Posted inLawsuits

A Striking Resemblance

Hollywood horror

The fear that artificial intelligence (AI) may compromise or replace individual creative expression has sparked an ongoing strike on behalf of the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).  The rise in AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, function to manipulate and reconfigure human writing.  In an industry that relies on the development of unique ideas, fresh content, and effective acting for movies and television, such an AI tool presents a possible or likely threat to future earned projects and potential income. 

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Blanketed Disputes

Blankets and buffalo wings

A consumer that filed a class action lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings earlier this year is now turning his compensation efforts toward a home goods company.  In the restaurant lawsuit filed in March, the plaintiff, Aimen Halim, claimed that Buffalo Wild Wings falsely advertises its boneless buffalo wings as “wings,” when the meat is actually the white meat of a chicken.  In this lawsuit, Halim claimed that had he known that the boneless wings were not deboned wing meat and more resembled chicken nuggets, he might not have ordered that particular item, or he would have paid less.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Seas the Opportunity

Devastation at sea

A new anniversary may be tagged to the site where 111 years ago, the Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean almost 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.  On Father’s Day this year, a submersible named the Titan, manned by the company OceanGate, had deployed to the depths of the sea in hopes that its passengers would view the wreckage of the Titanic.  Four days after the Titan began its expedition, sections of the vessel were located on the ocean floor.  Due to what the US Coast Guard has identified as a catastrophic implosion of the pressure chamber, the passengers perished. 

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Dark Patterned Future

Allegedly deceptive marketing

Due to the implementation of questionable business practices, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken legal action against Amazon.  Allegedly, to convince customers to enroll in Prime subscriptions, the company has engaged in trickery.  The effort has apparently been ongoing for years and has led to the positive outcome of increased sales for the company.  In the lawsuit filed by the FTC, the agency claims that Amazon not only uses deceptive techniques for attracting customers to the Prime subscription, but also makes it difficult for existing customers to cancel their subscriptions.  Some are not even aware that the subscriptions are recurring and are renewed without their consent.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

A Reel Challenge

A sensational catch

Although a crew of anglers that reeled in a 600-pound blue marlin in mid-June has been officially disqualified from winning first place, the Sensation crew has since hired legal counsel to challenge that decision.  Given the disqualification, the crew not only loses bragging rights, but also loses the opportunity to accept the $3 million prize.  Before a final decision was made, a careful deliberation was held amongst the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament Rules Committee, Board of Directors, biologists from both NC State CMAST and NC Marine Fisheries, and an official from the International Game Fish Association. 

2 minutes