Tag Archives: consumer fraud

Gatehouse Media Publishes Terms for a Settlement

Customers turn a page

A reluctance to disclose all terms of a contract or deal may be perceived as deceptive and unethical. By not outlining the specifics of the subscriptions to various publications, Massachusetts born Gatehouse Media LLC has violated the consumer rights of its subscribers. The customers’ expectations did not match what the company actually offered.  The plaintiffs of the class action lawsuit purchased either one-year or 26-week subscriptions, but also received magazines that did not pertain to the same genre or interests of the publications they purchased. Read more

Customers Tear into Legging Company

Stretch it out

Leggings have become a staple in the closets and wardrobes of many individuals within the last few years. A reliable pair of leggings may compare to a favorite pair of jeans, but only if they last. Unhappy customers of clothing company, LuLaRoe, are appalled at the damaged fabric of their leggings. Customer reviews contain pictures and complaints of the $25 leggings, where holes and rips appear at the seams and in the middle of the pant legs. Not only are the customers annoyed with LuLaRoe’s lack of compassion, but they are also disappointed with the company’s reluctance to issue refunds. Many unsatisfied customers either received already damaged leggings upon delivery, or the leggings tear while being worn for the first time. Read more

Big Pharma Company Settles with Idaho for $1.7 Million

A relieving settlement

Watson, which is among the top five generic drug companies in the world recently agreed to pay $1.7 million to the state of Idaho to settle allegations of consumer fraud. The consumer, in this case, being the government. Lawrence Wasden, the Idaho Attorney General, filed lawsuits in 2007 against various pharmaceutical companies, Watson included. These lawsuits were meant to recover taxpayer money, claiming the pharmaceutical companies earned extra money unlawfully by reporting an inflated price for their generic drugs.

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Oil Refiners Settle “Hot Fuel” Lawsuit

Oil refinery

“Hot Fuel” sounds like the title of an awesome action movie.  I’m thinking Speed meets Under Siege, set on an oil tanker.  I’m kind of upset that the phrase is wasted on a much more boring concept.  Nevertheless, oil refineries recently heard “hot fuel” as often as they’ll ever want to after getting bitchslapped in the courtroom by science.  They’ll have to pony up $21.6 million total to resolve claims in this hot fuel suit, with the money to be divided between the 50 retailers across the country who brought charges against them.  So what is this “hot fuel” garbage, anyway?

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Facebook to Pay $10 Million in Sponsored Story Settlement

Thumbs up

A proposed settlement between Facebook and a class of litigants has the social networking company paying $10 million to charity.  The issue at hand was whether Facebook violated California law by using its users’ names and profile pictures to advertise products without paying them and without giving them any way to opt out.  With its “sponsored stories”, users’ “likes” of products were unwittingly posted across their friends’ news feeds.  Companies would pay way more for these stories than a traditional advertisement, with Mark Zuckerberg saying they were the “Holy Grail of advertising”, akin to a word of mouth personal recommendation.  So, if you clicked “like” on a page about bananas, you’d be shown on your friends’ feeds as “John Doe likes bananas, go buy one here”.  Or, in the case of Nick Bergas, your face would be endorsing a 55-gallon drum of personal lubricant.  His story accentuates the main legal problem at issue here:  what if you don’t care about a product you’re shown endorsing?  Worse, what if you don’t want to be shown endorsing anything at all?

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