September 25, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Simmons Bedding Hit With Thread-count Lawsuit
Simmons Bedding Company LLC has been sued in a proposed class action accusing the company of selling bedding and linens that falsely inflated their “thread count,” misleading buyers over the purported higher quality and durability of the products.
Plaintiff in her suit, which was filed in San Francisco federal court, alleges that certain Simmons Beautyrest products were deceptively marketed as having a “1,000 thread count” when the number of strands per square inch was really 216. Plaintiff says she would not have purchased Beautyrest bed sheets, or would have paid less for them, had Simmons disclosed the alleged actual count.
The complaint states that misbranded thread counts deceive consumers into believing “they are purchasing a product which is of higher quality, durability, longevity, softness, or better for sleeping than products with a lower thread count.” An independent laboratory, the complaint says, was commissioned to examine the thread count.
September 21, 2023 – Intellectual Property
Showtime’s ‘Penny Dreadful’ Stole Online Character, Lawsuit Alleges
A writer is suing Showtime Networks Inc. and the makers of the show “Penny Dreadful” in Los Angeles federal court, accusing them of copying her Victorian protagonist and other characters from posts she made in the online role-playing community forum “Murders & Roses: Victorian London Crimes & Scandals.”
The television series Penny Dreadful began airing on Showtime and other platforms in 2014, according to the complaint. The series, the complaint says, wove together stories set in 19th Century London involving characters from Victorian Gothic fiction and was an immediate hit. The copyright infringement claim in this litigation focuses on the character of Vanessa Ives in the story told by Penny Dreadful.
Plaintiff claims in her lawsuit that the Vanessa Ives character was actually created by plaintiff in 2011, three years before Penny Dreadful first aired. Plaintiff’s character, like Showtime’s Vanessa Ives, was “a violent and mysterious woman.” Her name was Charlotte Benoit. Plaintiff depicted Charlotte as a woman in her early thirties who, like Vanessa Ives, typically dressed in a dark jacket and matching skirt, with a high-collared shirt and veiled top-hat, and “who would don extravagant gowns with low-cut décolletages for special evenings.”
September 20, 2023 – Cybersecurity
Albertsons Companies Accused of ‘Preventable’ Employee Data Breach
Albertsons Companies Inc., one of the nation’s largest food and drug retailers, faces a proposed class action over a December 2022 data breach that allegedly impacted tens of thousands of current and former employees.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boise, Idaho, contends that the breach, during which an unauthorized third party gained access to files containing employees’ personal information, was a direct result of defendant’s failure to implement reasonable cybersecurity measures.
In her suit, plaintiff argues that Albertsons had a legal duty under state and federal laws to protect consumers’ personal information from unauthorized exposure. Despite these obligations, plaintiff says, the company maintained its employees’ data in a “reckless manner” on a computer network that was “vulnerable to cyberattacks.” The complaint says that data thieves responsible for the hack were able to exfiltrate victims’ names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, all of which can be used by the hackers to commit various crimes. The affected individuals, the complaint says, must now spend significant amounts of time, money, and effort to guard against these threats.
September 19, 2023 – Securities
Shaquille O’Neal NFTs Challenged in Lawsuit
Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal faces a federal class action filed in Miami federal court accusing him of selling unregistered securities in a business venture called the Astral Project involving digital tokens known as NFTs.
The Astral Project, according to the complaint, aimed to promote investment in a virtual world (the “Astralverse”) in which users could socialize with other users, including with O’Neal himself, through unique three-dimensional avatars that could be traded through the “Magic Eden” marketplace. Aside from minting and collecting avatar NFTs through the Astrals ecosystem, the complaint says, investors could purchase them on Magic Eden, the official marketplace for Astrals NFTs. In January 2023, the Astrals NFTs suffered a steep decline in value.
Plaintiff claims in his lawsuit that an investment contract is a form of security under federal securities laws when (1) the purchaser makes an investment of money or exchanges another item of value (2) in a common enterprise (3) with the reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others. Applying these criteria to the Astrals NFTs reveals they qualify as securities as an investment contract and O’Neal, in selling unregistered securities, is responsible for losses incurred, plaintiff contends.
September 18, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Interpreters for American Sign Language Say They Were Misclassified as Independent Contractors
In Manhattan federal court, a proposed class action alleges American Sign Language Inc. (ASLI) has misclassified its sign-language interpreters as independent contractors, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
ASLI employs and places sign-language interpreters where their services are needed, according to the complaint. This relationship between ASLI and its interpreters, the complaint says, reflects that of an employer and employee, given that the defendant “unilaterally” controls the workers’ schedules, pay rates, and duties.
Plaintiff contends in her lawsuit that the failure of ASLI to classify interpreters as employees deprives them of benefits to which they should be entitled under state and federal law, those benefits including overtime wages, participation in a retirement plan, Social Security contributions, state and federal income tax deductions, and proper wage notices or statements.
September 14, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Lume Deodorant Sued Over Allegedly Deceptive ‘Clinically Proven’ Odor-Blocking Claim
A proposed class action filed in Brooklyn federal court says Lume Deodorant has misled consumers by advertising its products as aluminum-free and “clinically proven” to prevent body odor for up to 72 hours.
Despite the company’s claims that a clinical study proved that the product could “block body odor all day, and continue to control odor for 72 hours,” the complaint says, testing of the product determined only that Lume deodorant was superior to competitors, not that it could limit body odor for the represented amount of time.
According to the complaint, Lume’s statements are deceptive because the sample sizes in their study were “neither large nor diverse enough” to verify the claims of long-lasting odor control. Further, plaintiff argues in her lawsuit, defendant’s representation that the Lume items are aluminum-free is misleading because “aluminum is not found in any deodorant products.”
September 13, 2023 – Constitution
Penguin Random House Sues Florida School District Over Book Bans
Book publisher Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Pensacola, Fla., challenging the removal by a Florida school district of 10 books related to race and the LGBTQ community after a high school teacher complained.
In addition to Penguin, other plaintiffs in the suit include PEN America, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression in literature; five authors whose books have been removed from the school district; and two parents whose children go to school in the district.
Plaintiffs allege that the district violated the First Amendment by “depriving students of access to a wide range of viewpoints, and depriving the authors of the removed and restricted books of the opportunity to engage with readers and disseminate their ideas to their intended audiences.” Plaintiffs also argue that the removals violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment “because the books being singled out for possible removal are disproportionately books by non-white and/or LGBTQ authors, or which address topics related to race or LGBTQ identity.” Removed books include “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” by Sarah Brannen, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan, “When Aidan Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff, and “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez.
September 12, 2023 – Antitrust
Mobile Home Park Owners Accused of Rental Price-Fixing
A group of the country’s largest corporate managers of mobile home communities and a market data provider have been sued in Chicago federal court in a proposed class action alleging a conspiracy to inflate rental prices for older and low-income residents.
The plaintiffs, two Illinois residents who rented lots for their manufactured homes, filed the lawsuit against Datacomp Appraisal Systems and nine other companies that own or have controlling interests in more than 150 housing communities across the country. The suit alleges that the corporate owners shared competitively sensitive information about lot rentals and occupancy via industry reports from Datacomp. That information, according to the complaint, allowed the defendants to coordinate their prices in violation of U.S. antitrust law.
“The effect of defendants’ conspiracy has been devastating to manufactured home residents,” plaintiffs claim in their suit. “These individuals — whose median annual household income is approximately $35,000 — are being overcharged for what used to be affordable housing.”
September 11, 2023 – Product Liability
EzriCare Artificial Tears Eye Drops Caused Eye Infection, Lawsuit Claims
Plaintiff alleges that she developed sepsis and spent time in an intensive care unit (ICU), after experiencing a treatment-resistant eye infection from use of EzriCare Artificial Tears eye drops, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Covington, Ky.
The eye drops, the complaint says, were recalled earlier this year due to bacterial contamination. Defendants in the lawsuit include Ezricare LLC, Ezrirx LLC, Global Pharma Healthcare Private Ltd, and Aru Pharma Inc. Plaintiff says in her suit that she was falsely led to believe the medication was safe.
Plaintiff alleges the eye drops caused her to suffer eye pain, redness, and blurry vision, at which time she was diagnosed with necrotizing scleritis, likely due to an infection. She says she was admitted to an ICU and was diagnosed with sepsis. As a result of the eye infection, the complaint states, plaintiff has undergone multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, and prolonged antibiotic use.
September 7, 2023 – Privacy
DOJ Files Suit Against Telecommunications Service Provider for Facilitating Illegal Robocalls
The Department of Justice has filed a civil enforcement action against XCast Labs Inc. for allegedly violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule by assisting and facilitating illegal telemarketing campaigns.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, XCast Labs provided voice-over internet protocol (VoIP) services that transmitted billions of illegal robocalls to American consumers, including scam calls that fraudulently claimed to be from government agencies.
These robocalls, DOJ says, delivered prerecorded marketing messages, and many of them were delivered to numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry. Further, DOJ says, many of the calls failed to truthfully identify the seller of the services being marketed, falsely claimed affiliations with government entities, contained other false or misleading statements to induce purchases, or were transmitted with “spoofed” caller ID information.
September 6, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Nike Accused of False Advertising Over ‘Sustainable’ Clothing
A Missouri woman has filed a proposed class action against Nike USA Inc., alleging the company misleads consumers by claiming to make its products in a sustainable way while in fact it is still using methods that bring harm to the environment.
Plaintiff says in her lawsuit filed in St. Louis federal court that Nike uses “deceptive and misleading” statements when marketing its sustainability collection. Specifically, plaintiff contends that Nike deceives consumers into believing that they are receiving products that are “sustainable, made with recycled fibers, and can reduce one’s carbon footprint in a move to zero carbon and zero waste.”
Nike is taking advantage of consumers increasingly interested in eco-friendly products while failing to deliver on its promises, the complaint alleges. “[Plaintiff] would not have purchased the products if she had known that they were not sustainable, not made from sustainable materials and not environmentally friendly,” the complaint says.
