make it extremely difficult for competitors to get into that area. In that way, the company could freely charge higher prices and effectively hold customers hostage to their prices.
]]> It has taken about 11 years, but Comcast and consumer plaintiffs have finally settled for a payment of $50 million in services and money by Comcast. The settlement applies to consumers who were Comcast subscribers from Jan. 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2008. Negotiations reduced the class composition down to about 800,000 customers in five counties in Pennsylvania.The services to be provided include temporary Internet upgrades, six free pay-per-view movies or two free months of The Movie Channel. A $15 cash benefit is also available for payment to former Comcast customers who used the services during the affected time frame. Comcast must advertise the settlement widely in the Philadelphia region.
The impact of the settlement on future anti-trust activities by cable companies is unclear. Unfortunately, the consumer plaintiffs suffered a reversal in 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling in favor of Comcast. This settlement apparently reflects limitations imposed by the high court ruling, applicable nationally including in California. It leaves unanswered questions about anti-trust practices by cable providers, but reaffirms the continuing utility of using the consumer class-action claim to protect the rights of consumers.
Source: philly.com, "Comcast to pay $50 million in class-action suit", Bob Fernandez, Dec. 13, 2014
]]>The specter of new class-action claims comes less than six months after Sony settled a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of millions of its Sony Play Station customers. In that case, Sony left its customers' data bases unguarded, and up to 77 million customers had their personal information stolen from Sony's control. This time around, the damage has been inflicted mostly on Sony's employees, whose personal information was stolen by hackers.
]]> According to the attorney who sued Sony on the Play Station case, Sony violated the basic industry standards for data encryption of employees' information with respect to this recent debacle. Reportedly, most of the basic information on employees was held in unencrypted and even non-password-protected files. Critics of Sony's lapse in this matter say that the company should know better – it clearly had access to all of the technical knowledge and resources to keep the information safe.Thus, the main basis of any upcoming class actions will be the company's alleged negligence in failing to provide basic protection to its employees' information. Since the stolen information contained such critical information as social security numbers, the company will not likely get far in arguing that it had no duty to protect the employees' information. Since the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot is located in Culver City, it's likely that at least some of the anticipated class-action suits will be filed in California.
Source: buzzfeed.com, "Sony Could Face Class Action Lawsuit For Data Breach", Matthew Zeitlin, Dec. 3, 2014
]]>Based on the heightened expectations and needs of consumers in the currently evolving national marketplace, however, one can reasonably predict that the case has a likelihood for success. The defendant is Whole Foods Market and the product is 365 Everyday Value Nonfat Greek yogurt. The company's spokesperson has confirmed that while Whole Foods investigates the matter, the product has been removed from the shelves.
]]> The plaintiff, a customer who has been purchasing the yogurt since 2011, filed the action in a federal district court in Texas after a report was published by Consumer Reports. The venerable consumer group investigated the sugar content of the product and published its findings. The defendant company stated that it uses an independent testing firm to validate its labeling. The Consumer Reports article, however, concluded that Whole Foods either knew or should have reasonably known that the label was incorrect.The complaint asserts that plain Greek yogurt naturally has about two grams of sugar from its lactose content. The class certification is requested for anyone who bought the product since Nov. 7, 2010. The complaint requests about $5 million in damages, along with an injunction to prevent the practice in the future.
At this point it does not appear that a consumer class-action claim was filed against Whole Foods in California. Californians who qualify will therefore be part of the certified class in the above-referenced case if it is indeed certified by the court. There is also reportedly one other class action on the same subject matter filed in another federal court in another state.
Source: washingtonexaminer.com, "Consumer Reports claims result in class actions, removal of yogurt from Whole Foods shelves", Kyla Asbury, Nov. 25, 2014
]]>If the allegation is true, Sephora's alleged attempt to lock out all Chinese and Asian people from its website because they are presumed resellers of sale items, is a presumptuous bit of racial-profiling that appears difficult to defend. The complaint alleges that thousands of people were blocked from the website sale, and most of them had nothing to do with reselling. Instead, their only reason for being selected was the Asian appearance of their name.
]]> The complaint, filed in a federal district court in New York, alleges that the company announced the action on its Facebook page and called reselling a "pervasive issue throughout the industry and the world." The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs live in the United States and are not involved in reselling. It is alleged that the company exacerbated its wrongful policy by continuing to block Chinese and other Asians after it opened a hot line to reinstate accounts the next day.Sephora's Facebook page reportedly became flooded with complaints, but Sephora never admitted that the action was taken against a certain racial group. It's alleged that the racial discrimination continued for several days thereafter and may even still be in effect. Sephora issued a denial to the lawsuit, stating that customers from several different countries were included in the lockout. The class asserted by the plaintiffs in this consumer class-action claim is expected to contain members on a nationwide basis, including from California.
Source: jezebel.com, "Women File Class Action Suit Against Sephora For Alleged Racism", Kate Dries, Nov. 19, 2014
]]>Recently, a class action on behalf of about 7,500 interns who were employed by publisher Conde Nast, which produces publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker, was settled for $5.8 million. Most of the interns claimed that they were paid less than $1 per hour for summer work. The settlement in a Manhattan federal court covers interns who worked for the company within the past seven years.
]]> Interns are expected to get about $700 to $1,900 each through the settlement. Other companies in the entertainment and publishing industry have also been sued by interns through class actions recently. Some of the defendants are NBC Universal, Hearst Publishing and Warner Music. It seems that the companies sought the interns not just for 'grunge' work but apparently also to test the waters to see if any of them had potential futures in the fashion and broadcast industries.Thus, the internships served as launching pads for some individuals, which provided an even greater benefit to the employers. The CEO of Conde Nast reflected that benefit when recently discussing the termination of the internship program. He stated that the company might look for new ways to support "up-and-coming" talent.
Class-action suits involving a variety of employment claims are regularly litigated in the state and federal courts in California. The class-action claim has become a popular vehicle to pursue employment claims. A class-action suit can represent thousands of workers with similar losses who can receive monetary or other relief through a single action. It would be prohibitively expensive for individual claimants to file single lawsuits in the courts for the relatively modest amounts usually lost by the employees.
Source: New York Post, "Conde Nast settles class-action suit by underpaid interns", Rich Calder and Keith J. Kelly, Nov. 14, 2014
]]>The complaint is filed by a mortgage borrower who alleges that he was charged fees for an unauthorized escrow account. The case alleges various charges of fraud against Ocwen and asks the court to certify a class-action claim. During the height of the mortgage crisis and continuing into recent months, various charges have surfaced against a number of mortgage servicers, which were said to use backhanded tactics and generally to be acting in bad faith with respect to their duties.
]]> Ocwen has been the subject of a serious probe in New York state where regulators have stopped it from entering into a massive servicing rights contract with Wells Fargo. The probe has centered on Ocwen's alleged attempts to force borrowers into foreclosure and to combat their right to be considered for loan modifications. New York regulators have said that the company sent thousands of back-dated letters out to borrowers regarding loan modifications and foreclosures that negatively affected their rights.The federal district court in California will have the task of deciding whether to certify the case as a class action. When a consumer class-action claim asserts a cognizable practice of consumer fraud by a major financial institution, and where the practice hurt thousands of consumers who suffered similar financial losses, the court may certify the case to proceed as a class action. In that event, the plaintiff would act on behalf of the identified class and would communicate with that class to provide information and, where necessary, to request input for a proposed settlement.
Source: Reuters, "Lawsuit targets Ocwen over fees, seeks class action", Dan Levine, Nov. 6, 2014
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