Tag Archives: class action

Trader Joe Meets A Man Named Sal… Monella?

Note: Peanuts might contain Salmonella

A family in Boston is pursuing legal action against one of the largest grocery chains in America. Trader Joe’s is being sued by the Henson family in South Grafton, Massachusetts after their son contract salmonella from peanut butter purchased at the store. The boy developed a fever exceeding 100 degrees and had to be taken to a local doctor multiple times before the cause of the sickness was discovered. The Henson family is seeking financial reimbursement to help pay their medical bills, as well as attempting to raise awareness for manufacturing and packaging companies. Trader Joe’s themselves and Sunland, Inc are the companies named in the lawsuit.
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Blocked, Buster: Video Rental Company Settles Lawsuit

VHS collection

A settlement has been reached by top video rental company, Blockbuster, in a class-action lawsuit.  A Minnesota man, Baseem Missaghi, claimed that Blockbuster has been violating the Video Privacy Protection Act. The Privacy Protection Act was created specifically for rental companies like Blockbuster to prevent harvesting their end user’s information. The law states that video rental companies are not allowed to unveil information specific to each user’s account without their consent. Blockbuster had reportedly been holding onto the private data for millions of their consumers across the world. As part of the settlement, Blockbuster was required to pay lawyer fees totaling around $140,000.

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Concussion Lawsuit may be the New England Patriots of Lawsuit Cases

Ominous metaphor

It can be assumed that one who takes part in violent activity is at risk of permanent injury.  In many cases, however, the reward is well worth the occupational health risks. This is a justification that can be seen as far back as Roman Gladiators, who won riches and celebrations across the Empire for their successes despite facing certain death for their failures.  The same holds true today, where aside from stunt drivers or Chris Brown’s girlfriend, a professional football player might be the most dangerous gig in the entertainment industry.  The shelf life of an NFL player, especially those at positions prone to poundings (such as running back), is only a few years. Players who have spent their lives honing their craft are given a very small timeframe to cash in on their talent and to position themselves financially for the future. Even if a player remains healthy, fatigue and athletic decline can be seen by the age of 30. Just ask the guy who drafts Chad Ochocinco in your fantasy league this year.

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Red Bull Gives You Spam

Fly away

As a society, we’ve become pretty much immune to spam emails, since, you know, it’s no longer the 90s and no one believes that an email promising to enlarge your penis size is actually legit.  Advancements in technology now allow you to sidestep those cringeworthy emails and store them in the vast wasteland known as your spam folder.  Unfortunately, spammers are always in their R&D departments trying to figure out new ways to inform you of che4p v|ag4ra, in this case by moving on to text messages.  In a recent class action lawsuit filed in Illinois, the energy drink Red Bull has had its wings clipped for sending unsolicited text messages.  The class action lawsuit claims Red Bull violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which prohibits companies from sending unsolicited advertisements to anyone without express prior consent.

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Business v. Class Action

How much are you signing away to get that sweet, sweet 1994 Toyota Tercel?

An article in the New York Times caught my attention today.  It’s about the fallout from the 2011 Supreme Court decision in AT&T v. Concepcion, which stated that corporations can write clauses into contracts to prevent class action lawsuits.  To do this, the clauses require customers to settle disputes through arbitration (instead of in an actual court of law) and to relinquish their right to litigate as a class.  In effect, the contracts waive the customers’ right to due process.  Since that decision, the legal world has changed.  For the better or for worse?

Keep reading the full post to see what’s up with these clauses and to learn a tip on how to get around them.

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