September 5, 2023 – Cybersecurity
One Million+ Patients Impacted by NextGen Healthcare Data Breach, Lawsuit Alleges
Electronic records software company NextGen Healthcare faces a proposed class action filed in Atlanta federal court in the wake of a data breach the company experienced in March 2023.
The lawsuit says highly sensitive data belonging to over one million people was compromised after the NextGen healthcare records were targeted in the cyberattack. The suit alleges NextGen stored consumer data, which it gathers through its doctor and medical professional clients, “in a negligent and/or reckless manner,” that made the data “vulnerable to cyberattacks.”
Plaintiff claims in his suit that the personal data exposed in the incident included consumers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, this information being the “gold standard” of data for identity thieves. The exposed information, plaintiff says, “can, and likely will, be sold repeatedly on the dark web.”
September 4, 2023 – Constitution
Florida Sued for Barring Chinese Citizens from Home Ownership
A group of Chinese citizens living in Florida has sued the state to strike down a new law that bars citizens of China and several other countries from owning homes and land in the state.
The four plaintiffs, represented in the lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claim in the suit filed in federal court in Tallahassee, Fla., that the law is unconstitutional and violates a federal statute banning housing discrimination. The law, according to the complaint, prohibits individuals who are “domiciled” in China and are not U.S. citizens or green card holders from owning buildings or land in Florida. It also bars most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea from owning property within 10 miles of any military installation or “critical infrastructure facility” such as a power plant, airport or refinery.
The ACLU argues in its complaint that the law violates provisions of the U.S. Constitution that guarantee equal protection and due process. The group says the law also violates the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination based on race and national origin.
August 31, 2023 – Labor & Employment
EEOC Sues NC IHOP for Religious Discrimination
Restaurant chain IHOP violated federal law when it required an employee to work on Sundays despite a previously granted religious accommodation, and then fired him when he attempted to exercise his rights, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Charlotte, N.C.
The EEOC says in its suit that IHOP hired a cook at a location in Charlotte in January 2021. At the time of hire, the EEOC says, the employee requested and was granted a religious accommodation of not working on Sundays to honor his religious observances. But after a change in management in April 2021, the new general manager expressed hostility toward the accommodation and required the employee to work on Sundays. When the employee refused to do so, he was fired.
IHOP’s alleged conduct, the EEOC contends, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which provides for religious accommodations in the workplace and protects individuals from religious discrimination and retaliation. The agency’s suit, which seeks compensation and injunctive relief, was filed after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.
August 30, 2023 – Environment
Fish & Wildlife Faces Lawsuit Over Pesticide Use in ‘Critical Habitats’
The Center for Biological Diversity has sued the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service alleging the agency has engaged in over four years of foot-dragging on a petition to regulate the use of pesticides in protected habitats.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in Tucson, Ariz., the center sent the petition to Fish & Wildlife in January 2019, asking that it abide by the Endangered Species Act and prohibit all use of pesticides in critical habitats unless it has previously consulted with the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the pesticides’ impact on listed species, or if the pesticides are used to control invasive species or promote human health and safety. Four years later, the complaint says, the agency has not responded.
The center claims in its lawsuit that recovery plans for more than 250 threatened and endangered species are jeopardized by pesticides. In just the past six years, the center says, the rusty patched bumblebee and the California spotted owl were added to the endangered species list because of the effect of pesticides on their habitats. The center says that Fish & Wildlife has completed a biological evaluation for only one of the 12 active ingredients in pesticides that harm a majority of the roughly 800 critical habitats in the country.
August 29, 2023 – Antitrust
Energizer Holdings, Walmart Sued for Conspiracy to Raise Disposable Battery Prices
In San Francisco federal court, Energizer Holdings Inc. and Walmart Inc. face a proposed class action accusing them of conspiring to raise the prices of disposable batteries.
According to the complaint, Energizer agreed “under pressure from Walmart” to inflate wholesale battery prices for other retailers starting around January 2018, and require those retailers not to undercut Walmart on price.
Walmart rivals risked higher wholesale prices or being cut off by Energizer, the largest U.S. disposable battery maker, if they charged less at checkout than Walmart, the complaint alleges, adding that the scheme resulted in higher prices from Energizer and Duracell, which together control 85% of the disposable battery market.
August 28, 2028 – Securities
Investors Sue Adidas over Broken Partnership With Kanye West
Adidas has been accused by investors of knowing about offensive remarks and harmful behavior from Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, years before ending its partnership with him.
The proposed class action, filed in federal court in Portland, Ore., claims that Adidas was aware for some time of the potential harm that Ye’s problematic behavior could cause the company — pointing to earlier incidents, including 2018 comments where Ye suggested slavery was a “choice” and reports of Ye making antisemitic statements in front of Adidas staff.
The lawsuit — which represents people who bought Adidas securities between May 3, 2018, and February 21, 2023 — also alleges that the company failed to take precautionary measures to limit financial losses if the Ye partnership were to end. Ye is not listed as a defendant in the suit.
August 24, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Lowe’s Accused of ‘Sneaking’ Additional ‘Required’ Items Into Online Carts
Lowe’s Companies Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging that the company deceptively sneaks a purportedly “required” item into consumers’ online cart for certain purchases and forces them to affirmatively remove it.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in Alexandria, Va., Lowe’s utilizes this so-called “sneak into basket” tactic that plaintiff calls “an aggressive and deceptive form of cross-selling,” relying on either the inaction of a consumer to remove an additional item from their shopping cart or the buyer simply not noticing that another product has been added to their purchase before the transaction is complete.
As an example, the complaint says, a consumer who buys through Lowe’s website a General Electric-brand front-load washing machine will see the letter “i” within a circle, the universal “more information” symbol. Next to this symbol is stated, “These items are necessary for your appliance to function properly,” with the item at issue being a stainless-steel washing machine connector hose costing roughly $35. Plaintiff contends in her suit that not only does Lowe’s website force a customer to remove this purportedly required item, but the washing machine in fact already comes with this water hose, “such that it is not required to spend almost $35 extra beyond the roughly $1,000 washer.”
August 23, 2023 – Product Liability
Tesla Automatic Software Updates Said to Cut Battery Capacity, Driving Range
In San Francisco federal court, Tesla faces a proposed class action alleging that automatic software updates depleted vehicle battery life and slashed the driving range by at least 20 percent.
The complaint states that no reasonable consumer would expect Tesla itself to “deliberately and significantly” interfere with the performance of Model S and Model X vehicles by way of automated software updates. “The depletion of batteries following software updates is completely inconsistent with Tesla’s representations about battery life. In fact, Tesla represents that its batteries will outlast the vehicles themselves,” the complaint says.
Plaintiffs claim in their lawsuit that despite these assurances, many Tesla drivers have been compelled to pay a third party hundreds of dollars to reverse the software update so as to “continue to experience the battery performance they had” before the update. Other drivers, plaintiffs say, have had their Tesla batteries irreparably damaged from the software update and have had to purchase new batteries at a cost of up to $15,000 per battery.
August 22, 2023 – Privacy
L’Oréal Accused of Sending Spam Texts, Ignoring ‘Opt Out’ Requests
L’Oréal faces a proposed class action filed by a consumer who claims to have received texts from the company despite requesting “many times” to opt out of receiving messages
Filed in federal court in Phoenix, Ariz., the complaint alleges that by continuing to send promotional texts to the plaintiff and other individuals after they have opted out, L’Oréal has violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which was established to protect consumers from unwanted sales calls or text messages.
L’Oréal, the complaint says, has failed to maintain an internal do-not-call list, establish a written policy with regard to telemarketing, and provide adequate training to staff in marketing positions. Plaintiff in her lawsuit claims that even after replying “stop” numerous times, defendant continued to send texts to her cell phone. This “illegal conduct,” plaintiff says, has caused the invasion of privacy and “disruption of the daily life of thousands of individuals.”
August 21, 2023 – Constitution
Tennessee Transgender Care Ban Challenged as Unconstitutional
LGBTQ rights advocates have sued the state of Tennessee in Nashville federal court, seeking to block the state’s new ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The recently enacted Tennessee law, according to the complaint, bans “medically necessary and potentially lifesaving healthcare” to transgender adolescents. The law was passed, the complaint says, “over the sustained and robust opposition of medical experts in Tennessee and across the country,” and if it is allowed to go into effect, will cause “severe and irreparable harm.”
In their suit, plaintiffs claim the transgender care ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status by prohibiting certain medical treatments only for transgender patients, and it also infringes on the fundamental rights of parents guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing parents from seeking appropriate medical care for their children.
August 17, 2023 – Environment
Lockheed Martin Accused of Improper Storage of Toxins at Weapons Plant
A lawsuit filed against Lockheed Martin in federal court in Orlando, Fla., claims that the company’s mismanagement of toxins at its Florida weapons manufacturing plant has caused people living or working in the area to suffer debilitating diseases caused by exposure to the contaminants.
Lockheed Martin’s “dangerous failures” at its Orlando weapons facility occurred over decades, according to the complaint. The facility, which manufactures weaponry and associated components, utilizes chemicals that are “among the most toxic to human health on earth,” and requires the utmost care and handling, the complaint says.
However, instead of carefully managing these toxins from the moment they arrived at the facility and ensuring they were properly disposed of, Lockheed Martin stored toxins in leaking storage tanks, collected and transported waste materials in leaking underground piping systems, and dumped thousands of tons of highly toxic waste sludges into trenches dug throughout the facility, plaintiffs allege in their suit, saying that “Lockheed Martin’s stunning indifference to environmental protection and human health resulted in staggering levels of contamination.”
August 16, 2023 – Securities
CFTC Accuses Fisher Capital of Investment Fraud Targeting Older Adults
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil enforcement action in Brooklyn federal court against Fisher Capital, alleging that it perpetrated a precious metals investment fraud targeting older adults.
