Posts Tagged ‘ Consumer Fraud ’

13 TGI Fridays Targeted In Drink Scam Investigation

May 28th, 2013. By AbiK

Given news of late, Clifton, NJ may not be the best location to grab a burger and a drink. First, the Tick Tock Diner on Route 3 winds up with a manager being charged in a plot to torture, rob and kill the owner of the diner. Apparently, as NJ diners go, the Tick Tock is a far cry from Rosie’s Diner—Rosie’s was the NJ diner where the Bounty ‘quicker picker upper’ commercials from the ’70s & ’80s were filmed (though, Chelsea Clinton did do some campaign stomping at the Tick Tock in 2008 for her mom).

That gem was then followed by a Tick Tock Diner waitress filing sexual harassment charges against the same manager (somehow conjures up visions of that—groan—line, “got some fries with that shake?”, doesn’t it?)

And now, NorthJersey.com reports the Clifton TGI Fridays—literally a stone’s throw away from the Tick Tock Diner—is being investigated, along with 12 other TGI Fridays restaurants in NJ, for consumer fraud—specifically, switching out premium-brand liquor with non-premium brands in order to trick customers into paying more for their bar drinks.

According to the NJ State Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC), drink subbing costs consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

TGI Fridays, to be fair, is not the only target of the ABC investigation in NJ. And to be fair, this was Ricky Richardson, president of Friday’s USA, statement in response to the investigation:

“We consider the alleged actions detailed by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to be very disturbing. If accurate, they would represent a violation of our company’s values and our extensive bar and beverage standards which are designed to deliver the highest guest experience in our restaurants.”

Richardson continued, “We have zero tolerance for actions that undermine the trust of our guests and call into question the reputation we have built up over the past 48 years.”

The list of establishments being investigated as part of “Operation Swill” includes Railroad Cafe (East Rutherford), The Brick House (Wyckoff), Sunset Tavern (Burlington), Graziano’s Ristorante (Chesilhurst), Brunswick Grove (East Brunswick), Villari’s Lakeside (Gloucester Township), Yesterdays (Marmora), Italian Affair (Glassboro), Bells Tavern (Lambertville), Murrays (Dover), Sona Thirteen (Morristown), Blackthorn Restaurant (Parsippany), Ruby Tuesday (Bridgewater), Cafe 34 (Matawan), Applebee’s (Kearny), and Cucina Calandara (Fairfield). The 13 TGI Fridays are in Clifton, East Windsor, Old Bridge, North Brunswick, East Hanover, Piscataway, Freehold, Marlboro, Hazlet, Linden, Hamilton, Springfield, and West Orange.

Sadly, this is not the first time we’re reporting on a NJ restaurant trying to pull the ol’ switcheroo on its drinking clientele. Remember Laguna Grill and Martini Bar?

And sadly, this time, switching out the top shelf booze for lesser quality booze is the least of anyone’s concerns…

Some of the targeted establishments have allegedly taken things to a new level. A NorthJersey.com report states that some of the samples taken from confiscated liquor bottles showed evidence of dirty water and rubbing alcohol. Cheers!

The ABC investigation has been going on a year and has included taking statements from employees and also reviewing sales and invoice records for about twenty liquor “brands of interest”. And, of course, samples have been taken—150 of them—using the True Spirit Authenticator (yes, such a thing apparently exists). According to the NJ Office of the Attorney General, of the 150 samples taken, 30 were not the brand they claimed to be. Twenty percent of top-shelf bottle samples isn’t exactly a low percentage.

The penalty for drink-subbing typically involves a liquor license suspension (and potentially a fine, as in the case of Laguna Grill and Martini Bar). Suspensions range in length depending on whether its a first-time violation or second or third—and keep in mind, a violation occurs when just one drink is poured; so multiple violations can be derived from just one bottle.

Tags: Consumer Fraud, Drink Subbing, NJ State Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control, TGI Fridays, Tick Tock Diner
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

FitFlops Flop: Class Action Filed Over Flip Flops Gym

April 10th, 2013. By AbiK

Seriously. If a pair of flip flops has a “gym built in”, can a Jimmy Choo’s diet be far behind? (No, actually—as a quick glance at Jimmy Choo advertising makes it clear they know what business they’re in, and what a pair of stilettos can and cannot do.)

