Posted inSettlements

Can’t Makeup This Violation

Glossing over guidelines

California is home to one of the most rigid consumer privacy laws in the country. Originally passed in 2018 and later intensified in 2020, the law affords consumers the right to know the extent of information collected by companies online, the ability to have that private data deleted, and the capability to refuse the sale of their information to third party entities. The strength of this law led to the $1.2 million settlement of a civil suit, which pinned the cosmetics company, Sephora Inc., of violating consumer rights. The company failed to comply with the law and allegedly sold customer information without consent.

2 minutes
Posted inSettlements

Widow Scores a Win in Court

Sharing evidence

While two players were stars on the court, their family member has recently earned a win in a court of law. More than two and a half years following the fatal helicopter crash that killed nine individuals, Vanessa Bryant and Christopher Chester are victorious in their lawsuit against Los Angeles County. The pair, which consists of the widow of basketball legend, Kobe Bryant, and the husband and father of two of the passengers onboard the aircraft, sued over the casual handling of crash site photos. The close-up visuals of the deceased passengers’ remains were unprofessionally passed through various channels within the sheriff’s department and fire department, and among other public officials.

2 minutes
Posted inSettlements

Phoning in a Settlement

‘Cell’-ing data

Although appeals or legal proceedings may interrupt the official approval of the settlement, T-Mobile customers may anticipate a December 2022 end date of a lawsuit involving their personal information. In August 2021, the discovery of an online sale of T-Mobile customer information led to an investigation of a company data breach that impacted more than 76 million individuals. T-Mobile maintained transparency regarding the breach and is now agreeing to settle the subsequent legal action for $350 million. This compensation will go directly to customers and aid in paying the cost of legal and administrative fees.

2 minutes
Posted inSettlements

Pickup a Dismissal

Trucking along

A federal judge has recently dismissed a class action lawsuit that exposed the existence of emissions defeat devices in Ford Super Duty pickup trucks. Originally filed in 2018, the “cheat” devices, which were apparently embedded in the engine control module software of 2011–2017 F-250 and F-350 pickups with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8, have allowed the trucks to pass emissions tests. About 500,000 trucks were impacted and the original lawsuit sought $4.2 billion. Since 2018, over 25 claimants have dropped claims, which likely contributed to the judge’s decision.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Fake Twitter Purchase

Staying connected

A publicly traded company since 2013, Twitter’s existence depends on its owners and its users. As one of its largest shareholders, Elon Musk proposed an acquisition of the company earlier this year. After the company failed to disclose the precise percentage of its fake user accounts, referred to as bot accounts, Musk rescinded his $44 billion offer. The company has now responded with legal action and challenges Musk’s reasoning for not going through with the deal. Twitter accuses Musk, who operates as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, of changing his mind due to a shift in his financial motivations.

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