Class Action

FTC Advises Consumer to Check Their Credit Reports?Right Now

Posted on February 19, 2013
This week the FTC released a 370 page report documenting the accuracy levels of the three largest credit reporting companies; it revealed a 5% margin of error. As many as one in twenty Americans has reported finding factually incorrect numbers when they checked their credit report?a mistake the FTC warns may have cost those same [...

Macmillan Pays $20 Million in State, Class Settlement

Posted on February 19, 2013
Well, another member of the e-book price-fixing saga has thrown in their cards; this week, MacMillan Publishers agreed to pay out $20 Million to the consumer class action settlement (led by Hagens Berman) that has been eating away at headlines for the better part of 2012...

Deceptive Home Warranty Lawsuits on the Rise

Posted on January 17, 2013
Home Warranty Lawsuits have been filed against various home warranty companies alleging numerous issues with the insurance programs that companies are providing to cover home appliances. Specifically, customers allege that home warranty providers that offer extended warranties go back on their claims, and practice ?bad faith? techniques such as: not filling out paperwork in a timely [...

Bank of America Reaches $11.6 Billion Settlement over Mortgages

Posted on January 16, 2013
An $11.6 billion settlement has been approved between Bank of America and government mortgage agency Fannie Mae regarding the soured mortgage-backed investments the bank loaned during the collapse of the housing industry. Under the terms of the deal, Bank of America will pay $3...

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Consumer Reporting Agencies Face Class Action Lawsuits for Violations of Fair Credit Reporting Act

Posted on December 20, 2012
Consumer Reporting Agencies or ?CRAs?, firms that specialize in background screenings, are forced to confront an uprising in lawsuits concerning the accuracy of their reports, and their failure to meet the guidelines of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an act that regulates background checks and the collection and use of consumer information in [...

FDA Investigates Potentially Hazardous Energy Drinks

Posted on November 28, 2012
The FDA has declared that it is seriously investigating multiple energy drinks and supplements after numerous deaths have been linked to their use.  Officials have associated 13 deaths to 5 hour Energy, a liquid ?shot? that contains a high amount of caffeine...

Clearinghouse, Data-Repositories Bicker Over New Dodd-Frank Regulation

Posted on November 20, 2012
It?s one thing to file a lawsuit against the CFTC over the creation of new swap data repositories. But it?s a whole other thing to file against the CFTC over the creation of new swap data repositories while at the same time petitioning the CFTC to let you become one...

Comcast and Amgen Try to Limit Class Actions through Supreme Court

Posted on November 06, 2012
Both Comcast Corp. and biotech company Amgen Inc. recently appeared before the Supreme Court in two separate cases in an effort to shut down class action lawsuits brought on by consumers against the two businesses. The court heard arguments in appeals from both companies, but the justices appeared divided over how to rule and proceed...

Saferproducts.gov Crosses Invisible Line in Case of Mystery Plaintiff

Posted on October 26, 2012
Saferproducts.gov is a newly created, federally mandated online database that is run by the CSPC. A highly anticipated brainchild of the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act), saferproducts.gov was designed to streamline and solidify the role of government in promoting a heightened level of consumer safety...

Retired Justice Stevens Suggest Constitutional Amendment

Posted on October 26, 2012
As reported by the Wall Street Journal Blog, Retired Justice Paul Stevens would like to add 4 words to Article VI?s Supremacy Clause. Specifically: ?and other public officials.? While only four little, words, the impact would be significant as it would authorize the federal government to use more state officials in carrying out national policies...

SEC Warns About Rise of Affinity Fraud

Posted on October 02, 2012
Affinity fraud, a new type of investment scam that preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, is being placed on high alert by The Securities and Exchange Commission?s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy...

Assessing the Differences Between IRS and SEC Whistleblower Programs

Posted on September 24, 2012
The $104 million dollar reward recently paid out by the Internal Revenue Service to former UBS AG banker Bradley Birkenfeld has served as a reminder that other agencies besides the SEC have their own reward laws for those who expose wrongdoing and fraud...

CFTC Issues New Swap Rules and Regulations

Posted on September 20, 2012
Beginning November 13, 2012, the CFTC will impose new rules on swap dealers and major swap participants in an effort to standardize the ?previously unchecked derivatives market.? The rules, which are laid out in Section 713 of the Frank-Dodd Act, are intended to enhance transparency in the swaps market by regulating procedural requirements in the [...

CFPB Subjects Consumer Reports to Examination

Posted on September 06, 2012
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved forward in its quest to increase market transparency by releasing the procedural exams that will be in effect for consumer reporting firms all over the country later this month. As of September 30, CFPB examiners will be testing the top 30 consumer reporting companies for accuracy, investigatory effort, [...

Mobile Texting Technology Brings About a New Type of Lawsuit

Posted on August 30, 2012
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act?a law passed in 1991 to curb abusive telemarketing practices-originally did not cover cell phones via text message. This was only because such a method of communication did not yet exist. In 2009, however, the Act was expanded to include text messaging...