The Los Angeles-based dealer of precious metals, the CFTC complaint says, defrauded “hundreds of elderly persons into investing more than $30 million in gold and silver coins worth far less than the defendants led victims to believe.”
The CFTC says in its suit that Fisher Capital used high-pressure sales pitches over the telephone to instill fear about the safety of traditional retirement and savings accounts, and deceived victims into purchasing grossly overpriced precious metals. The agency seeks the return of “ill-gotten gains” and permanent injunctions against further violations of CFTC regulations.
August 15, 2023 – Truth in Lending
Bank of America Faces Lawsuit Over Allegedly Illegal Interest Rate Charges
A lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court claims Bank of America has since March 2022 unlawfully imposed excessive interest rates on cardholders.
Plaintiff says in his suit that in direct violation of the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Bank of America has repeatedly raised credit card interest rates without providing consumers 45 days’ notice and retroactively applied the increased rates to cardholders’ existing balances. According to the complaint, the TILA precludes credit card companies such as Bank of America from raising interest rates without advanced notice and only allows rate increases to be applied to future transactions rather than to consumers’ existing, or “protected,” balances.
The complaint says that the prime rate — which defendant uses to directly calculate the interest rates cardholders are charged — has “more than doubled since March 2022 and is now at 8.25%, the highest in more than a decade.” Plaintiff argues that defendant has used the rising prime rate as an excuse to illegally assess hefty interest rates on credit cards. “These unlawful interest rate increases,” plaintiff alleges, “has generated untold millions for Bank of America, which has so far imposed ten interest rate increases on its cardholders over the period.”
August 14, 2023 – Labor & Employment
EEOC Sues Pacific Culinary and CB Foods for Sexual Harassment
Pacific Culinary Group Inc. and CB Foods Inc., two companies involved in the production and sale of Asian food products, violated federal law when they failed to prevent and correct ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Since at least 2020, the suit says, Pacific Culinary and CB Foods subjected both female and male workers at their Monterey Park, Calif., location to ongoing verbal and physical sexual harassment. This harassment allegedly included frequent and offensive unwanted groping and touching of their bodies, unwelcome sexual advances and comments about their appearance, and inappropriate questions about employees’ sexual preferences and sexual activities.
Despite having received multiple complaints of the sexual harassment, the companies failed to take prompt and effective action, and the sexual harassment continued, the EEOC says. The agency also claims that when employees reported the harassment, they were retaliated against with further harassment, including termination. The unlawful employment practices resulted in intolerable working conditions, compelling some of the workers to quit, the EEOC says, arguing that defendants’ actions are in violation Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and retaliation.
August 10, 2023 – Environment
Feds Sued Over Lead Ammunition in West Virginia Wildlife Reserve
The National Wildlife Association and the Sierra Club have sued the Biden administration over its decision last year not to restrict the use of fishing tackle and lead ammunition at a national wildlife refuge in West Virginia.
In bringing their lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia, the groups cited risks to bald eagles and other vulnerable species. The groups claim in their suit that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service violated the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act when it withdrew a plan that would have phased out certain hunting and fishing gear in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
The agency’s decision in September 2022, according to the complaint, followed objections to the plan from the state of West Virginia, which said the restrictions would be too costly for local hunters. The Fish & Wildlife agency “abdicated its statutory duty to safeguard wildlife” and granted an “unlawful state veto” over federal conservation policy, the complaint alleges.
August 9, 2023 – Securities
SEC Charges Crypto Asset Trading Platform Bittrex for Operating an Unregistered Exchange
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has charged crypto asset trading platform Bittrex Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The civil action was filed in Seattle federal court.
Since at least 2014, Bittrex has held itself out as a platform that facilitated buying and selling of crypto assets that the SEC’s complaint alleges were offered and sold as securities. From 2017 through 2022, the complaint says, Bittrex earned at least $1.3 billion in revenues from, among other things, transaction fees from investors, while servicing them as a broker, exchange, and clearing agency without registering any of these activities with the Commission.
The complaint further contends that Bittrex and Shihara, who was the company’s CEO from 2014 to 2019, coordinated with issuers who sought to have their crypto asset made available for trading on Bittrex’s platform to first delete from public channels certain “problematic statements” that Shihara believed would lead a regulator, such as the SEC, to investigate the crypto asset as the offering of a security. For example, the complaint says, in an effort to avoid regulatory scrutiny, before Bittrex would make an asset available on its platform, Bittrex and Shihara instructed issuer-applicants to delete statements related to “price prediction[s],” “expectation of profit,” and other “investment-related terms.”
August 8, 2023 – Cybersecurity
Yum! Brands Data Breach Said to Impact Scores of Employees, Job Applicants
Fast-food conglomerate Yum! Brands, which operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bel, and The Habit Burger Grill, faces a proposed class action filed in federal court in Louisville, Ky, over a January 2023 data breach that allegedly compromised the sensitive information of potentially hundreds of thousands of current and former employees and job applicants.
Yum! Brands, the complaint says, is purportedly the world’s largest restaurant company, with roughly 1,500 franchisees running more than 55,000 restaurants across 155 countries and territories. According to the complaint, the incident, sparked by a ransomware attack, was a direct result of Yum! Brands’ failure to implement adequate cybersecurity measures and its storage of sensitive data “in a reckless manner.”
Plaintiff argues in her lawsuit that the threat of a data breach was a “known risk” to Yum! Brands. “Had Defendant properly monitored its computer networks, it would have discovered the intrusion promptly, and potentially been able to stop the intrusion or mitigate the injuries to Plaintiff(s) and the Class.”
August 7, 2023 – Product Liability
Mattel Accused in Rock ‘n Play Infant Sleeper Death
Toy company Mattel faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a 5-month-old girl who died from positional asphyxia in an allegedly defective Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play infant sleeper. (Fisher-Price is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel.)
According to the complaint filed in federal court in Pensacola, Fla., Mattel manufactured and marketed the Rock ‘n Play infant sleeper as a product that was suitable for safe infant sleep, including prolonged and overnight sleep. But in fact, the complaint says, the product is “unsuitable for infant sleep, dangerous, and deadly.”
Plaintiffs say in their suit that the Rock ‘n-Play was recalled twice by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and over 60 deaths were reported. However, despite knowing that babies were dying, defendant “engaged in a negligent, lackluster, and perfunctory effort to recall the products and notify the public of the danger,” plaintiffs claim. And because of the “negligent and reckless manner in which the recall was conducted,” additional deaths occurred, including that of the subject of this wrongful death action.
August 4, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Company Sued by Father Over ‘Baby Bonding’ Leave Policy
Steel products company Gerdau Macsteel Inc. treated its non-union employee birth fathers unequally by denying them the same paid parental leave provided to non-union birth mothers, alleges a proposed class action filed in Detroit federal court.
Plaintiff, a former non-union research and development technical specialist at the company’s mill in Monroe, Mich., says he requested parental leave in November 2021 when his wife gave birth to their baby, but he was only granted 30 days of unpaid paternity leave.
In his lawsuit, plaintiff says his 30-days unpaid leave contrasts with non-union birth mothers being awarded six weeks of paid parental leave. Defendant limited its entitlement to six weeks of paid parental leave “for such things as baby bonding and/or dealing with baby medical matters” to “the employee who gave birth,” plaintiff says. Accordingly, he was ineligible to take paid parental leave on the basis of his sex, a stereotype that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, plaintiff argues.
August 3, 2023 – Environment
EPA Sued Over Alleged Pollution at Oil Refineries and Plastic Plants
Environmental groups have filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over pollution guidelines it issued earlier this year, claiming the agency failed to update limits on the release of toxic chemicals in wastewater from oil refineries, plastic manufacturing plants, and other industrial facilities.
In their petition to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the groups allege that the EPA violated provisions of the Clean Water Act that require it to tighten pollution controls every five years if new technology is available. The petition was filed by a group that includes the Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Food & Water Watch, and other environmental organizations.
In some instances, the groups say, technology requirements have not been updated for nearly 40 years for industrial plants that release chemicals like cyanide, benzene, mercury, and chlorides through billions of gallons of wastewater. Plaintiffs are seeking an order forcing the agency to revisit the regulations, including by analyzing whether new technologies are available that could cut pollution discharges at over 1,000 facilities across the country.
August 2, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Best Buy ‘Price Match Guarantee’ Accused of Being Bait-and-Switch Tactic
A proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court alleges Best Buy has failed to honor its “Price Match Guarantee” when a consumer requests that it match a certain competitor’s lower price.
Best Buy, the complaint claims, maintains an “unstated policy” of refusing to satisfy its price-match guarantee and instead uses the assurance as a way to bait and switch consumers into buying products from Best Buy. “In other words, [Best Buy] is not a magnanimous retail seller doing right by its customers as a result of matching designated online and/or local competitor’s prices; and instead, [Best Buy] is just trying to make the proverbial extra buck through specious trade practices,” the complaint says.
Plaintiff states in his lawsuit that in early February 2023 he saw an Apple iPad Pro listed by another retailer for $555.99 and that the same product was priced at $1,099 by Best Buy. But when he contacted Best Buy to initiate a price match under the company’s guarantee, plaintiff says he was told that Best Buy would not honor its “Price Match Guarantee” for the Apple product.
August 1, 2023 – Privacy
Tesla Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Privacy Intrusion
In San Francisco federal court, a Tesla owner has filed a proposed class action against the company accusing it of violating the privacy of customers.
Plaintiff, who owns a Tesla Model Y, claims in his suit that groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an internal messaging system sometimes “highly invasive videos and images” recorded by customers’ car cameras between 2019 and 2022. Employees were able to access the images and videos for their “tasteless and tortious entertainment” and “the humiliation of those surreptitiously recorded,” plaintiff says.
The complaint says Tesla’s conduct is “particularly egregious” and “highly offensive” and asks the court to enjoin Tesla from engaging in its wrongful behavior. “That such videos and images were made available to Tesla employees to view and share, at will, and for improper purposes, affects each and every person with a Tesla vehicle, their families, passengers, and even guests in their homes,” the complaint says.
