Twenty years ago this month, 23 women came together to file a major class-action lawsuit against Wall Street brokerage house Smith Barney, claiming widespread sexual harassment and pay discrimination. Close to 2,000 women ended up joining the complaint which became known as the “boom-boom room” suit, borrowing the name of a seedy sounding party room in the basement of a Smith Barney branch in …
Oracle alleges that Google violated its copyright when it put pieces of the crucial Java technology into the Android operating system, which now ships on 80 per cent of smartphones sold. Google’s defense hinges on “fair use,” the idea that it was legally allowed to use Java as …
A 95-year-old woman backed by consumer and elderly advocates sued two reverse-mortgage companies for charging allegedly excessive fees after she fell into foreclosure proceedings. The suit, seeking class-action status, said that Texas-based Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Michigan-based Compu-Link Corp. ordered more than 30 property inspections on the home of Retha Floyd — sometimes as often as …
If government–or at least government regulators, apparatchiks and other place-holders–get their way, it’s going to be a lot easier to sue your bank. Just what this country needs. …
Renaud Laplanche stepped down last Friday, the online lender announced today. According to an internal investigation, Laplanche had improperly managed $22 million in loan sale agreements in March and April. Three additional senior executives resigned or were fired.
A new proposal by the nation’s chief consumer watchdog could help government regulators and prosecutors stop big banks’ dubious practices more quickly. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday suggested a ban on clauses tucked into contracts for credit cards, student loans and other financial products that prohibit consumers from joining together to sue financial companies for …
New rules proposed on Thursday by a U.S. consumer watchdog would block credit card companies, banks and other firms from forcing customers to waive their rights to join class action lawsuits and settle disputes only through arbitration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said financial firms should be barred from using fine print in contracts that mandates arbitration instead …
A Delaware judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against three major U.S. clothing retailers after the 2013 collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 people. An injured worker and a man whose wife died in the collapse lodged the complaint last year against Wal-Mart Stores, J.C. Penney and the Children’s Place. The lawsuit claimed the companies failed to ensure safe …
In a major setback for banks, credit unions, credit card companies and many other financial firms, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a proposal that would ban the use of arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from bringing class-action lawsuits. The 377-page proposal, released to the media a day early, would still allow companies to offer arbitration as a way to …
As we reported last year, in October 2015 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an outline of proposals that would limit the use of arbitration provisions in contracts for consumer financial products. On May 5, 2016, the CFPB followed up by releasing a proposed rule that would ban consumer financial services providers such as banks, credit card issuers, and small-dollar lenders …