Archive for the ‘Consumer Lawsuits’ Category

Judge Michael Davis overturned the obscene $222,000 jury verdict in the Capitol v. Thomas trial with what may become a landmark decision. He ruled the RIAA’s “making available” theory was bogus, and called on Congress to fix the law that made the Thomas verdict possible:

The Court would be remiss if it did not take this [...]

AmeriDebt Returns $13 Million To Debt Management Scam Victims | New York Consumer Litigation

David Kravets over at Wired Blog Network’s Threat Level has a great piece on the travesty of abuse that is the RIAA’s campaign to go after illicit music downloads. Its been 5 years, with over 30,000 lawsuits filed and one jury trial victory that is likely to be reversed.
The real problem with the whole mess [...]

The RIAA finally pays $100,000+ in attorney fees, and the recipient is suing the RIAA for malicious prosecution, as well. Turnabout Is Fair Play | Futurelawyer

Imagine you were in the jury box listening to this testimony, which is just the sort of testimony you would expect to hear in a debt buyer case. Why purchasing debt is a bad bet at trial | Michigan Collection Law Blog

Throwdown! Connecticut Sues Countrywide For Deceptive Lending | Consumerist

Judge Rules That Early Termination Fees Are ILLEGAL In California | Consumerist

Predatory litigator Monster Cable recently withdrew a patent infringement lawsuit after attorneys from local firm Winthrop & Weinstine filed a motion to dismiss. Monster’s Cable was suing Minnesota company Denco for producing Monster Deer Block, a flavored salt and mineral lick designed to attract wild deer. And apparently easily confused with Monster’s overpriced electronic cables.
Inside [...]

The Macys, a San Francisco couple, bought a million-dollar, six-unit apartment building in San Francisco, and decided to move out all the tenants and raise the rents (this is, of course, illegal in SF, but the Macys are not the sort of people who worry about legalities).
When the tenants fought the eviction notices, the Macys [...]

“A Minnesota lumber company accuses industry titan Sherwin-Williams of peddling defective wood coating. And of being a big jerk about it.” When good wood goes bad | City Pages - The Blotter

The Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors reached a tentative settlement in an antitrust lawsuit. The NAR was seriously hampering the ability of newer, lower-cost realtors to list properties for sale online. As anyone who has recently gone house-shopping knows, you have to go to a traditional broker if you want to see [...]

A Monster List of Things Monster Cable Will Soon Sue | Gizmodo

How else could one explain their crusade to sue every other business that uses the word monster anywhere in its name? This includes the Chicago Bears, whose long-time nickname “monsters of the midway” must have been awfully confusing for all those consumers who showed up at Soldier Field looking to by HDMI component cables.
Or in [...]

A judge recently said that (PDF link) Dell “has engaged in repeated misleading, deceptive and unlawful business conduct . . . .” The case specifically dealt with Dell’s grandiose promises in its service agreements, on which it did not deliver. Judge: “Dell Has Engaged In Repeated Misleading, Deceptive And Unlawful Business Conduct” | Consumerist

Some scammers in California were caught telling groups of Spanish-speaking homeowners in foreclosure that they could transfer their homes to the federal government for $10,000. The scammers are in jail, and the police are trying to find the money. Foreclosure scammers busted in San Diego | California Debt Blog

Speaking of screwing consumers, California consumer lawyer Jonathan Stein has an instructive story on what happens when corporations and debt collectors try to bully consumers into paying debts—even debts they do not owe.
His client sold a car that was later involved in an auto accident. Because the buyer did not register the title or obtain [...]

Less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows are currently tested for Mad Cow disease under Agriculture Department guidelines, because the agency believes that more widespread testing does not guarantee food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers. So when Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef tried to increase testing to reassure [...]

The New Jersey District Court fined two individuals and one corporation $530,000 for calling consumers who registered with the national Do Not Call registry and for spoofing caller ID information. (Telemarketers are required to transmit accurate caller ID information or none at all.)
(Thanks, Jason!)

I learned a curious fact in the course of an arbitration proceeding with the National Arbitration Forum. Once either party obtains a stay of the arbitration, the opposing party has 15 days to file an objection. After that 15 days is up, apparently only the party that requested the stay can lift it.
In other words, [...]

To add (just) insult to (just) injury, a Florida judge awarded $518,301 to Angela Williams’s attorneys (PDF link). Ms. Williams recently won almost $3 million in a lawsuit against Equifax for Equifax’s refusal to fix her credit report after her identity was stolen.
While it may not be obvious when a consumer receives such a high [...]