July 31, 2023 – Product Liability
Justice Dep’t Sues Manufacturer, Alleging Delay in Reporting Dangerous Awning Covers
The U.S. Justice Department and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have jointly brought a civil action in Boston federal court against SunSetter Products LP, claiming that the company delayed reporting a hazardous defect involving protective vinyl covers for its retractable awnings.
According to the complaint, SunSetter, which manufactures motorized, retractable awnings for outdoor use, failed to immediately report to the CPSC that when bungee tie-downs securing its protective awning covers were removed, the retractable awnings could spring open unexpectedly with enough force to strike consumers and cause them to fall and suffer serious injury or death.
Between 2012 and 2017, the complaint says, SunSetter received 14 reports of its motorized awnings springing open, which resulted in several injuries and one death. Despite notice of these incidents, the company did not report the problems with its awning covers to the CPSC until October 2017.
July 27, 2023 – Labor & Employment
EEOC Sues Papa John’s Pizza Under Americans With Disability Act
Papa John’s Pizza, an international chain of pizza restaurants based in Louisville, Ky., unlawfully denied a blind employee’s request to keep his service dog on site and away from both customers and food preparation activities during his shifts, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Athens, Ga.
According to the complaint, in early 2020 the person applied for a job at his local Papa John’s restaurant in Athens after hearing from a friend that the company hired individuals with vision impairments. The individual, the complaint says, is legally blind and relies on his service dog for his commute, He applied for a vacant position at the restaurant and was initially hired, the complaint says, but after a Papa John’s review of his situation, he was fired before actually having begun work.
The EEOC alleges in its suit that his firing was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In denying him employment, the EEOC argues, defendant did not identify any specific “health and safety risk” that his accommodation request would involve. Nor did defendant identify any undue hardship that it would pose. The decision not to employ him, the EEOC says, was “based on improper stereotypes about service animals and their presence in restaurants or other food service establishments.”
July 26, 2023 – Constitution
ACLU Challenges Tennessee Ban on Transgender Health Care for Minors
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee ban on almost all forms of gender-affirming care for minors, including hormone treatments, puberty blockers, and gender-affirming surgeries.
The suit, which was filed in Nashville federal court on behalf of parents of a transgender minor, would subject physicians who violate these rules, either by providing banned treatments or by aiding another physician, to discipline by the medical oversight board. Gender dysphoria, according to the complaint, “is a serious medical condition characterized by clinically significant distress caused by incongruence between a person’s gender identity and the sex they were designated at birth.” The prohibited interventions, the complaint says, are “evidence-based and medically necessary medical care essential to the health and well-being of transgender minors who are suffering from gender dysphoria, a serious condition that can lead to depression, anxiety and other serious health consequences when untreated.”
The ACLU says in its suit that the law violates the bodily integrity of minors and is “fundamentally irrational,” which violates due process. And by singling out for prohibition the care related to “gender transition,” it creates a “classification based on sex and transgender status, violating the equal protection rights of transgender adolescents.”
July 25, 2023 – Securities
Developer C3.ai Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged False Statements
Artificial intelligence developer C3.ai Inc., whose customers include the US Department of Defense and Raytheon Technologies, has been sued in San Francisco federal court by a shareholder alleging C3 misled its investors when going public.
In his shareholder suit, plaintiff claims the software company’s board misrepresented their sales force capacity ahead of an initial public offering on Dec. 9, 2020. Among the named defendants are company founder Thomas Siebel and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
C3.ai wasn’t profitable at the time of its IPO, according to the complaint, and the company’s registration statement claimed that C3 had access to and was leveraging the extensive marketing, sales, and services resources of oil and gas monolith Baker Hughes Co., including Baker Hughes’ “12,000- person sales organization.” However, the complaint says, the registration statement failed to disclose that C3 did not in fact have access to the 12,000-person salesforce but instead set up a separate sales division that relied on salespeople who did not have the industry connections or expertise of the Baker Hughes salesforce.
July 24, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Arm & Hammer Clean Burst Laundry Detergent Not ‘Eco-Friendly’ as Advertised, Lawsuit Says
A proposed class action filed in Brooklyn federal court alleges that Arm & Hammer Clean Burst laundry detergent is not as eco-friendly as advertised since the product contains a chemical linked to negative effects on human health and the environment.
According to the complaint, Arm & Hammer manufacturer Church & Dwight Co. has attempted to make its Clean Burst laundry detergent appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is by labeling it as “Powerfully Clean,” “Naturally Fresh,” and “The Standard of Purity” alongside an image of a blue cresting wave.
Plaintiff argues in her suit that the company’s purity and sustainability claims are misleading since the detergent is made with high levels of dioxane, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a probable human carcinogen known to accumulate in the body and contaminate water supplies. Exposure to dioxane, the complaint says, can cause tumors of the liver, gallbladder, nasal cavity, lung, and skin.
July 24, 2023 – Environment
Environmental Group Says Gov’t Fails to Protect Endangered Corals
The Center for Biological Diversity claims the federal government violates the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in failing to finalize “critical habitat” designations for seven species of Pacific corals and five species of Florida and Caribbean corals.
Defendant’s failure to designate critical habitat violates its mandatory duty under the ESA, the complaint says, and deprives these imperiled species of “vitally important protections in their most essential habitat areas.” But absent bold and immediate action, “the entire worldwide coral reef ecosystem may collapse within the next hundred years,” the complaint argues.
Plaintiff says in its suit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia that coral reefs are among the “most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems in the world.” In addition to the existential threats of climate change and ocean acidification, plaintiff says, corals face localized threats due to poor water quality, over-fishing, destruction of spawning grounds, impacts of dredging and development, disease, and coral collection and trade. Despite the broad global threats to corals, there is evidence that alleviating local stressors and protecting habitat can help improve resiliency for many coral species, plaintiff contends.
July 19, 2023 – Privacy
Lawsuit Says Debt Collector ‘Bombards’ Consumers with Unwanted Texts
Debt collector National Recovery Agency has unlawfully sent text messages to consumers after being asked to stop, alleges a proposed class action filed in federal court in Scranton, Pa.
The complaint claims that NRA Group, which does business as National Recovery Agency, has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by “bombard[ing] consumers” with debt collection text messages, even after the individuals have replied “STOP” to cut off contact.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs, residents of Indiana, Maryland, and Massachusetts, began to receive debt collection text messages to their cell phones from the company beginning in 2022. The text messages, the complaint says, advised the plaintiffs that “[to] stop receiving text messages reply STOP.” Despite numerous requests from each plaintiff to “STOP” the messages, the company disregarded the replies and continued to send texts to their cell phone numbers, plaintiffs claim.
July 18, 2023 – Cybersecurity
DC Health Link’s ‘Reckless Manner’ Said to Lead to Data Breach Impacting Members of Congress and Thousands of Consumers
DC Health Link, a health insurance network for the District of Columbia, faces a proposed class action over a 2023 data breach that exposed the personal information of thousands of individuals, including members of Congress and their families.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, claims DC Health Link stored information on its computer network in a “reckless manner,” allowing a cybercriminal to access and publish plan holders’ sensitive data. The data compromised, the complaint says, includes consumers’ names; Social Security numbers; dates of birth; gender; and health plan, employer, and enrollee information (e.g., address, email, phone number, race, ethnicity, and citizenship status), the suit relays.
Plaintiff alleges in her suit that the incident was a direct result of DC Health Link’s failure to implement adequate cybersecurity measures. Further, plaintiff says, defendant falsely assured consumers that it will “encrypt credit card numbers and other data that must remain secure to meet legal requirements.” Defendant’s negligence is compounded by the fact that data-security incidents are a well-known and foreseeable risk to entities that store personal information, plaintiff says.
July 17, 2023 – Intellectual Property
Trademark Lawsuit Over ‘Wavy Baby’ Shoes
Apparel and shoe company WaveyBaby Holdings accuses MSCHF Product Studio Inc. of trademark infringement over defendant art collective’s “Wavy Baby” shoes.
According to the complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, WaveyBaby is a successful African American-owned business that originates and regularly sells lifestyle streetwear clothing to consumers nationally under the WaveyBaby trademark through its internet retail store located at www.waveybaby.co. Plaintiff says in its suit that it sent a cease and desist letter in April 2022, because of “the high potential for confusion” between the similarly named brands.
Defendant acknowledged the letter, plaintiff says, but “pressed forward and continued to aggressively market and sell the Wavy Baby shoe, which “blatantly and unmistakably incorporates a confusingly similar and almost identical variation” of WaveyBaby’s trademark. Defendant’s Wavy Baby shoe, plaintiff claims, “blatantly and unmistakably incorporates a confusingly similar and almost identical variation of Plaintiff’s mark on similar products.”
July 14, 2023 – Product Liability
Honda Sued Over Alleged Power Steering Defect in 2022-2023 Civic Models
A proposed class action filed in Los Angeles federal court claims 2022-2023 Honda Civics cars suffer from a “sticky” power steering defect that can cause the vehicles to unexpectedly lose maneuverability.
The Honda Civic power steering problem can occur without warning, and in all manner of driving conditions, including at high speeds, according to the complaint. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the complaint says, reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that their vehicle’s power steering “sticks” and “requires slight but manual force” to free it while driving.
Plaintiffs say in their suit that the power steering defect constitutes a significant safety hazard in that “it increases the likelihood drivers will be involved in an accident when they lose control and are unable to maneuver.” Defendant has failed to recall affected Honda Civics or offer drivers reimbursements or a suitable repair or replacement free of charge, plaintiffs say, despite clear evidence of the power steering defect’s existence — and despite having previously recalled certain Accord, CR-V, and Civic models due to electronic power steering malfunctions.
July 13, 2023 – Electronic Funds Transfer
Massage Envy Accused of Preventing Customers From Canceling Memberships
A proposed class action alleges Massage Envy, a nationwide network offering therapeutic massages and skin care, has purposefully made it difficult for consumers to cancel their memberships and continues to charge them monthly payments after their memberships have been terminated.
The lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court of Cook County (Illinois), claims Massage Envy has violated the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Illinois consumer protection law by using “confusing membership policies” and “aggressive sales tactics” to extract additional payments from consumers after they cancel their accounts.
Plaintiff says in her suit that she decided to cancel her Massage Envy membership after a lack of availability at nearby locations prevented her from scheduling a massage appointment for several months. “However, upon logging into her online account, she was unable to find any mechanism for cancelling, despite all other aspects of account management being available through her online profile,” plaintiff states, adding that this inability to cancel ran afoul of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act by extracting a payment after she withdrew her consent to preauthorized electronic fund transfers.
July 12, 2023 – Securities
SEC Charges Celebrities Over Promotion of Cryptocurrency on Social Media
In Manhattan federal court, actress Lindsay Lohan, boxer Jake Paul, and rapper Lil Yachty were among eight celebrities accused by the Securities & Exchange Commission of “illegally touting” TRX and BTT crypto asset securities to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were paid for the promotion.
The SEC complaint was filed in connection with the broader investigation of Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and three of his companies: Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc. The firms marketed crypto asset securities under the brand names Tronix and BitTorrent.
“Although the celebrities were paid to promote TRX and BTT, their touts on social media did not disclose that they had been paid or the amounts of their payments,” the SEC complaint states. “Thus, the public was misled into believing that these celebrities had unbiased interest in TRX and BTT, and were not merely paid spokespersons.”
July 10, 2023 – Environment
Dep’t of Interior Faces Lawsuit Over Prairie Chicken Protections
New federal protections for an endangered species of prairie chicken would unnecessarily hamper cattle grazing and oil drilling in Texas and nearby states, according to a lawsuit filed by the state and business groups in federal court in Midland, Texas.
The Texas attorney general office, along with associations representing Permian Basin oil drillers and ranchers, asked the court for an order vacating Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the lesser prairie chicken.
According to the complaint, the suit challenging the U.S. Interior Department’s decision last year to protect the bird marks the latest legal action in a decades-long fight over the small, gray-brown grassland grouse. ESA protections, the complaint says, require developers to undergo a costly and sometimes lengthy federal approval process to ensure proposed projects in the bird’s habitat in Texas and several Midwestern states won’t significantly impact the species. Plaintiffs argue that the decision should be vacated because it relied on analysis that overestimated the impacts development and grazing in the region would have on the species.
July 6, 2023 – Antitrust
Tesla Accused of Unlawful Conduct in ‘Right to Repair’ Lawsuit
In a proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court, Tesla Inc. has been accused of unlawfully curbing competition for maintenance and replacement parts for its electric vehicles, forcing owners to pay more and wait longer for repair services.
Plaintiff alleges in her suit that Tesla designed its electric vehicles, warranties and repair policies to discourage owners and lessees from using independent shops outside of Tesla’s control.
Tesla’s alleged restraints on service and repair, according to the complaint, caused “exorbitant wait times” for drivers who otherwise would have gone to an independent repair shop. The complaint calls for Tesla’s repair services and parts monopoly to be “dismantled” and for the company to be ordered to make its repair manuals and diagnostic tools “available to individuals and independent repair shops at a reasonable cost.”
July 5, 2023 – Product Liability
Cracked Fuel Injectors Can Cause Ford Escape, Bronco Sport Models to Catch Fire, Lawsuit Alleges
A proposed class action filed in Detroit federal court claims that Ford has knowingly sold model year 2020-2023 Escape and 2021-2023 Bronco Sport vehicles with 1.5-liter engines with fuel injectors prone to cracking, posing a serious fire risk.
Ford knew or should have known of the Escape and Bronco Sport fuel injector problem and fire risk prior to releasing the vehicles to market, according to the complaint, but the company did nothing to warn prospective owners and lessees, and waited over a year before announcing a safety recall in March 2022. Ford’s current “fix” to prevent affected vehicles from catching fire fails to address the underlying manufacturing problem that causes the faulty fuel injectors to crack and leak fuel into the cylinder head, the complaint says.
Plaintiffs argue in their suit that Ford has misrepresented the safety, reliability, and quality of affected Escapes and Bronco Sports vehicles, noting that they could spontaneously catch fire during use and thus are not fit for their “ordinary purpose.” To date, plaintiffs say, more than 521,000 Escape and Bronco Sport models with 1.5-liter or 1.5-liter turbo3 engines have been recalled by Ford due to the cracked fuel injector issue, and at least 54 reports of under-hood fires have been made.
July 3, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Buffalo Wild Wings Said to Falsely Advertise Its ‘Boneless’ Wings
A proposed class action filed in Chicago federal court claims Buffalo Wild Wings has misled consumers into believing its boneless wings are actually deboned chicken wings, when in truth they’re merely “slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings.”
Plaintiff contends in his lawsuit that if Buffalo Wild Wings, which advertises itself as the largest sports bar in the U.S., and parent company Inspire Brands were to be transparent with customers, they would change the name of the restaurant chain’s “boneless wings,” or disclose on the menu, like they do for other dishes, that the item is actually made of chicken breast meat. Defendant is “well aware of this issue, but has refused to change its practices,” plaintiff says.
According to the complaint, the sale of boneless chicken “wings” made from breast meat stems from the rising costs of actual chicken wings and the decreasing cost of chicken breast. Some competitors of Buffalo Wild Wings, the complaint says, such as Domino’s and Papa Johns, also sell boneless wings yet “choose to play by the rules” by naming and marketing the item accurately.
June 29, 2023 – Antitrust
Merck Faces Allegations of Rotavirus Vaccine Anticompetitive Scheme
Merck & Co. has been hit with a proposed class action over its rotavirus vaccine, the lawsuit claiming that the company has engaged in an illegal scheme to maintain its monopoly over the pediatric vaccine market in the United States, causing purchasers of the rotavirus vaccines to pay higher prices.
The complaint was filed by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore in Philadelphia federal court. According to the complaint, Merck, which makes the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq, has engaged in an anticompetitive vaccine “bundling scheme” that leverages defendant’s monopoly power in multiple vaccines administered to children, resulting in “supracompetative” prices for the RotaTeq vaccine.
Plaintiff claims in its suit that Merck has used this tactic on a variety of vaccines for children, allowing the company to charge whatever it wants, not only for the rotavirus vaccine but for other vaccines as well, including the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines.
June 28, 2023 – Cybersecurity
Renewal By Andersen Data Breach Said to Result From Customer Info Left ‘Unsecured’ for Five Years
Renewal by Andersen faces a proposed class action over a 2023 data breach in which the highly sensitive information of at least thousands of current and former customers was stolen by cybercriminals.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Minnesota, alleges that the window and door replacement company was notified by researchers in January that an unauthorized party had gained access to its network containing sensitive customer data. The researchers said that nearly 300,000 unprotected, cloud-stored documents “exposed the company’s customer home addresses, contact details, and home renovation orders,” including interior and exterior pictures of consumers’ homes and their physical signatures.
According to the complaint, an internal investigation revealed that Andersen’s systems were left “unsecured” between January 2018 and January 2023, providing cybercriminals with “unfettered access” to current and former customers’ names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses, bank account details, and credit card numbers for a five-year period.
June 27, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Lawsuit Targets Bumble Bee Foods ‘Unsustainable’ Fishing Practices
Bumble Bee Foods faces a proposed class action filed in Los Angeles federal court, in which a group of consumers claims that the company’s labels on some of its canned or pouched products deceptively mislead consumers into believing the products are sourced from sustainable fishing practices.
Products named in the suit include Wild Caught Pink Salmon and Sockeye Salmon, pouched Wild Caught Applewood Smoke Tuna, and pouched Wild Selections Solid White Albacore Tuna. Bumble Bee, the complaint says, charges a premium for these products that deceive consumers into believing are sourced from sustainable fishing practices. However, the complaint argues, “Bumble Bee turns a blind eye to the unsustainable fishing practices used in sourcing its products and boldly uses the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as proof of sustainable fishing methods.”
Plaintiffs allege that despite the MSC certification, Bumble Bee sources its products using fishing practices that indiscriminately harm ocean ecosystems. These practices, plaintiffs say, include the suffocation and crushing of dolphins caught in fishing nets, the torturously slow death of endangered sea turtles after getting caught on large hooks meant for tuna, and the trapping of whales by fishing gear causing deep wounds and intense suffering.
June 26, 2023 – Civil Rights
Exxon Mobil Sued by EEOC for Race Discrimination
Exxon Mobil Corporation violated federal civil rights law when it failed to take effective measures to prevent the display of hangman’s nooses at one of its Louisiana complexes, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Baton Rouge, La.
According to the complaint, a Black employee at ExxonMobil’s chemical plant found a hangman’s noose at his worksite in January 2020. At the time he reported the noose, the complaint says, ExxonMobil was aware that three other nooses had been displayed at the Baton Rouge complex, consisting of the chemical plant and a nearby refinery.
The EEOC alleges in its suit that ExxonMobil investigated some, but not all, of the prior incidents and failed to take “prompt measures reasonably calculated to end the harassment.” Racially harassing conduct that alters the terms and conditions of the workplace, the EEOC says, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race. The agency says it filed this action after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
June 22, 2023 – Environment
Fish & Wildlife Sued Over Failure to Act on Imperiled Plant and Animal Protections
The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to establish protection for 12 plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act.
Species listed for protection in the suit, filed in federal court in Tucson, Ariz., include the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle and two fish: the least chub (found in Utah’s Bonneville Basin) and the Fish Lake Valley tui chub (found in just one spring system in Nevada’s Fish Lake Valley, in Esmeralda County).
Alligator snapping turtles are enormous, prehistoric-looking reptiles that can grow up to 200 pounds and can live almost 100 years, according to the complaint. These slow-moving, largely sedentary creatures spend so much of their time sitting on river bottoms waiting for food that algae grows thick on their shells. Their populations have declined by up to 95% over much of their historic range due to overharvesting and unchecked habitat degradation, the complaint says, adding that the turtles are also easy prey for hunters that supply thriving world markets for the exhibition and consumption of the turtles.
