Tag Archives: consumer protection

A Winning Argument

In February, the jackpot of a lifetime landed in the lap of New Jersey native, Rony Beal. A routine visitor of Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Beal played hundreds of dollars on a particular Wheel of Fortune machine, which granted a lifechanging payout of $2,555,910. Now, months later, the winner has hired a lawyer, has contacted a news media outlet, and plans to take legal action against Bally’s and IGT, the company that manufactures and manages the machines played by Bally’s casino patrons. The monetary damages have not yet been specified.

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Leading to Litigation?

Consumer concerns may lead to a stronger fight against the manufacturer of a wildly popular tumbler. The Stanley Quencher cup yielded an impressive revenue stream for the company, with $750 million in sales in 2023. This sales number is a massive jump from the $75 million in Quencher sales earned in 2022. Perhaps some of the more enticing features of the tumbler include its spectrum of colors, longevity of desired beverage temperature, and monogram design options. One of the newest components to the product, as showcased by social media influencers, is the possible presence of lead within the tumbler.

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Customer’s Sweet Revenge

As a consumer, it may appear logical to expect that the item contained therein matches the advertised image depicted on the front of the product packaging. In the case of Hershey’s holiday chocolate, however, Florida resident, Cynthia Kelly, claims that the facial motifs etched into the product wrapper design are not actually carved into the outer chocolate coating of Reese’s Peanut Butter pumpkins, ghosts, footballs, snowmen, stockings, and bells. On behalf of herself and additional impacted customers, the Florida plaintiff filed the lawsuit, which has reached class action status, and aims to retrieve $5 million in compensation.

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Cheese Co. Singled Out

Emphasized as a key Food That Built America, American cheese has remained a staple in households across the nation since James Kraft introduced it at the turn of the 20^th century. This episode of the History Channel’s popular food origin show concludes with food expert, Adam Richman reminiscently peeling apart the wrapper to a Kraft American cheese single, folding it, and taking a bite on camera. Two and a half years after this episode aired, Kraft has issued a recall for this exact product.

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Setting the Sweet Bar

Metal content sours consumers

Considered one of the largest chocolate companies in the world, Hershey is known for its quality, variety, and most recently, lead content. By acquiring Lily’s brand chocolate, in 2021, the chocolate manufacturing giant expanded its empire. Now, specific dark chocolate products from both Hershey and Lily’s are under scrutiny, as high concentrations of metals have been detected. The results of scientific testing indicate that Hershey’s Special Dark bar and Lily’s 70% bar were elevated in lead; and Lily’s 85% bar was high in lead and cadmium. A class action is seeking $5 million in damages, including $500 per transaction. Continue reading →