Rhetorical questions aside, first there was the Reebok Toning Shoes class action lawsuit. That one settled for $25M. Then there was Skechers Shape-Ups. That one settled for $45M. And THEN there was New Balance Toning Shoes, which settled for $2.3M.

They say three’s a charm, and I’m sure the lawyers representing FitFlop customer, Barbara Glaberson, 70, of Ventnor, NJ, are well aware that they’ve got footwear trends (at least legally speaking) on their side with three toning shoe defendants having to settle for millions.

According to an article at Philly.com, Glaberson purchased a pair of bronze Walkstar FitFlops sandals for $60 at Nordstrom’s in the spring of 2010. And guess what? After wearing the sandals, she found they didn’t make her fit.

Well, according to one of Glaberson’s lawyers, Timothy G. Blood, a partner in Blood, Hurst & O’Reardon L.L.P. in California, Glaberson “…thought it would be great to get more out of just walking around. They did nothing for her, and she felt like she had been ripped off.”

Gullible though she may have been, when you consider that FitFlops were advertised as “the flip flop with the gym built in” and that they retail at a higher price point, surely they sound like they must do more for you than your average pair of Havaianas, coming in at around $20 retail—and certainly more than the “2 for $5” Old Navy flip flops. Right? Granted, Havaianas and Old Navy flip flops make a better fashion statement, but fashion be damned where there’s calf toning to be had for $60.

So, fast-forward, Glaberson has filed a class action lawsuit, v. FitFlop USA L.L.C., claiming that the FitFlops Walkstar sandals did not, apparently, come with a gym built-in. Nor, I’m guessing, any Nautilus equipment. Nor a treadmill. And they didn’t make her more fit. (On the flip side—no pun—it’s important to note that Glaberson is not claiming physical injury, which had been an aspect of some of the other toning shoe lawsuits that preceded this; she is merely alleging consumer fraud.)

We’ll have to see where this one nets out, but it’s one to watch. As Philly.com points out, both sides have legal representation with some serious klout. On Glaberson’s side, there’s Blood and his partners who have worked with the FTC on the Reebok EasyTone Settlement for $25M. On FitFlops side, there’s William S. Ohlemeyer, a partner with Boies, Schiller & Flexner L.L.P.—the firm that represented Al Gore in the post-election debacle over the outcome of the 2000 presidential race. Stay tuned…

Tags: Class Action, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, FitFlops Lawsuit, New Balance, Reebok, Skechers, Toning Sneakers
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »

Top 10 Most Ridiculous Claims that led to Lawsuits in 2012

March 19th, 2013. By LucyC

LawyersandSettlements.com is releasing its list of the Top 10 Most Ridiculous Marketing Claims from consumer fraud lawsuits during the last year.

The alleged false advertising claims found in these ten consumer fraud lawsuits shows the extent to which marketers may go in order to promote their products, as well as the level of consumer savviness that exists in the marketplace. Consumers will clearly check marketers on promotional claims where product performance does not appear to live up to what’s being promised.

Here, our list of most ludicrous marketing claims found in consumer fraud class action lawsuits during 2012:

1. Coty’s Rimmel London Lash Accelerator was the target of a consumer fraud class action in 2012. Filed in federal court in California, the consumer fraud class action lawsuit, entitled Algarin v. Coty Inc., Case No. 12-cv-2868 JAH JMA) alleged that Coty deceives consumers by advertising that Rimmel London Lash Accelerator mascara with Grow-Lash Complex lengthens eyelashes by 37 percent within one month and, with regular use, increases their number. The Rimmel London Lash Accelerator class action lawsuit makes our top 10 list for if the product really did generate that kind of eyelash growth, Coty would likely be facing a personal injury lawsuit resulting from eyelashes restricting visibility.

2. PepsiCo and its subsidiary Frito-Lay also faced the wrath of disgruntled consumers in Markus Wilson v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc. and PepsiCo, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-01586, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division. The class action lawsuit alleged Frito-Lay misbranded its Lay’s Potato Chips as healthy by claiming they contain “0 grams of Trans Fat,” while not pointing out in advertising that every 50 chips contains more than 13g of fat. Additionally, the lawsuit states Frito-Lay tells consumers “Snacks may benefit special populations including people with diabetes, children and adolescents, older adults, and pregnant women.” Really?

