Posts Tagged ‘ Class Action Lawsuit ’

Michael Jackson Class Action Seeks $$ – What Else?

November 19th, 2012. By AbiK

Michael Jackson might be dead but he will not die. At least when it comes to lawsuit filings.

The latest in the Michael Jackson post-death legal saga is a class action lawsuit filed by his former assistant, Michael Amir Williams. Williams claims that he was hired to attend to MJ during the “This Is It” tour—the one that the gloved one was gearing up for just before his untimely death—and that he and others who were hired to do the same were deprived of $ 7.5 million in pay.

The Michael-Jackson-owes-me lawsuit was filed against concert promoter AEG Live in Los Angeles last week. But there’s a twist to this one.

According to a Reuters report, Williams is targeting AEG Live because the promoter also hired Dr. Conrad Murray. Dr Murray, if you recall, was the man convicted of involuntary manslaughter for supplying and administering propofol to Jackson, ultimately leading to his death.

So Williams and other ‘This Is It’ crew member who’d make up the would-be class are employing some kind of transitivity theory here: AEG Live hired Murray; Murray was convicted in Jackson’s death leading to the “This Is It” tour to be cancelled and Williams et al not getting paid; therefore, AEG Live should be on the hook for Williams et al not getting paid.

Needless to say, the folks at AEG aren’t buying it. Reuters quotes AEG lawyer, Marvin Putnam (O’Melveny & Myers) as calling the class action lawsuit “frivolous”. He goes on to say that “This lawsuit is clearly frivolous; it is literally barred by at least four different legal doctrines. The easiest is that Mr. Williams was a personal employee of Michael Jackson’s, and was never a beneficiary of Mr. Jackson’s contract with AEG Live. As such he has no legal standing to sue on that contract.”

Williams is suing for breach of express terms of contract, breach of implied terms of contract, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. As far as what he’s seeking for the class, it’s the usual “unspecified damages”–plus court and attorneys’ fees.

And if you’re thinking Michael Jackson is the only dead celebrity who lives on in our court system, he’s got company—Anna Nicole Smith is still visiting the bar as well.

Tags: California Labor, Class Action Lawsuit, Michael Jackson, Wage & Hour
Posted in Celebrity, Class Action, lawsuits | No Comments »

LinkedIn Password Class Action Lawsuit (You knew it was coming…)

June 19th, 2012. By AbiK

You knew it was coming. Close to 6.5 million passwords get leaked and you know no one’s gonna sit quietly and think “all’s well that end’s well”. Uh-uh.

And so it is for LinkedIn. (Hey—perfect place for gratuitous LawyersandSettlements.com LinkedIn plug: follow us!)

Remember that security breach they announced on June 6th? The one where over six million passwords were “leaked” to a hash cracking website? The one where LinkedIn started deactivating accounts and sending out security advisory emails to its members? That one.

Well, there’s been a class action lawsuit filed against LinkedIn. Needless to say, it’s an internet privacy lawsuit.

According to the filing with the U.S. District Court – Northern California, LinkedIn failed to “properly safeguard its users’ digitally stored personally identifiable information, including e-mail addresses, passwords, and login credentials”. The lawsuit was filed by Katie Szpyrka, a Chicago-based senior associate at a real estate firm, who’s been a LinkedIn member since 2010 and who’s forked over the extra cash to become a “premium” LinkedIn member.

Since the LinkedIn password leak, there haven’t been any reports of any LinkedIn accounts being accessed without authorization, so no outright injury so to speak. But still, there was a security breach and, therefore, the lawsuit also seeks an injunction against LinkedIn, to ensure the social networking site does a better job of protecting members’ privacy.

Given the economy, and the latest jobless numbers, I’m betting the LinkedIn security breach won’t really affect their membership numbers—none of my contacts have been leaving in droves; in fact, they’re networking away. But we’ll see what happens as the LinkedIn class action lawsuit moves along…

Tags: Class Action Lawsuit, Internet Privacy, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Password, Online Security, Security Breach
Posted in Class Action, Internet/E-commerce, lawsuits | 2 Comments »

Oy Vey: Hebrew National Hot Dogs Class Action Alleges Kosher Fraud

June 19th, 2012. By AbiK

Whoever heard of such a thing? Hebrew National hot dogs not kosher? Who knew?

Well, those are the allegations in the recently filed class action lawsuit against Hebrew National hot dog maker, ConAgra Foods Inc. that alleges negligence and violations of state consumer fraud laws.

Yes, that Hebrew National—as in the brand mostly responsible for bringing Orthodox Jewish dietary law to the grocery shopping masses with the tagline “we answer to a higher authority”. And, unlike matzo at Passover, those Hebrew National franks stayed in the refrigerated section all year long!

Seems a group of consumers don’t think Hebrew National should be overstaying their welcome on store shelves if they’re not going to be kosher law-abiding citizens.

The group of eleven plaintiffs allege that Hebrew National shouldn’t be labeling their hot dogs and other products as “kosher” (indicated by the “triangle K” symbol) because, according to the lawsuit, ConAgra’s meat processing service—provided by AER Services, Inc.— does not have meat processing services that meet the standards necessary for a product to be labeled “kosher”.