June 21, 2023 – Intellectual Property
Libertarian Party Sues Over Use of ‘Libertarian’ Trademark
Libertarian National Committee Inc. has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in Richmond, Va., alleging defendant formed and advertised the “Tidewater Libertarian Party” without permission.
Defendant, who previously served on the Virginia Beach City Council in the 1990s, formed the Tidewater Libertarian Party as a Virginia corporation in 2020, and began creating social media accounts and hosting public meetings for the group without obtaining permission to use the Libertarian Party’s trademarks, according to the complaint.
Plaintiff says in his lawsuit that it has sent letters to defendant requesting that he “cease and desist from his infringing uses and putting him on notice of his infringement.” To date, plaintiff says, no such communication has been received from defendant, and he continues to “openly and defiantly” infringe plaintiff’s trademarks.
June 20, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Gatorade Fit Accused of Making Illegal ‘Healthy Real Hydration’ Claims
A proposed class action filed in Los Angeles federal court alleges Gatorade Fit is misbranded since the drinks’ labels include “nutrient content claims” that fail to satisfy legal requirements.
According to the complaint, defendant PepsiCo has marketed Gatorade Fit with nutrient-focused label statements that don’t meet the requirements for such claims under the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, which empowers the FDA to protect public health by ensuring foods are safe and properly labeled.
The suit focuses in particular on the “Healthy Real Hydration” claim, the complaint says, as lawful use of the term “healthy” is subject to very specific legal requirements that defendant does not meet. Plaintiff alleges in his lawsuit that Gatorade Fit is essentially water flavored with a small amount of juice concentrate and citric acid, and sweetened with stevia leaf extract. It does not contain at least 10 percent of the recommended daily intake or daily reference value of one or more of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron or protein, as per FDA requirements. Therefore, plaintiff argues, the product is misbranded.
June 19, 2023 – Antitrust
Ivy League’s Agreement to Ban Athletic Scholarships Said to Constitute Illegal Price Fixing
The eight schools that make up the Ivy League engage in illegal price-fixing by not awarding athletic scholarships, alleges a proposed class action filed in federal court in New Haven, Conn., by current and former Brown University basketball players.
While all Division I athletic programs (there are over 600 schools in Division I) award financial aid to selected athletes, Brown, Harvard, Yale, and the other Ivies have for years agreed to provide only need-based financial aid to students, including athletes, according to the complaint, This policy, the complaint says, violates federal antitrust law, and harms recruited athletes who otherwise could have gotten scholarships covering tuition and fees, or been eligible for reimbursement on thousands of dollars of other school-related expenses under National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations.
The two plaintiffs are current Brown University women’s basketball player Grace Kirk and former Brown men’s basketball player Tamenang Choh. Plaintiffs argue that under what is termed “the Ivy League agreement,” defendants’ refusal to award athletic scholarships constitutes unlawful price fixing in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. “Absent the Ivy League Agreement,” plaintiffs say, “these schools would determine unilaterally, and in competition with each other, how many athletic scholarships to provide, by sport, and in what amounts.”
June 15, 2023 – ERISA
Father of Slain Police Officer Seeks Disability Pay
The father of a California police officer killed while on duty has sued Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. in San Francisco federal court, asking for disability benefits for his depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder following the death of his daughter.
In his complaint, plaintiff accuses Lincoln of improperly denying his claim for disability benefits, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Defendant used “biased” medical reviewers, plaintiff says, who never examined him and whose opinions have been discredited in other cases.
According to the complaint, these outside reviews overlooked evidence of his disability and improperly conflated his ability to attend memorial events for his slain daughter and participate in her killer’s murder trial with the ability to hold down a demanding full-time job. Plaintiff claims that after his daughter’s death, he began experiencing frequent nightmares, disrupted sleep, extreme lack of concentration, and depression.
June 14, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Mini Bottles of Southern Comfort Contain ‘Negligible’ Amounts of Whiskey, Lawsuit Alleges
The Sazerac Company has misleadingly designed mini bottles of Southern Comfort to appear identical to the larger versions of the product, alleges a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court.
Although reasonable consumers expect the mini, 99-cent bottles of Southern Comfort to contain fruit and spice-flavored liqueur just as the larger bottles do, the products, in fact, contain only a “negligible” amount of hard liquor, according to the complaint. Consumers who rely on Sazerac’s representations are unaware that the look-alike mini bottles, often sold at gas stations and convenience stores, actually contain a malt beverage made with about “one thimble” of whisky per 2,500 gallons, the complaint says.
The complaint says that the mini and full-size bottles of Southern Comfort are adorned with the same outer grooves, and their label designs contain the same colors, themes, fonts, symbols and spacing. Further, Sazerac instructs sellers to advertise the product as “shots,” reinforcing the impression that the bottles contain small servings of hard liquor. The mini product subtly distinguishes itself with small, difficult-to-read font as a “Malt Beverage With Natural Whiskey Flavors, Caramel Color and Oak Extract,” the complaint says.
June 13, 2023 – Cybersecurity
Highmark Faces Lawsuit Over 2022 Data Breach
Nonprofit healthcare company Highmark Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action filed in Pittsburgh federal court over a December 2022 data breach that reportedly affected approximately 300,000 individuals.
Highmark failed to take “even the most basic steps” to safeguard consumers’ personal and health information from unauthorized access, resulting in a data breach between December 13 and 15 of 2022, according to the complaint. Although Highmark’s online notice says the cyberattack was caused after an employee opened a “malicious phishing email link that led to their email account being compromised,” plaintiff contends in her suit that the root cause of the breach stems from the company’s failure to implement adequate cybersecurity measures.
Highmark’s negligence, the complaint says, has exposed consumers to an increased risk of identity theft and fraud, and victims must now spend a significant amount of time and money to protect themselves from misuse of their information, a threat that may persist for years to come. Further, the suit charges that Highmark failed to provide affected individuals with timely notice of the cyberattack, as the company has only recently begun informing victims of the breach.
June 12, 2023 – Product Liability
Lawsuit Targets Alleged Defect in Kia & Hyundai Ignition Systems
A proposed class action filed in Milwaukee federal court claims defective Kia and Hyundai ignition systems allow thieves to take apart the steering column and use a USB cord to start the engine.
The lawsuit involves 2011-2022 Kia vehicles and 2015-2022 Hyundai vehicles, both of which are equipped with traditional “insert-and-turn” steel key ignition systems. Unlike most vehicles, however, these cars are not equipped with an “immobilizer” that prevents them from being started unless a code is transmitted from the vehicle’s specific smart key, according to the complaint.
This security vulnerability, the complaint argues, makes the autos “incredibly easy to steal,” allowing thieves to steal vehicles by simply opening the steering columns and using a common USB charging cord or similar metal object to start the engine.” Further, plaintiff notes that viral videos on TikTok and YouTube give step-by-step instructions on how to steal the autos without a key, and that reports of stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles have skyrocketed across the country.
June 8, 2023 – Securities
Bitcoin Mining Enterprise Argo Sued Over ‘Precipitous Decline’ in Stock Value
Plaintiff alleges in a shareholders’ class action filed in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., that Argo Blockchain PLC and its directors mislead investors over a September 2021 initial public offering that soon collapsed.
During and after the IPO, Argo’s Bitcoin mining business took several nose dives that, plaintiff contends, were foreseeable and that the company failed to disclose in Securities & Exchange Commission filings. In its September IPO, according to the complaint, Argo issued 7.5 million shares to the public at the price of $15 per share, for approximate net proceeds of $105 million. Yet less than a year later, the complaint says, the company began to face significant production obstacles, each of which when publicized caused the stock price to tumble.
In his lawsuit, plaintiff argues that Argo and its board kept material information from the public, including that the company was “highly susceptible to and/or suffered from significant capital constraints, electricity and other costs, and network difficulties.”
June 7, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Hershey Accused of Failing to Pay Workers for Overtime
The Hershey Company faces a proposed class that alleges it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay hourly employees proper overtime wages for time spent washing their hands and putting on and taking off protective gear.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in East St. Louis, Ill, plaintiff says that workers at Hershey’s manufacturing facilities must spend time before and after each shift “donning and doffing” their sanitary clothing and protective equipment and otherwise preparing to handle food products, all of which must be done off the clock at defendant’s facility.
Plaintiff says in her suit that employees spend roughly 10 to 15 minutes a day performing these tasks, resulting in up to an hour and 25 minutes or more of unpaid overtime per week for workers who are already scheduled for 40 hours. The time spent putting on and taking off sanitary gear and washing hands is considered “compensable work time” under federal and state law because it is vital to work involving food production, plaintiff claims.
June 6, 2023 ‒ Intellectual Property
Ralph Lauren Sued by NBA’s ‘Iceman’ George Gervin Over Retro Shoe Design
Former NBA player George Gervin, popularly known as “the Iceman” for his cool demeanor on the court, has filed a trademark infringement suit against Ralph Lauren over its sale of a line of retro-style 1970s high-top basketball sneakers called the “Gervin Mid.”
By marketing the sneakers, Ralph Lauren is “seeking to profit off the back of Mr. Gervin’s commercially valuable identity” without his consent or authorization, according to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
“Ralph Lauren has willfully and without authorization used Mr. Gervin’s name, likeness, and persona for commercial purposes, subverting Mr. Gervin’s exclusive ownership right to control the licensing of his name, image, likeness, and persona in the commercial marketplace,” the complaint alleges. The complaint adds: Despite publicly advocating for racial equality through its public relations arm, defendant has “surreptitiously released a line of retro-styles 1970’s hightop basketball sneakers called the “Gervin Mid” seeking to profit off the back of Mr. Gervin’s commercially valuable identity, without once seeking his consent.”