3. Pepperidge Farm faced a deceptive marketing practices lawsuit. In Bolerjack v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-2918, U.S. District Court, Colorado (Denver), the lead plaintiffs alleged the company “mistakenly or misleadingly represented that its Cheddar Goldfish Crackers are ‘Natural,’ when in fact, they are not, because they contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the form of soy and/or soy derivatives.” Makes you wonder what part of the name “Cheddar Goldfish Crackers” could possibly imply that they are natural? Think about it.

4. ConAgra Foods Parkay Spray. ConAgra Foods faced a class action lawsuit for allegedly misleading consumers over the fat content of Parkay Spray butter substitute. The Parkay lawsuit, Pamela Sue Trewhitt v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., Class Action Case No. 8:12-cv-00287-JFB-TDT, United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, claimed that ConAgra intentionally misrepresented the contents of Parkay Spray butter substitute as “fat-free” and “calorie-free” when it allegedly contains 832 calories and 93 grams of fat per 8 oz. bottle.

5. Kao Brands, makers of Jergens products saw the legal community championing the consumers’ right-to-know over alleged erroneous claims in the packaging, labeling, marketing, advertising and promotion of Jergens Skin Firming Daily Toning Moisturizer. Among the Jergens false advertising claims alleged in J’lyshae Burns v. Kao USA, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-3261, US District Court, Northern District of California, are that the lotion’s ‘clinically proven to reduce the appearance of cellulite,’ that it will tighten a user’s skin, and produce improved resiliency, elasticity, and firmness.” This one makes the top 10 for if Kao Brands had found a way to “produce” firmness, Jergens Skin Firming Daily Toning Moisturizer would have the attention of the medical community.

6. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Another class action lawsuit to come out of the food and beverage industry was the one filed against Dr. Pepper Snapple Group over its 7UP Cherry Antioxidant, 7UP Mixed Berry Antioxidant and Diet 7UP Mixed Berry Antioxidant sodas. The consumer fraud lawsuit, Green v. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., was filed US District Court, Central District of California, No. 12-09567, and alleged that antioxidants contained in the 7UP sodas were falsely stated as being derived from blackberries, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates and raspberries, rather than added Vitamin E.

7. Avon Products, Inc. was hit with a consumer fraud class action lawsuit over its Anew skin care line. At issue, according to the lawsuit entitled Lorena Trujillo v. Avon Products, Inc., Case No. 12-9084, California Central District Court, are alleged false advertising anti-aging claims made by the cosmetic manufacturer regarding its Anew Clinical Advanced Wrinkle Corrector, Anew Reversalist Night Renewal Cream, Anew Reversalist Renewal Serum and Anew Clinical Thermafirm Face Lifting Cream products. Avon is alleged to go as far as to compare the products to “procedures found in a dermatologist’s office” and to claim that these same products can boost collagen, recreate fresh skin and fortify damaged tissue. Even the FDA got in the act on this one–they issued a warning letter indicating that the products have been misrepresented to consumers.

8. Maybelline faced a consumer fraud class action over its “Super Stay” lipstick and lip gloss–allegedly they weren’t staying on as long as promised. The lipstick lawsuit, entitled Carol Leebove, et al. v. Maybelline LLC, Case No. 12-cv-07146, alleged L’Oreal SA, the parent company of Maybelline, falsely advertised the staying power of both the Super Stay lipstick and lip gloss by naming them Super Stay 14HR Lipstick and Super Stay 10HR Stain Gloss. One of the plaintiffs for the lawsuit alleged that the long-lasting lipstick would wear off as soon as she ate a meal or had a drink. The Maybelline lawsuit alleged unjust enrichment, breach of warranty and violations of various consumer-protection laws.