Kosher products can often times sell at premium prices—the video above gives an idea on what’s involved in making meat kosher—and that’s part of the plaintiffs’ beef in this class action as well. By labeling the Hebrew National hot dogs as “kosher”, ConAgra was allegedly able to charge a premium, thereby misleading consumers into paying more for their franks.

According to a report from Reuters, the plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages and an injunction against further mislabeling. They’re also seeking class action status for the lawsuit in which the Class would include U.S. purchasers of Hebrew National products over the last four years.

More to come…

Tags: AER Services, Class Action Lawsuit, ConAgra, Consumer Fraud, Hebrew National, Kosher Hot Dog Fraud
Posted in Class Action, Emerging Issues, lawsuits | 15 Comments »

Oscillo Flu Relief Settlement Preliminary Approval: Here’s What To Do

May 26th, 2012. By AbiK

Remember this one? The Oscillo Flu Relief false advertising class action? Or, for those of you who can pronounce it, the Oscillococcinum class action lawsuit…which basically alleged that a couple of homeopathic ingredients and sugar may not actually do a blessed thing (expect perhaps a placebo effect) on curing or diminishing your flu symptoms.

Well, the class action lawsuit was actually against Boiron and it covered more than Oscillo. Now, it’s got a preliminary approval on its settlement. So here we go with the settlement details…

Am I part of the Oscillo Flu Relief Class Action Settlement?

You are if you purchased Oscillococcinum, Children’s Oscillococcinum, Arnicare, Quietude, Camilia, Coldcalm and ‘other products manufactured by Boiron’ between Jan. 1, 2000 and the present. You’re NOT a part of the class for this settlement if you were a California resident whose only purchase of a Boiron product was of Children’s Coldcalm in California after August 31, 2006.

What do I get as part of the Oscillo Flu Relief Class Action Settlement?

As with all class action settlements, the amount each class member receives will be contingent on how many claimants (ie, class members) submit a claim form. However, class members who file timely and valid claims (see below) are eligible to receive up to $100.00 per household.

For this settlement, a settlement fund of $5 million is being set up to pay claims to eligible Class Members, attorneys’ fees and costs, and the notice and claims administration costs. Boiron (the company that makes Oscillo) is also agreeing to make certain changes to the manner in which it advertises the products involved in the class action lawsuit.

What do I have to do now?

Here are your options to…

Submit a Claim: Do not submit a claim here at LawyersandSettlements.com. You can submit your Oscillo claim form at the claims administrator’s website here: http://www.gilardi.com/boironsettlement/FileClaim.

Otherwise, you will need to send in a completed claim form and, if available, proof of purchase of the applicable Boiron products you’ve purchased to the Claims Administrator (address shown below). Your claim must be postmarked no later than 45 days after the date the Court enters the Judgment.

The Court will hold a hearing on August 13, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. at the federal courthouse at 940 Front Street, Courtroom 11, San Diego, CA 92101, to consider final approval of the Boiron settlement, including payment of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel related to obtaining the settlement relief, an incentive award to each of the named Plaintiffs, and related issues.

Object to the Settlement: If you want to object to the Oscillo settlement you have to file a written statement with the Court and serve a copy on Class Counsel, Counsel for Defendants and the Claims Administrator, postmarked by July 14, 2012. Instructions for how to object are explained in the detailed notice at www.gilardi.com/boironsettlement.

Exclude yourself from the Settlement: If you do not want to be bound by the settlement, you must send a letter to the Claims Administrator at the address below requesting to be excluded. The letter must be postmarked by July 14, 2012. If you exclude yourself, you cannot receive a benefit from this settlement, but you can sue the manufacturer of the Products for the claims alleged in this lawsuit. If you do not exclude yourself from the settlement or do nothing, you will be bound by the Court’s decisions.

For more information and to obtain a detailed notice, claim form, list of Products, or other documents, visit www.gilardi.com/boironsettlement or call, toll-free, 877-256-3879, or write to Boiron Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 8060, San Rafael, CA 94912-8060.

Tags: Boiron, Class Action Lawsuit, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, Homeopathic remedy, Oscillo Flu Relief Settlement
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues, Settlement | No Comments »

Monday Minute: Legal News, Lawsuits & Settlements You Might’ve Missed

April 16th, 2012. By AbiK

Kick off the week with Monday Minute—legal news headlines from the past week that you might’ve missed including our weekly Asbestos News column and Week Adjourned—the weekly wrap of top class action lawsuits and settlements.

Find these legal news highlights in the video clip below: Asbestos News Now; class action lawsuit updates for Groupon, Muscle Milk, GameStop and Lay’s Potato Chips as well as updates on Medtronic and J&J Risperdal litigation; what happened at PetSmart that left one dog dead; it’s deja vu: new McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuits; and, in honor of tax day, information on the latest tax scams.

Tags: Asbestos News, Class Action, Class Action Lawsuit, lawsuits, Legal News, Settlements, Week Adjourned
Posted in Class Action, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »