Tag Archives: class action

When There is Smoke…

There is fire

Alleging false advertising, two consumers of Traeger grills are accusing the company of selling wood pellets that are not in accordance with the “All Natural Hardwood” claim on the product label.  Small traces of food-grade soybean oil are added to the pellets to provide enhanced flavor and grease.  The plaintiffs, Michael Yates and Norman Jones, argue that only 1/3 of the wood is comprised as advertised, leading them to pay above market value price for the pellets that are, according to their dispute, not entirely natural. Continue reading →

Clean Up Your Marketing

Hand sanitizer awareness

As consumers flock to the grocery store shelves to retrieve their needed supplies, it is important to know that a recent lawsuit was filed against the makers of Purell hand sanitizer. For those who depend on the product’s claim that the substance within kills “99.9 percent of illness causing germs,” be aware that there are allegedly no scientific tests to back up that statement. Another advertised statistic is that “one squirt of Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer equals two squirts of other national brands, providing 2X the sanitizing strength.”  Not only do the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit disagree or challenge this assertion, but the FDA is as equally skeptical. Continue reading →

Lawsuit to Teach a Lesson

Eliminating a monopoly

College tuition and housing is expensive enough.  But how much are textbooks?  While students may be fully aware of the cost of their education and living on campus before they commit to a particular school, they are not initially provided a breakdown of the price of their course material, per class, per semester. About ten years ago, e-books were only being introduced as a mainstream method of studying.  You could still find most students walking around campus with heavy textbooks.  Since then, textbook sales have decreased, and students are electing to bypass print in order to study material entirely online.  Despite the shift in preference, the textbook market is allegedly depleting options for obtaining needed course material.    Continue reading →

Apple Lawsuit Slows Down

How reliable is your phone?

At the end of February, a two-year-long class action lawsuit wrapped up, concerning Apple iPhones and the complaints that software updates caused function slow-down.  Owners of older iPhones, such as the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, and 7 Plus, were the victims of this system speed change. Despite the public assuming Apple’s motive was to entice iPhone users to upgrade to newer models, Apple insists that the software was meant to alleviate issues with older lithium-ion batteries. Regardless of the intent, Apple has agreed to settle the class action for a minimum amount of $310 million and a maximum amount of $500 million. Continue reading →

Consumers at a Loss for Words

Natural hair beware

As hair style trends shift every couple of years, we find ourselves replacing our hair care products with ones that are tailored toward the new norm.  Founded in 1994, DevaCurl is one such brand that is appealing to the relatively new craze of sporting natural, semi-untouched hair.  In the early- to mid-2000s, almost every middle school girl straightened their natural wave or locks to a pin-straight point. As was the style of the day.  Now consumers are flocking to the retail store shelves to buy DevaCurl, the company that produces a formula to volumize and accentuate curly textures.  While the promise of the product was widely accepted by consumers, the alleged result of its consistent use is alarming. Continue reading →