9. Arctic Zero frozen desserts were on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit that alleged the desserts have 46% to 68% more calories than advertised. The Arctic Zero lawsuit, entitled Brenda Freeman v. Arctic Zero, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-2279 L BGS, US District, Southern District of California, alleged the company deceptively labels and markets its frozen treats as having only “150 calories per pint.” It goes on, however, to say the frozen desserts contain up to “68% more calories than advertised based on findings from recent independent laboratory tests performed by EMSL Analytical, Inc.” Specifically at issue in the class action were the Arctic Zero Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Arctic Zero Vanilla Maple which allegedly had 46% more calories than the 150 calories advertised.

10. Chobani Yogurt found itself involved with a consumer fraud class action lawsuit in Kane v. Chobani, Inc., No CV12-02425 (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Cal., San Jose Div., filed May 14, 2012). The lawsuit alleged Chobani Inc. made deceptive marketing claims concerning the use of certain terms on its Greek yogurt products. Specifically, Chobani’s use of “evaporated cane juice’, ‘all natural ingredients’ and ‘only natural ingredients’ as terms to describe the yogurt allegedly failed to disclose that ‘evaporated cane juice’ is commonly referred as sugar or dried cane syrup.

Tags: 7-up, Avon, chobani, Class Action Lawsuit, Consumer Fraud, Coty, dr. pepper, false marketing, Frito Lay, Goldfish Crackers, Jergens, Kao Brands, Maybelline, Parkay Margarine, Pepperidge Farms, Snapple
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, lawsuits | No Comments »

Budweiser Uses Water to Fight Water; Says Whistleblowers Are Confused

March 6th, 2013. By AbiK

So after a few Budweiser class action lawsuits were filed last week over allegations that the King of Beers was selling ‘watered down’ beer, Budweiser took the opportunity to strike back. But rather than just defend itself or call the watered-down beer allegations pure bunk, it tried to get clever. How so? Anheuser Busch ran a full-page ad featuring a picture of Budweiser Water—actual canned water—that the brewer produces for disaster relief efforts.

Here’s the full-page ad:

Tags: Anheuser Busch, Budweiser, Budweiser Class Action, Budweiser Lawsuit, Consumer Fraud, Michelob, Whistleblower
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Whistleblower | 1 Comment »

Budweiser Watered-Down? That’s just Un-American! (if true)

February 27th, 2013. By AbiK

Budweiser is taking some heat in the form of a class action lawsuit alleging that the most American of American beer brewers adds water to its beer thereby reducing the alcohol content by three to eight percent compared to what’s indicated on its beer label (and yes, I know Bud merged with Belgian In-Bev, but it will always be the iconic American beer).

If the allegations are true, it puts into question everything the red, white and blue stands for: honesty, hard work, integrity, and a nice cold brew as reward for it all. Hell, those Clydesdales have continued to unite us all in red-blooded pride each holiday season—what with their showing up every winter on our t.v. screens, tugging at our heartstrings better than the best Hallmark card could.

Gosh darnit where’s that House Committee on Un-American Activities when you need them?

Now what’s interesting with the Budweiser class action lawsuit here is that the folks who filed the lawsuit are not the ones you’d expect. C’mon—when you hear someone’s suing a beer company because they’re thinking there ain’t the right amount of alcohol in their beer, you’re thinking of some beer-loving redneck, right? Wrong.

The folks that filed the Budweiser class action are Budweiser employees. And, according to a report from MSN, some are “in high-level plant positions”. They ought to know.

The MSN article quotes lead attorney Josh Boxer as stating, “Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned (in the lawsuit) are watered down. It’s a simple cost-saving measure, and it’s very significant.”

According to the lawsuit, the deceptive practice and false advertising began after the 2008 merger between Anheuser-Busch and In-Bev. The lawsuit states, “Following the merger, AB vigorously accelerated the deceptive practices described below, sacrificing the quality products once produced by Anheuser-Busch in order to reduce costs.”

The lawsuit, filed in California, Pennsylvania and additional states including one due this week in New Jersey, involve ten Anheuser-Busch beers: Budweiser, Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Natural Ice and Bud Light Lime. Each lawsuit is seeking at least $5 million in damages.

We’ll keep an eye on this one as not only is it nation-wide, but it also involves “insider info” (always making for good story line) and the most iconic American beer for heaven’s sake!

Tags: Anheuser Busch, Beer Lawsuit, Budweiser Beer, Budweiser Class Action, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, In Bev, Michelob, Watered Down Beer
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »