Service

Lawsuit Prompts Forest Service to Reinstate Elk Security Standard

Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest has decided to withdraw a controversial change in elk security requirements in the Divide area near Helena that sportsmen’s groups argued in a lawsuit could have negatively impacted big-game habitat. The Divide Area west of Helena includes about 155,480 acres of public land located in Lewis and Clark and Powell counties. In March, the Forest Service removed the Big Game 4a standard. That standard required secure areas for elk and other big game species on …



Airbnb’s Terms of Service Just Blocked a Racial Discrimination Case

Today in DC District Court, Airbnb successfully blocked a proposed class action alleging racial discrimination on the company’s platform. The lawsuit alleged systematic discrimination by Airbnb hosts, enabled by various design choices made by the company. But after today’s decision, there won’t be a public ruling on the discrimination itself.


Judge Dismisses Illinois Social Service Providers’ Lawsuit

A judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by social service providers who wanted the court to force payment on contracts with the state of Illinois, saying the issue belongs in a higher court. After brief oral arguments, Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia tossed the lawsuit. Nearly 100 social service providers, called the Pay Now Illinois coalition, sued in May over fallout from the …


Court Throws Out Federal Government’s Lawsuit Over AT&T “Unlimited” Data Plans

Nearly two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T for allegedly misleading wireless customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while simultaneously throttling their cellular connection speeds when they passed certain monthly thresholds. AT&T failed in 2015 to get the case dismissed in District Court, but yesterday succeeded in convincing a federal appeals court to throw …


Federal Lawsuit Targets Ochoco Thinning Plan

An environmental group has sued the U.S. Forest Service, arguing that a plan to thin trees surrounding popular Walton Lake in Ochoco National Forest needed a fuller environmental review and public comment process. The nonprofit League of Wilderness Defenders’ lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Oregon argued that the Forest Service had illegally avoided an environmental review of the …


DirecTV Faces RICO Class Action for Bungling Business Installs, Then Demanding $15,000 for Theft of Service

DirecTV Faces RICO Class Action For Bungling Business Installs, Then Demanding $15,000 For Theft Of Service from the thieves-and-liars dept For several years now DirecTV (now owned by AT&T) has been the focus of a series of lawsuits focused on the NFL’s Sunday Ticket exclusive arrangement. More specifically, the lawsuits have claimed that the exclusive arrangement violates antitrust law, …



Lincoln Military Housing Settles Landmark Troop Eviction Lawsuit

Lincoln Military Housing must pay $200,000 in fees and penalties to four military members and the federal government under a Department of Justice settlement reached Thursday after the company illegally evicted service members from their on-base homes. This case marks the first time the Justice Department has filed allegations of unlawful evictions under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, …


ERISA Excessive Fee Lawsuits Hit 403(b) Plans of Higher Education Institutions

Not surprisingly, in its most recent round of “excessive fee” lawsuits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the plaintiffs’ bar has begun targeting 403(b) plans sponsored by higher education institutions such as Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Duke University. Cases like Tibble v. Edison …