June 5, 2023 – Constitution
Challenge to N.Y. County’s ‘Boot and Tow’ Policy
A proposed class action has been filed in Brooklyn federal court against Nassau County, New York, accusing the county of unconstitutionally seizing plaintiff’s vehicle as a result of its warrantless “boot and tow” policy.
According to the complaint, Nassau County’s “boot and tow” policy, whereby the county will place a mechanical boot on the vehicle of a “scofflaw” who has two or more unpaid tickets, is unconstitutional, given that no warrant or court order is needed before a consumer’s vehicle is seized. Also, the complaint says, the policy does not afford the owner of a seized vehicle a hearing at which they can challenge the seizure or imposition of post-seizure liens.
Plaintiff alleges in her lawsuit that the county “Boot and Tow” policy is unconstitutional because it requires neither a warrant before seizing vehicles nor makes provisions for any form of hearing at which the owner can contest the confiscation of their property or its associated liens.
June 1, 2023 – Antitrust
Las Vegas Hotels Sued Over Alleged Room Rental Conspiracy
Several major companies that run prominent hotels on the famous commercial strip near Las Vegas face an antitrust lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to keep hotel room rates artificially high.
The suit, filed in federal court in Nevada, claims that defendants, including Caesars Entertainment Inc., Treasure Island LLC, Wynn Resorts Holdings LLC, and MGM Resorts International, used shared pricing algorithms to set rates instead of making “independent pricing and supply decisions.” Also named as defendants are Cendyn Group LLC and its subsidiary Rainmaker Group, which allegedly provide the algorithms.
Plaintiffs say in their suit that the group of hotel defendants, using shared data, could “defy supply and demand dynamics” in the hospitality industry. “Any units listed at prices exceeding the market price would be undercut by competitors and thus stay empty,” according to the complaint. “A hotel operator with overpriced, empty rooms would eventually go out of business,” thus allowing defendants to operate in a less competitive market and raise prices on their own.
May 31, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Eli Lilly Faces Lawsuit Alleging Age Discrimination
A proposed class action alleges that Eli Lilly & Company has “systematically” discriminated against qualified employees over the age of 40 by denying them promotions in favor of younger workers, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Indianapolis, Ind.
Eli Lilly’s “companywide age bias” towards younger employees is “well documented,” the complaint says, claiming that the company has been pushing to retain millennial employees by disproportionately promoting them over older workers with similar or better qualifications.
The complaint notes that Eli Lilly has faced similar age discrimination lawsuits in the past, including one in September 2022, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed the company routinely failed to hire older employees on the basis of age. Another suit, pending as of August 2022, challenges the “systematic age discrimination” in defendant’s hiring procedures. In the current suit, 53-year-old plaintiff alleges that she was denied a district sales position in favor of a less-qualified employee who was 27 years old with less than two-and-a-half years of sales experience.
May 30, 2023 – Product Liability
‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, Lawsuit Alleges
A proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court claims that POM Wonderful pomegranate juice contains a significant amount of PFAS substances, commonly known as “forever chemicals.”
According to the complaint, The Wonderful Company and POM Wonderful “aggressively” promote their POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice as healthy, “All Natural,” and containing only the juice of four California pomegranates. However, the complaint says, independent testing has revealed that the product contains a “significant” amount of PFAS, a category of harmful artificial chemicals associated with serious effects on human and environmental health.
Plaintiff says in her suit that PFAS are considered toxic at even very low levels and are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the body and environment over time. Research indicates, plaintiff says, that exposure to these man-made substances is linked to numerous adverse health conditions, including a heightened risk of several cancers, developmental complications in children, reproductive concerns, and other serious illnesses.
May 29, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Elegant Comfort Said to Make ‘Egregiously False’ Thread Counts
A proposed class action accuses Elegant Comfort Inc. and Bespolitan Inc. of falsely claiming that certain bed sheet and pillow sets have a 1500 thread count.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Buffalo, N.Y., alleges that defendants’ marketing the products as having a 1500 Thread Count is “egregiously false and deceptive” in light of regulatory testing that showed the items’ actual thread count was significantly lower, around 180.
In her lawsuit, plaintiff says that the products at issue are all Elegant Comfort-brand bed sheet and pillow sets sold on e-commerce websites, including Amazon.com, with a 1500-thread-count claim in the product name. “Unfortunately for consumers,” plaintiff claims, “Defendants resort to false and misleading advertising to boost sales of the Products and gain a competitive edge in the market, all at the expense of unsuspecting consumers.”
May 25, 2023 – Privacy
Lawsuit Alleges Chick-Fil-A Secretly Shares Consumer Video-Viewing Data with Facebook
Chick-Fil-A has been hit with a proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court, alleging the restaurant chain secretly shares with Facebook certain details about the videos consumers watch on the Chick-Fil-A website.
The complaint says that whenever someone watches a video on Chick-Fil-A’s website, the restaurant secretly reports their personally identifiable information and the titles of videos they watched and more to Facebook, for the dual purpose of data harvesting and targeted advertising. This action, the complaint claims, violates the Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits a “video tape service provider” from disclosing individuals’ information that identifies them as having “requested or obtained specific video materials or services.”
Plaintiff says in his suit that Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms, generates money by selling ad space on its platform “based upon its ability to identify user interests.” Thus, plaintiff says, the company can pinpoint a user’s interests by monitoring their “offsite” activity, allowing the platform to judge what they’re into “beyond what they freely disclose.”
May 24, 2023 – ERISA
States Seek to Block ESG Rule That Allegedly Violates ERISA’s Fiduciary Duties
Texas, along with 23 other states including Utah, Florida, and Georgia, has sued the Biden Administration to stop a new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule that allegedly prioritizes “ill-defined” environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concepts into regulations involving the Employee Retirement & Income Security Act.
In their lawsuit filed in federal court in Amarillo, Tex., the states claim that the 2022 rule undermines key protections for retirement savings of 152 million workers —”approximately two-thirds of the U.S. adult population and totaling $12 trillion in assets” — in the name of promoting ESG factors in investing, including the Biden Administration’s stated desire to address climate change.
The rule is “arbitrary and capricious,” the states argue, in that it authorizes retirement plans to consider nonfinancial factors when administering trust assets, which violate federal tax and labor law. Specifically, the complaint says, the 2022 rule oversteps DOL’s statutory authority under ERISA, which does not permit fiduciaries to make investment decisions on the basis of any “factor other than the economic interest of the plan.” The action seeks a preliminary injunction.
May 23, 2023 – Intellectual Property
Walmart Accused of Copying Popular UGG, Teva Shoe Designs
Walmart Inc. faces a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court accusing the company of copying well-known shoe designs including UGG boots and Teva sandals made by Deckers Outdoor Corp., the plaintiff in the action.
Defendant used “deceptive, unfair, and fraudulent business practices” in mimicking UGG, Hoka, and Teva brand shoes, plaintiff claims in its suit, which seeks damages for trade dress infringement, patent infringement and unfair competition.
Deckers says Walmart introduced the products “in an effort to exploit Deckers’ goodwill and the reputation” of products including the UGG Classic Ultra Mini. “The design of the Classic Ultra Mini Trade Dress,” Deckers argues, “is neither essential to its use or purpose, nor does it affect the cost or quality of the shoe. There are numerous other designs available, Deckers says, that are equally feasible and efficient, none of which necessitate copying or imitating the Classic Ultra Mini Trade Dress.”
May 22, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Wells Fargo Unlawfully Failed to Pay Overtime Wages, Lawsuit Alleges
Wells Fargo Bank NA has been hit with a proposed class action in federal court in Baltimore, Md., claiming it failed to pay overtime wages to fraud investigator employees in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Plaintiff says in his suit that Wells Fargo employed him as a salaried fraud investigator who was classified as exempt from overtime. But this was a misclassification, plaintiff contends, as he and other fraud investigators regularly worked 40 to 50 hours or more per week and were not paid for the overtime hours they worked. The suit points to many examples showing that fraud investigators were not permitted to use independent judgment or discretion in determining which events should be subject to an investigation, such discretion being an important factor in exemption from overtime.
Wells Fargo fraud investigators do not meet the criteria set forth by the FLSA to be classified as exempt from overtime, plaintiff argues, and therefore they should be entitled to time-and-a-half wages for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.
May 18, 2023 – Privacy
NFL Enterprises Accused of Sending ‘En Masse’ Spam Texts
In Manhattan federal court, NFL Enterprises LLC has been charged in a proposed class action of sending automated text messages to consumers without their permission.
NFL Enterprises, the complaint says, violated the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA), which prohibits the use of an automated system to place “telephonic sales calls” without the prior express written consent of the called party. Plaintiff, a Florida consumer, claims to have received at least one spam text from defendant, even though he never consented to be contacted, The FTSA was enacted in July 2021.
The complaint contends that NLF Enterprises transmitted unlawful text messages to consumers in an “en masse fashion” using equipment “similar to a predictive dialer, inasmuch as it is capable of making numerous calls or texts simultaneously.” Plaintiff and any other consumer who has had their privacy intruded upon by NLF Enterprises are entitled to recover $500 for each FTSA violation and up to $1,500 for each knowing or willful violation, according to the complaint.
May 17, 2023 – Cybersecurity
T-Mobile Faces Lawsuit Over Data Breach That Affected Millions
A proposed class action alleges T-Mobile failed to exercise “reasonable care” in safeguarding the private information of millions of consumers, resulting in a widespread January 2023 data breach.
According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, “unencrypted and unredacted” names, birth dates, and demographic details of an estimated 37 million T-Mobile customers are believed to have been compromised in the data breach, which came to light only months after the company settled class action litigation over a 2021 data breach.
Plaintiff claims in her suit that as a result of the 2023 T-Mobile data breach, victims have incurred damages ranging from invasion of privacy and identity theft mitigation costs to the “deprivation of value” of their personal information. T-Mobile did not have in place cybersecurity procedures and practices that were appropriate enough in light of the sensitive, personalized information in its care, plaintiff says, adding that thus far the company has done little to protect consumers, or compensate them for damages related to the latest data breach.
