A judge’s recent decision favoring AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. in a lawsuit over excessive mutual fund fees in variable annuities was a win of sorts for insurance companies, in that it upholds a traditional structure of offering investment options. At issue in the lawsuit, Sivolella v. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. et al, is whether the insurer and an RIA subsidiary, which act as …
Uber Technologies Inc. was dealt a second rejection of a legal settlement, this time in a case over claims the company misled riders when it charged them a $1 “safe rides fee” that earned the company almost half a billion dollars. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco said the proposed $28.5 million payout wasn’t enough for customers, considering how much Uber took in from the fees. …
Baltimore’s spending board is expected on Wednesday to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the city-owned Royal Farms Arena charged concertgoers unlawful ticket fees. The proposed $420,000 cash settlement would end a two-year fight over the suit brought by John G. Bourgeois of Perry Hall. Bourgeois alleged that the city received illegal “user” or “convenience” fees from tickets sold through …
Calif. Supreme Court rubber stamps excessive class action attorneys’ fees By Lawrence W. Schonbrun Class actions are a judicially created mechanism to protect the “little guys” from abuse by powerful institutions, corporations, and governments. In a regrettable decision, however, the California Supreme Court has refused to protect the rights and interests of class members by allowing the very …
The acrimonious history between Ozzy Osbourne and his former bassist and songwriting partner Bob Daisley added another chapter when Daisley took Osbourne to court for unpaid royalties earlier this month — and now Daisley is responding to accusations of “harassment” from the Osbournes. Daisley delved into his reasons for filing suit in an interview with Joel Gausten, and it’s well worth reading …
Morgan Stanley was hit with a class action Friday, filed on behalf of 60,000 workers. The suit claims that the company mismanaged its own employees’ retirement plans by offering poorly performing funds and charging excessive fees.
Last September, federal judge George King ruled that “Happy Birthday to You,” the iconic song sung at children’s parties everywhere daily, was not subject to copyright protection as previously thought. Now free from the grasp of music publishing company Warner Chappell, it’s free to be used by anyone, anywhere, for any purpose, with only a specific arrangement covered by the 1035 copyright …
Is 401(k) fee litigation over? Now that many of the cases contending that large 401(k) plans paid too high fees have been settled or decided, it would be tempting for plan sponsors that haven’t been sued to breathe a sigh of relief. They should not do so, because litigation continues unabated with new theories and targets.
Lawyers dream about doing little to no work and getting paid a fortune for the work they didn’t do. A group of hotshot securities lawyers recently was on the verge of just such a payday. They stood to collect $370,000 in legal fees for work that didn’t benefit their clients one iota.
Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, a leading national law firm based in St. Louis, today filed separate class action lawsuits against three universities on behalf of over 60,000 employees in their defined contribution retirement plans. The complaints, David B. Tracey, et al., v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, et al. ; Dr. Alan Sacerdote, et al., v. New York …