SEC Cracks Down on Cyber- Attack Disclosure

Posted on August 29, 2012
This week the SEC released a rather specific set of recommendations asking for six major companies to reveal any large-scale breaches in their cyber-security. Though the SEC?s letter was initially met with some reluctance by Google, Amazon, AIG, HIG, Eastman Chemical Company, and Quest Diagnostics, they all agreed to include any hacking incidents of late [...

Court Narrows Definition of ?Commercially Reasonable? In Case of Banking Security Breach

Posted on August 28, 2012
Last month the 1st Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the summary judgment granted to Ocean Bank against Patco Construction. Previously under Section 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, the standard for ?commercially reasonable? was literal compliance with FFIEC Authentication Guidance wherein certain security measures had to at least be available to the [...

With Actos Lawsuits Mounting, FDA Approves Generic Version Of The Diabetes Drug

Posted on August 27, 2012
Actos (pioglitazone), manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is a popular medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Recently, numerous lawsuits warning about the risk of bladder cancer associated with Actos have arisen. Regardless, the FDA authorized a generic version of the drug on August 17, 2012, manufactured by Mylan Pharmaceuticals...

FTC Advises Parents How to Protect Kids? Personal Information at School

Posted on August 15, 2012
At the start of a new school year, most parents are given the mundane task of filling out paperwork like registration forms, health forms, and emergency contact forms. With a new school year fast approaching, The Federal Trade Commission wants parents to know that many of these forms require personal and sensitive information that, in [...

State Regulators Press Insurance Companies to Cross-Check Claims with Death Reports

Posted on August 13, 2012
For years it has been standard policy to contact your insurance provider when a loved one passes in order to collect the claims of the deceased. But thanks to new pressures states are putting on major insurance providers, from now on in the event of a death, they may be calling you...

Credit Card Companies Face Increased Opposition to Collect Credit Card Debt

Posted on August 13, 2012
Serious problems are now emerging in the debt collection practices of big credit card companies like American Express, Citigroup, and Discover Financial. The concerns imitate a recent abuse in the foreclosure system, known as ?robo-signing?, where banks produced similar documents for different homeowners and did not review them...

Bill Provides New Protections for Antitrust Whistleblowers

Posted on August 06, 2012
New legislation introduced on August 1, 2012 by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa ) is intended to protect Whistleblowers after reporting criminal antitrust violations to the Department. The legislation is called The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, and it would provide a civil remedy for those who are attacked for reporting violations such [...

Empirical Study of Pre-dispute Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Social Media Terms of Service Agreements

Posted on August 06, 2012
Over the past few years, a quiet revolution has begun as many social networking sites impose pre-dispute mandatory arbitration on consumers. With these arbitration clauses, a large number of these sites are depriving users of their consumer rights. Members of these social networking sites are required to agree to pre-dispute mandatory arbitration as a condition [...

Scammers Lead Consumers to Lose $1.5 Billion in 2011

Posted on August 02, 2012
The Consumer Federation of America, along with the North American Consumer Protection Investigators, recently released a report showcasing the fastest growing consumer complaints. Fraud, debt collection abuses, and mortgage-related problems ranked among the top five, with home loan issues topping the list...

New Bill Would Increase Penalties For Securities Fraud

Posted on August 01, 2012
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are both sponsoring a new bill that will soon be introduced to the Senate. The bill would increase the fines and penalties that can be charged against criminals who try to take advantage of investors through securities fraud crimes...

Recent Case Strengthens Whistleblower Protections

Posted on July 25, 2012
A U.S.federal district court has issued a ruling strengthening corporate whistleblower protections. The court held that under the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, protection will be provided to employees of subsidiaries as well as those who work directly for the parent companies...

Second Circuit Court of Appeals Rules In Favor of Securities Class Action

Posted on July 25, 2012
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals revisited a securities class action case against Grant Thornton LLP that questioned the validity of Thornton?s 1999 unqualified audit report for his largest client, Winstar Commuications Inc… Winstar?a business internet provider?went bankrupt in 2001 after reports surfaced claiming that false transactions and unethical business practices were responsible for the [...

Will Congress Repeal the Antitrust Laws?

Posted on July 25, 2012
Attorney Howard Ullman of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP recently offered his remarks upon Senate Bill 2269, introduced by Senator Rand Paul. Entitled the ?Anti-Trust Freedom Act of 2012?, the bill defines itself as a bill designed ?[t]o permit voluntary economic activity...

FINRA Should Review These 10 Outdated Rules

Posted on July 24, 2012
 On May 30, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission?s (SEC) oversight of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). GAO noted that FINRA does not have the means to retroactively review its rules, whereby unsuccessfully being able to determine whether or not certain rules are effective or [...

The Evils of Forced Arbitration

Posted on July 16, 2012
 The Alliance for Justice wrote a report in 2011 about the way that Supreme Court rulings have allowed big business to abuse forced arbitration contracts, and build up privatized legal systems that take away chances of American consumers to be heard by an impartial judge and jury...

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