May 16, 2023 – Product Liability
Olaplex Said to Cause Hair Loss, Scalp Burns, Other Injuries
A group of 28 women has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court against the makers of the popular hair care product Olaplex, claiming the product contains dangerous chemicals that may result in thinning hair, bald spots, and scalp injuries.
The Olaplex manufacturers, the complaint says, failed to disclose the risks associated with Olaplex, and that the hair care product contains dangerous chemicals, such as benzene. Benzene is an industrial chemical that has long been linked to fatal forms of leukemia and other cancers, according to the complaint.
In their suit, plaintiffs claim that the manufacturer advertises that its hair care products do not contain harsh or harmful chemicals, such as silicone, sulfates, formaldehyde, and gluten, and that ingredients used in the product formulation are safe for all hair. However, plaintiffs allege, these claims are false and misleading, as Olaplex products have been found to contain harsh ingredients, including benzene and other dangerous chemicals.
May 15, 2023 – Environment
Approval of Oil Leases Alleged to Cause ‘Serious Environmental Consequences’
Conservationists have sued the federal government to block the approval of oil and gas leases on 6,000 acres in New Mexico’s Permian Basin.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., plaintiffs — including the Center for Biological Diversity and Wildearth Guardians — challenge the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) issuance of oil and gas leases covering almost 6 thousand acres in the Permian Basin, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Land Policy & Management Act.
“BLM hurried its environmental review process and ignored significant environmental impacts from development of the challenged oil and gas leases,” according to the complaint. Despite stated policies purporting to take an “all of government” approach to addressing the urgent climate crisis, the complaint says, the Biden Administration then rubber-stamped the Trump Administration’s decision to hold the January 2021 lease sale, despite the protests of conservation groups and their members, the result being the unlawful issuing of the leases in question.
May 11, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Owners of Amusement Park Accused of ‘Outrageous’ Age Discrimination
A proposed action alleges that the owners of Ohio-based Cedar Point Amusement Park have discriminated against seasonal employees over the age of 40 by offering company-provided subsidized housing to only younger workers.
According to the complaint filed in Cleveland federal court, Cedar Fair — owner of numerous amusement parks nationwide — and subsidiary Magnum Management Corporation “quietly instituted a new policy” in January 2021 that limited the company-provided housing benefit to seasonal employees between the ages of 18 and 29. This discriminatory policy, the complaint says, is “outrageous and malicious,” and aimed to “screen out” workers over 40 in order to build a younger seasonal workforce.
Plaintiff contends in his lawsuit that there are not enough subsidized dorms to cover all of the park’s seasonal workers, and defendants understand that many employees are unable to work unless they are given company housing. By setting an age limit for company-provided housing, plaintiff argues, defendants understood that they could stop many, if not all, seasonal employees over 40 from working at the facility.
May 10, 2023 – Product Liability
Bissell Homecare Sued Over Allegedly Fire-Prone Cordless Vacuums
Bissell Homecare Inc. misled consumers about the safety of certain cordless vacuum cleaners that had been recalled for a possible fire risk, alleges a proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court.
For nearly 150 years, the complaint says, Bissell has built itself up as a brand consumers trust, with marketing statements like “We know the peace of mind that comes with having a clean home for those you hold closest to your heart.” Yet the company “has failed to ensure the basic safety” of its vacuums, which have faulty battery systems, circuit boards, and other faulty electronic components, the complaint claims.
Plaintiff alleges in her lawsuit that despite this longstanding history and promises made to consumers that using its vacuums leads to peace of mind, defendant has failed to ensure the product’s basic safety. Had she and other consumers known that the vacuums were defective, they would not have purchased them or would have paid significantly less, plaintiff says.
May 9, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
‘Misleading’ to Market ‘Acidic’ ACT Lozenges to Consumers With Dry Mouth, Lawsuit Claims
A proposed class action filed in Chicago federal court alleges that it is “misleading” for the maker of ACT “Soothing Mint” dry mouth oral lozenges to market the items to those suffering from dry mouth given that the products’ acidity could damage oral health.
The dry mouth lozenges have a pH value below the critical pH of root dentin or tooth enamel, according to the complaint, which means that the acidity levels can then begin to cause dental erosion, tooth sensitivity, and other adverse effects.
Dry mouth, or xerostomia, substantially increases the risk of tooth decay and other oral conditions, plaintiff says, adding that to relieve symptoms and prevent dental erosion, products like the ACT “Soothing Mint” dry mouth lozenges stimulate saliva production. However, plaintiff says, in order to prevent dental erosion, the product’s acidity level should be 6.7 pH or higher, but lab tests show that the ACT dry mouth lozenges registered a pH of only 5.72. “In light of the Product’s pH, it is misleading to market it to persons suffering from dry mouth because it will have a detrimental effect on oral health,” plaintiff argues.
May 8, 2023 – Disability Act
Lawsuit Challenges Lack of Accessibility for Disabled in Little Rock
A proposed class action claims the city of Little Rock, Ark., has neglected to make the city more accessible for the disabled community for almost 30 years, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Filed in federal court in Little Rock, the complaint alleges that the city has violated the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide citizens with disabilities equal access to city offices. Plaintiff says in his suit that although Little Rock, as a recipient of federal funds, was required by law to evaluate its facilities to identify architectural and non-architectural accessibility barriers and complete changes to eliminate any structural barriers by January 1995, the city has not yet developed a transition plan to carry out these accessibility projects.
According to the complaint, recipients of federal funds must provide an opportunity for “interested persons,” including individuals with disabilities or organizations representing individuals with disabilities, to help identify problem areas in their facilities, services, policies, and practices. Recipients must then take steps to remediate these problem areas, the complaint says.
May 4, 2023 – Debt Collection
Debt Collector Accused of ‘Unconscionable’ Debt Collection Practices
Plaintiff claims in a proposed class action that the practices of debt collector UHG are unlawful in that it buys and attempts to collect on payday loans with “unconscionable” interest rates, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
UHG is a third-party debt collection company that purchases unpaid debts from credit card companies, banks, auto loan companies, and other financial institutions. According to the complaint filed in San Diego federal court, defendant “knowingly and intentionally” engages in “harmful” debt collection practices by purchasing numerous debts — namely charged-off payday loans inflated by lofty interest rates — and subsequently files mass lawsuits against consumers in order to collect on the loans.
The facts of the case, the complaint says, involve a $3,500 payday loan to plaintiff at an annual percentage rate of 128.4 percent with lender CashNetUSA. Over the lifetime of the loan, the complaint says, plaintiff would pay more than $6,300 in interest, such that the total amount he would have to pay back would approach nearly $10,000. Plaintiff claims in his lawsuit that after falling behind on payments, his loan quickly inflated with an “exorbitantly high” interest rate plus penalties.
May 3, 2023 – Immigration
Monsanto Sued for Barring Non-U.S. Citizen from Roundup Settlement
Monsanto Co., wholly owned by Bayer Corp., has been accused of illegally excluding a Virginia farmworker from a settlement over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, because she is not a U.S. citizen.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Abingdon, Va., plaintiff, who used Roundup while working on tree farms in Virginia before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019, says she expected to share in a $412.8 million settlement with an average $120,000 payout.
But plaintiff says that her law firm, whom she is also suing, dismissed her from the case because of her Mexican citizenship in July 2021, seven months after it countersigned papers authorizing a payout. She alleges this dismissal constitutes a violation of her civil rights. In her lawsuit, plaintiff seeks unspecified damages and a requirement that Bayer let non-U.S. citizens, who comprise more than 70% of agricultural crop farmworkers, join in Roundup settlements.
May 2, 2023 – Consumer Fraud
Lawsuit Says ‘Authentic’ Adidas NHL Jerseys Falsely Advertised as ‘Same As’ Pro Player Uniforms
Although Adidas advertises that its “authentic” National Hockey League jerseys are the same as those worn by professional players, a proposed class action contends the Adidas shirts are in fact more like “replicas” than the jerseys worn by players on the ice during games.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Detroit, Mich., explains that “authentic” hockey jerseys are understood to be identical to uniforms worn by professional players during games, which are made with high-quality materials designed to be functional on the ice. While Adidas markets its jerseys as authentic and the same as that worn by players, the shirts are more accurately categorized as “replicas or even counterfeit,” the complaint argues.
Plaintiff claims in his lawsuit that Adidas sought to take advantage of consumers by misrepresenting the authenticity of its jerseys, which are sold at a premium price. In fact, plaintiff says, a $179 Adidas “authentic” jersey is sold for $50 more than comparable replica NHL jerseys, which are generally understood to be of lower quality, and not suitable for on-the-ice play. Plaintiff further states that the fabric used for Adidas’ jerseys is half the thickness of those worn by NHL players, the stitching is weaker, and the neck hole is smaller. On-ice jerseys are made with “premium craftsmanship” in Canada, the plaintiff notes, the birthplace of ice hockey, while Adidas’ jerseys are made in Indonesia.
May 1, 2023 – Labor & Employment
Lawsuit Claims HSBC Does Not Compensate Employees for Lunch Breaks
A proposed class action says that HSBC Bank USA failed to compensate its workers for 30-minute lunch breaks it allegedly forced them to work through.
Plaintiff claims in her suit filed in Manhattan federal court that HSBC told workers to clock out during their lunch breaks but required them to sit at their desks while they ate so they could answer phone calls and respond to customer inquiries. Plaintiff argues that the company did not compensate these employees for their time in what she says is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. “Despite employees like Plaintiff never being permitted a free and clear meal break, Defendant never compensated Plaintiff and other employees for this time,” the suit contends.
In addition to failing to compensate workers for lunch breaks, the complaint states, HSBC also changed its policies during the pandemic that forced employees to engage in off-the-clock work. “As clients did not want to travel in public to Defendant’s branch offices, Plaintiff was forced to work after hours to pursue leads and word of mouth referrals,” according to the complaint.