News from 2017
Exotic dancers avoid arbitration of certified class action in California
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – An appellate court in California has decided that a strip club sued by its former employees cannot compel arbitration.
Maryland courts invite student artists for conflict resolution bookmark contest
The Maryland Judiciary is inviting young artists to contribute their creativity to the 12th annual Conflict Resolution Day Student Bookmark Art Contest.
South Dakota has nation's best legal climate, new survey says; Louisiana, Missouri at the bottom
South Dakota has the best legal climate in the United States, according to the results of a national survey released this week.
DraftKings, FanDuel to each pay $1.3 million to Massachusetts after unfair practices allegations
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Sept. 7 that DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc. will pay roughly $2.6 million after allegations of unfair and deceptive practices.
After CashCall settlement, checks going to more than 9,600 Va. consumers
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) — Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced Sept. 6 that his office will deliver checks averaging $982 to consumers victimized by CashCall Inc.’s alleged “rent-a-tribe” predatory lending scheme.
FTC settles case against social media influencers
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 7 that Trevor “TmarTn” Martin and Thomas “Syndicate” Cassell, two social media influencers in the online gaming community, will settle allegations of deceptively endorsing the online gambling service CSGO Lotto.
Connecticut settles with Hartford Dispensary for $627,000 after alleged False Claims Act violations
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) — Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced Sept. 7 that the Hartford Dispensary will pay $627,000 after allegations of violating the False Claims Act by falsely certifying to federal and state officials that it had a current medical director.
Utah company banned from further operations after settlement with FTC
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 1 that G2 Consulting LLC and owner, Chad Gettel, will be banned from the payment processing business after settling allegations of deceptively telemarketing and taking millions of dollars from consumer credit card accounts.
SEC secures $35 million settlement from State Street after alleged fraud
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Sept. 7 that State Street will pay more than $35 million to settle allegations of fraudulently charging secret markups for transition management services.
EEOC accuses Texas county of pay discrimination
DALLAS (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit Aug. 31 against Denton County, Texas, for allegations of violating the Equal Pay Act by paying a female clinician lesser wages than it paid a male employee performing the same job.
California joins 18-state coalition in challenging constitutionality of Wisconsin redistricting plan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Sept. 6 that he has joined a coalition of 18 states and the District of Columbia in supporting voters rights in the Gill v. Whitford case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Financial board targets online lead aggregator for allegedly abusive practices
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Sept. 6 that it took action against Zero Parallel, an online lead aggregator, for allegedly steering consumers toward lenders that offered illegal or unlicensed loans that were void in the consumer’s state.
FTC settles with Lenovo in compromised security case
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 5 that Lenovo Inc., a global computer manufacturing company, will settle allegations of harming consumers by pre-loading software on some laptops that compromised security.
EEOC targets South Carolina textile manufacturer for alleged age discrimination
GREENVILLE, S.C. (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a lawsuit Sept. 1 against Keer America Corporation, a textile manufacturing company in Indian Land, South Carolina, for allegations of firing a 47-year-old sales leader due to his age.
U.S. settles with Washington landlords that allegedly discriminated against families
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sept. 6 that the owners and manager of three apartment complexes in Edmonds, Washington, will pay $95,000 after allegations of refusing to rent their apartments to families with children.
Proposed class action accuses bottled water company of ‘deceptive business strategy’
A group of plaintiffs filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut last month, accusing Nestle Waters North America Inc. of bottling “common groundwater.”
California court dismisses VitaCraves case against Bayer
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has dismissed a lawsuit against Bayer AG alleging the company misrepresented the number of multivitamins that are contained in bottles of One A Day VitaCraves chewable vitamin supplements.
Plaintiffs, dissatisfied with representation in previous action, sue class action attorney
Five plaintiffs filed their lawsuit against Little Rock, Arkansas, law firm Poynter Law Group and attorney Scott Poynter in Orange County Superior Court in June. Poynter filed a removal notice in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division, last month.
Consumer claims Purex product packaging uses nonfunctional slack-fill
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – A San Diego consumer has filed a class action lawsuit against the maker of Purex Crystals over allegations the product's containers contain nonfunctional slack fill.
ShoreTel stockholder seeks to enjoin transaction with Mitel Networks Corp.
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – A stockholder has filed suit regarding the proposed transaction between ShoreTel and Mitel Networks.