In recent news, a former footballer and an actor go head-to-head in the ultimate legal showdown of a business venture gone awry. In the U.S. District Court of Central California, David Beckham filed a complaint against the Syndey, Australia-based company F45 Training, which is 36% owned by Mark Wahlberg. Beckham claims that Wahlberg approached him to serve as a brand ambassador for the company but was later allegedly duped out of millions. The former athlete alleges breach of contract and fraudulent conduct. Since the initial filing, Wahlberg has denied the accusations and is seeking a dismissal.
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Don’t Stop the Game
The stock trading and investing app, Robinhood, has developed into one of the most popular broker-dealer platforms. Aside from its “commission-free” marketing, the benefits include easy accessibility and your first stock free! About a month ago, however, consumers learned of the downsides to using Robinhood. At least 90 lawsuits have been filed against the company for restricting trade of specific securities, including GameStop. Consumers claim that the perceivably unlawful act of the company has caused financial hardship and unfair, lost opportunities for a potentially profitable investment. Continue reading
Blacklisted? Investors Rally Against Blackberry
Blackberry’s tough times continue as their shareholders cry foul. In a recent class-action lawsuit, thousands of investors claim that they were misled by the company’s lofty sales expectations. Many are complaining that the company failed to compete with industry leaders Google and Apple (let alone Microsoft). The lawsuit includes a number of those who bought stock in Blackberry over the past calendar year. Unhappy campers are furious that they mistakenly placed their faith in the wrong smartphone/technology movement and are seeking damages. Read more
Closing the Book on the Facebook Lawsuit
There’s a pretty good chance that Mark Zuckerberg had already de-friended Paul Ceglia. In a recent decision, Ceglia has officially been indicted after faking evidence against Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The original lawsuit, which came about in 2010, stems from the fact that in 2003, Ceglia altered contracts co-signed by Zuckerberg in an attempt to give himself 50% share of the company. Authorities had arrested the internet entrepreneur in October on charges centered around issues relating to the lawsuit. Ceglia was guilty of mail fraud, wire fraud, and also attempts at tampering with and destroying evidence. He currently faces up to 20 years in jail per criminal charge. Read more
Former Bear Sterns Employees Share $10 Million Settlement
Employees of Bear Sterns, the financial giant that was among the first failures of the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, claimed in a lawsuit that the bank mishandled its investments (duh), causing them to lose money in an employee stock ownership plan that was part of a retirement package. Today, the Southern District Court of New York approved a $10 million settlement to be shared among thousands of employees. The number may seem big, but it’s really more of a drop in a dingy bucket, accounting for between 10-28% of their total losses in the stock. According to Reuters, more than 8,400 employees lost about $215 million in the collapse. The settlement means that the former Bear Stearns (now owned by JPMorgan, who shilled out the settlement money) will never have to answer as to whether they knew their investment plan was unsustainable and risky. If it went to court, in light of the recent $25 billion federal mortgage settlement, I’d like to think they’d have little to say in response.
For some laughs, here’s Mad Money’s Jim Cramer promising that Bear Stearns was not in trouble mere days before its complete failure and sale.