May 1, 2016

Documents: IOGCC-Spawned Loophole Creating Frackquake Crisis Faces Federal Lawsuit

On May 4, several environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling for an end to the regulatory exemption it carved out in the late 1980s for the oil and gas industry with regards to how it handles industrial waste. That exemption to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, a recent DeSmog investigation showed, was …




Vernon Hills Resident Files Federal Lawsuit to Try to Stop Longmeadow Parkway

Hoping to stop the progress of the Longmeadow Parkway, Vernon Hills resident Geoffrey Petzel said he filed a federal citizen lawsuit Friday over the project against the Kane County Department of Transportation and several other governmental bodies. Petzel, a Carpentersville native, filed a pro se lawsuit that asks a judge to prevent construction of the bridge and road, vacate previous approvals …


San Antonio Atheist Drops Lawsuit Over ‘tallest Cross in America’

An atheist activist on Tuesday reached a court-approved settlement to drop a lawsuit against a Corpus Christi, Texas, church planning to erect a 230-foot-tall cross. Patrick Greene said in the settlement his legal complaint against Pastor Rick Milby of Abundant Life Fellowship Church was “baseless,” “vexatious” and “without merit.” “We are grateful that Mr. Greene has admitted that his lawsuit …


David Lowery and Melissa Ferrick’s Lawsuits Against Spotify Get Combined

In December and January, Spotify was hit with back-to-back lawsuits from David Lowery and Melissa Ferrick — both professors and artists — who sought class action certification over royalties they allege have gone unpaid to songwriters by the world’s largest streaming service. Lowery sought $150 million in damages in his suit, while Ferrick sought $200 million. Those suits were essentially the …


Public Interest Firm Takes Fight Over Class Action Settlement to U.S. SC

A Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court last week, urging the court to review a class action settlement that it argues is unfair to class members. On Thursday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness, or CCAF, filed its petition for writ of certiorari with the nation’s highest …


Volkswagen, US May Reach Settlement Over Emissions Scandal by June End

Volkswagen AG has made substantial progress toward reaching a final settlement by late June with car owners and the US government over the German automaker’s cheating on diesel emissions tests, a federal judge said on Tuesday. US district judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco also reiterated that a settlement will include “substantial compensation” for owners of 482,000 polluting vehicles that …


Class-Action Suit Advances Over Gerawan’s Payment of Farmworkers

A federal judge in Fresno is allowing a class-action lawsuit to move forward against Gerawan Farming, one of Fresno County’s largest agriculture companies. The lawsuit, filed in 2014, alleges that Gerawan has violated state and federal laws, including failing to pay minimum wages, failing to compensate employees for breaks, and failing to pay wages owed. Gerawan’s attorney, David Schwarz, said …


Study Shows Fitbit Trackers ‘Highly Inaccurate’

They’re one of the most popular fitness trackers around, but a new study says your Fitbit might not be as accurate as you think. A class-action lawsuit was filed earlier this year saying Fitbit trackers that measure your heart rate aren’t accurate. The suit claims Fitbit trackers may be miscalculating users’ heart rates.