It is no news that debit and credit cards are now the primary form of retail payments. Some sources estimate that sixty percent of retail transactions involve card payments, opening retailers to significant data breaches and lawsuits. Congress is considering enacting federal standards to protect consumers following data breaches that would supersede state-breach statutes and provide more a more uniform response nationwide. In the last year, various retailers have been sued because of stolen customer information. Home Depot, for example, recently settled a case for $13 million to reimburse class members for their losses and expenses incurred in trying to […]

Headlines read “Exploding Toilets!” and while funny at first glance, it turns out to be a serious safety issue. Some consumers reported that their toilets exploded violently, sending pieces of porcelain everywhere with great force. These explosions led to a massive recall by Flushmate, makers of the high pressure flushing systems. The affected toilets were made between 1997 to 2011 and include various models. The company estimates that it is recalling over 3 million toilet systems and is asking consumers to stop using the toilets immediately until they receive the repair kit. However, the repair kits didn’t stop consumers from […]

Lawsuits have increased in recent years against various companies by blind and deaf plaintiffs that are alleging that the websites violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The cases are mostly concentrated in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. The cases have become more complicated because the Department of Justice announced in 2010 that it would be issuing formal regulations but not until 2018. Various judges, however, refuse to wait that long. In California, one judge granted summary judgment to a plaintiff suing Colorado’s Bag’n Baggage company for four thousand dollars. Among the companies being sued are eBay, Netflix, Patagonia, Ace Hardware, […]

Bank overdraft fees are standard practice for banks—and a great source for profit. Many banks assess fees for going over the bank account balance. Some estimates state that the banking industry has made over $35 billion off of customers in the last year. Among the banks facing lawsuits are Sovereign Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, M&T Bank and Wachovia. These companies are being accused of charging unreasonable fees when customer balances fell below a minimum balance. They are also being accused of manipulating deposits and charges to overdraft the account and recover fees. Some banks will charge the larger […]

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Last week, Lumber Liquidators Inc. was hit with nine separate class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers alleging violations of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act for defective laminate flooring. More than a year ago, investigative reporters exposed alarming formaldehyde levels in laminate flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators, which sparked a string of investigations and lawsuits.   Although it is common for formaldehyde to be used in manufacturing laminate flooring, the amount used is intended to evaporate quickly and thus not pose any health risk to people living in homes where the floors have been installed.   Tests on […]

On Tuesday, September 13th, 2016, many Hewlett-Packard (HP) consumers who used non-HP, private label ink cartridges found that their printer displayed an error instructing the ink cartridges must be replaced.  Thousands of HP printers around the world started to show the error message, “One or more cartridges appear to be damaged. Remove them and replace them with new cartridges“. The error was not a coincidence, but rather a pre-program act by HP in several different printer models.  Programmers found that in a firmwire update, the pre-programmed failure was installed. HP responded to complaints today after the news of it’s pre-programmed […]

Kellogg Company today announced a voluntary recall of approximately 10,000 cases of Kellogg’s® Eggo® Nutri-Grain® Whole Wheat Waffles because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. No other Eggo products are impacted by this recall.   Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.   Typical symptoms include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and […]

A familiar sight around Los Angeles now is a white, windowless van with a magnetic Amazon.com sign slapped across one side and a delivery driver dropping off Amazon.com packages around the neighborhood.  The delivery drivers, who most people assume are employed by Amazon.com, are actually employed Action Messenger Service. One driver, Carlos Morales, filed an employment class action against both Amazon.com and Action Messenger Service in Alameda Superior Court.  Morales alleges that he was misclassified as an independent contractor, when he was actually under the control of Amazon and Action Messenger, and therefore was an employee and entitled to meal […]

September was a great month, here is a small recap of actions filed over the last few weeks both nationally and in California. Class actions highlights from California include multiple civil rights actions involving the Counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino of charging excessive rates to inmates and their families; Amazon for possibly misclassifying delivery drivers as independent contractors; LG television products may not be energy efficient; an action brought under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. And that’s just in California. Nationally, the consumer class actions were filed against Urban Outfitters for allegedly violating the D.C. Consumer Protection […]

Warning: California Mother’s Market & Kitchen Baby Formula Recall All Sammy’s Milk Baby Food is being recalled by the FDA because the formula has not been tested for Cronobacter, a bacteria that can cause severe and sometimes fatal blood infection (sepsis) or meningitis in infants. The formula is sold online and California Mother’s Market & Kitchen retail store. Consumers in California should not use or purchase Sammy’s Milk Baby Food, a powered infant formula) manufactured by Graceleigh, Inc. because the formula was not manufactured in compliance with infant federal formula regulatory standards, which is vital to protect the health of […]