Consumers

Many Consumers Entitled to Class-Action Lawsuit Cash

From misleading advertising claims to exposing their customers to identity theft, companies pay tens of millions of dollars each year to settle class action lawsuits aimed at addressing ways they may have wronged their customers. Despite this, relatively few consumers ever claim their share of the awards being offered. “I think consumers would be very surprised at just …


VW’s ‘Clean Diesel’ Settlement Prioritizes Attorneys’ Interests Over Harmed Consumers

In this Thursday, April 21, 2016, file photo, Joyce Ertel Hulbert, owner of a 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI, holds a sign while interviewed outside the of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. A federal judge in San Francisco is facing a deadline on whether to approve a nearly 5 billion deal over Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal that gives most affected car owners the option …


Nevada to Share in $41M Settlement With Automakers

Nevada will share in a multi-state, $41.2 million settlement with automakers Hyundai and Kia over claims they exaggerated, then adjusted, fuel efficiency ratings, the attorney general’s office announced Thursday. Attorney General Adam Laxalt said the state will receive nearly $762,000 in the settlement reached with 33 states and District of Columbia. “Car manufacturers must be …


Houston Lawyer Brings EpiPen Lawsuit

Lawyers in Houston are representing consumers in the Midwest who have sued Mylan, the pharmaceutical company, for “deliberate and reprehensible price gouging” …


Appeals Court to Decide Whether AT&T Will Face Class-Action Over Throttling

A federal appellate court in California has agreed to decide whether consumers can proceed with a class-action lawsuit against AT&T over the company’s data-throttling practices. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Thursday that it would hear the consumers’ appeal of a trial judge’s decision to send the case to arbitration. The legal dispute dates to 2014, when three California …



Tesla Sues Michigan Over Dealership Law

The federal lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that the 2014 “anti-Tesla” law is unconstitutional and asks for an injunction to prevent its enforcement.

The Michigan Department of State last week denied Tesla’s application for a dealer license to sell to consumers, citing the law, which is backed by big auto companies and their dealerships. It has not decided on Tesla’s bid to register a vehicle repair facility in the state, which is home to the Detroit Big Three carmakers. …


Members of Congress Want Safe Harbor Provision in CFPB’s Final Arbitration Rule

The leaders of a Congressional subcommittee are urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to include a safe harbor provision in its final set of rules prohibiting arbitration clauses that prevent class action lawsuits. U.S. Reps. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer …


How Sweet It Is: Lawsuit Accuses Honey Nut Cheerios of Deceptive Health Claims

It may not come as a surprise to breakfast consumers that Honey Nut Cheerios — whose box features a gleeful cartoon bee dangling a honey dipper over a bowl like a magic wand — is sugary. A lawsuit filed in federal court in California against General Mills alleges, however, that consumers have been duped into thinking the company’s best-selling cereal brand is health food. The complaint, which …


Op-Ed: How Gretchen Carlson’s $20 Million Settlement Is a Rip-Off

Now that Gretchen Carlson has settled her claims against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes for a reported $20 million, many observers lament that her specific allegations of sexual harassment will never come to light, presumably barred by terms of a non-disclosure agreement. Yet she likely would have been barred from sharing her story regardless—thanks to fine print in many employment …