The ease and convenience of subscription services has led to the skyrocketing in popularity for companies offering auto-renewal services. Ranging from entertainment to beauty products, almost anything is accessible via subscription and the California legislature has taken note of the possible vulnerabilities for consumers, enacting the Automatic Renewal Law (“ARL”), Business & Professions Code Sections 17600 et seq., The ARL was made effective in December 2010 and seeks to end the practice of charging consumers for continuing services or products—including beauty products, online music and magazine subscriptions— without their explicit consent. It is particularly aimed at companies that engage in […]

The Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA) is a New Jersey consumer protection law that protects consumers from signing contracts which strip away their rights to file product liability claims.  The TCCWNA is strict and clear, the consumer does not need to sign the allegedly offending paperwork and there is a fine for each customer or even a potential customer who views the contract. Recently, Avis Car Rental, Bed Bath & Beyond, the New Jersey Devils arena, Toys R Us and Intuit, were each sued in New Jersey federal court in May alleging claims that they violated the TCCWNA. […]

Congress vested authority to promulgate regulations to prevent nonfunctional slack-fill in the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as to food, cosmetics, devices and drugs, and the Federal Trade Commission, as to other consumer commodities. Pursuant to that authority, the secretary elected to regulate nonfunctional slack-fill as to food products, but not as to other commodities. The FTC has thus far declined to enact regulations. The federal slack-fill regulations state that a food is impermissibly misbranded if its container is made, formed or filled to be misleading. A container is presumed to be misleading if (a) it does not allow […]

A handful of large retailers and outlet stores across the country are facing class action suits for tricking consumers with “phantom markdowns”. Retailers like Calvin Klein, The Gap, Banana Republic, TJ Maxx, and Ross are at the center of the controversy alleging that companies are breaking federal and state laws which require that items with a list or retail price to have been sold for the amount listed at some previous point. These phantom markdown claims are particularly focusing on retailer’s outlet chains. These outlet stores often sell items that have been especially manufactured—and often at a lower quality— for […]

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that there are almost 50 million cases of food poisoning yearly and approximately 325,000 hospitalization. While many people recover in a few days the CDC estimates that there 5,200 deaths across the country in more vulnerable groups. Food poisoning lawsuits have come to the forefront, most notably with the E. Coli outbreak at Chipotle in late 2015 that sickened over forty people in different areas of the country. While E. Coli is one of the frequent causes of food poisoning, some restaurants are facing suits for more serious diseases. In Hawaii, for example, […]

Various companies are facing massive lawsuits for defrauding consumers by using the term “evaporated cane juice” and implying that it is a healthy form of sweetener. The Food and Drug Administration has been sending out warning letters and providing draft guidance to companies, telling them to not use the words “evaporated cane juice” because it is false, misleading, and not “juice”. The agency further reprimanded companies pointing to regulations that indicate that ingredients must be described using common names and that “juice” is defined as ‘the aqueous liquid express or extracted from one of more fruits or vegetables.’ Notably, Chobani […]

After the tragic death of Anton Yelchin in July—known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the recent Star Trek movies— Fiat Chysler Automobiles has found itself in the middle of a massive class action lawsuit. The multi-million-dollar lawsuit springs from the gear shifter design in the 2012-2014 models of Dodge Chargers and the 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee models. According to the plaintiffs, the suit alleges that Chrysler hid problems with the shifter. The shifter would change position and permit the car to move. In Yelchin’s case, the shifter moved and caused his Jeep Cherokee to roll down his driveway […]

Car makers Audi and Volkswagen were hit with a new class action suit in late May. The suit alleges that the companies fraudulently sold certain models that contained a hidden engine defect. The complaint also alleges that VW and Audi knew of the dangerous defect but did not issue a recall or compensate owners for any repairs occuring outside of the warranty period. The engine defect springs from defective timing chain tensioners that fail prematurely. This is the second class action for VW and Audi—the first claimed that the timing chain tension system was defective and caused the chain to […]

A consumer fraud class action suit has been filed against Edgewood Personal Care, which owns Playtex—the parent company of the Banana Boat sunscreen maker. Banana Boat specializes in making sunscreens and is a staple sunblock brand. The plaintiff that filed the suit alleges that he purchased a bottle of Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 after seeing a Consumer Reports study that stated that Banana Boat’s—among other brands— products were overstating the amount of SPF contained. He sent the tube to a testing facility in North Carolina which reported that the sunscreen contained little over 12 SPF despite being labeled at […]

Gift cards make popular and versatile gifts, and for some companies, make for massive lawsuits. Various companies have been sued for gift card violations. For example, last August, Dave & Buster’s was sued in California for violating the cash-out provision under California’s gift card law. In California, a gift-card issuer must allow the holder of a card worth less than $10 to redeem it for cash upon request. Moreover, California does not permit gift cards to carry an expiration date. Major retailers are being threatened with litigation for not following California’s gift card laws. Groupon, for instance, had to settle […]