Class Action Attorneys Blog

There is no question that the struggling economy has put more Americans into debt and more businesses are trying to recover payments that are rightfully owed to them. But we have laws that require these businesses to try to collect these debts in a fair and just manner. Consumers need not stand by and submit themselves to harassing treatment from debt collectors. They can stand up and fight back to stop this demeaning conduct.

Continue reading "Debt Collectors Beware - Consumers Can Fight Back" »

In the past five years, many employees' 401(k) plans have taken a hit along with the economy. So it would be expected that, especially during such times, employers would make sure that they choose 401(k) plans for their employees with options that maximize the returns on their investments, right? However, rather than ensuring the selection of a plan in which the fees and expenses charged to employees are minimized, some employers are instead simply choosing 401(k) plan advisors based on pre-existing relationships, incentives, and often just sheer indifference and then give the advisor carte blanche to select the employees' investment options. The problem is that plan/investment advisors are only selecting investment options because they are receiving kickbacks through revenue sharing from the mutual fund companies that have overly expensive funds that no reasonable - or honest - advisor would otherwise select for employees. The end result is that the plan advisors, and in some cases the employers as well, are receiving the benefits of the investments while the employees are stuck with the diminished returns of an investment portfolio with excessive fees and expenses.

Continue reading "Do You Know What You're Being Charged for Your 401(k)? " »

In a recent ruling against Crozer Chester Medical Center, U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno found that physician's assistants (PAs) are entitled to receiving overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA. The Judge disagreed with the defendant's argument that PAs are exempt from the FLSA overtime regulations under the professional employee exemption.

Continue reading "Physician's Assistants are Entitled to Overtime Pay" »

The future of consumer class action litigation may be at stake in a case scheduled for oral argument next week before the Supreme Court. In AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, the Court will decide whether corporations can ban class actions in the fine print of their contracts with consumers, and thus eliminate the ability of consumers to band together in order to fight unfair and fraudulent corporate practices. The elimination of this type of suit would leave consumers helpless in situations where they were defrauded by companies for relatively small amounts.

Continue reading "Consumer Class Actions in Danger of being Preempted " »

Cramming refers to the various devious methods used by third-party vendors to unsuspectingly sign up cell phone users for monthly charges that appear directly on their cell phone bills.

Continue reading "Phone Cramming Scams" »

Pogust Braslow & Millrood recently filed a Complaint against Banco Santander, S.A. and Soveriegn Bank involving unfair and excessive overdraft fees. The plaintiff in this case, Chris Shalaby, was charged hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees due to the banks’ reordering of certain transactions. These overdraft fees and those charged to thousands of other customers have become major sources of profit for Banco Santander, S.A. and Soveriegn Bank over the years.

Continue reading "Class Action Filed Against Banco Santander, S.A. and Soveriegn Bank in Overdraft Fee Litigation" »

In what has become a more commonplace practice, from water delivery companies to propane gas suppliers, consumers continue to continue to be hit with hidden fuel surcharges. A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Suburban Propane in Federal Court in New Jersey on behalf of current and former residential propane customers of Suburban Propane. The lawsuit alleges that Suburban Propane unlawfully charged its customers certain fees, including tank pick up fees, pump out fees, restocking fees, delivery fees, regulatory fees, transportation fuel surcharges, and other fees that were not adequately disclosed.

Continue reading "Unsuspecting Consumer are being hit with Hidden Fuel Surcharges " »

Goldline – the California-based company that proclaims itself a “leader in gold investing” – is under investigation for allegedly ripping off customers.

Continue reading "Goldline Scam – Glenn Beck’s Favorite Company Under Investigation" »

Over the course of the last year, there have been numerous reports regarding the rise of hospital-acquired infections and the relative ease in preventing these infections. I have written numerous times about the risks and causes of hospital-acquired infections (see most recently "Veteran’s Affairs Hospital Infection Scandal”and "Hospital-Acquired Infections Still a Huge Threat to Patients” on this blog. There can be no dispute that hospitals are on notice regarding this epidemic and should have already implemented basic policies and standards to prevent these preventable infections. That is why a recent hospital employee survey, reported in the Washington Post yesterday, is so disturbing. The survey, taken by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology addressed the high number of hospital-acquired infections every year, and pointed the finger at the failure of hospital administrators to set standards and focus their attention on catheter-related bloodstream infections or CRBSIs.

Continue reading "Hospitals to Blame for Failing to Halt the Rise of Hospital-Acquired Infections " »

Last week, on July 8, 2010, a city-owned barge ran over and capsized a tour boat on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, spilling 37 people into the river. On board were a number of Hungarian student tourists, who had traveled here on a tour hosted by Marshallton United Methodist Church of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Two of the tourists – 16-year old Dora Schewendtner and 20-year old Szabolcs Prem – remained missing at the time of our first blog. Tragically, reports have now confirmed that both died in the waters of the Delaware, as their bodies were recovered late last week.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Duck Boat Accident Update " »

Two people are still missing after a Philadelphia tourist boat was struck by a barge, spilling its passengers into the Delaware River. According to local reports, there were 37 passengers on the boat. All except for 2 – a 16 year-old girl and 20 year-old man, both Hungarian tourists – have been rescued as of the time of this blog.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Duck Boat Accident " »

A recent decision in the district of Colorado furthers the debate on whether the time that police officers have to spend putting on their uniforms and safety equipment is compensable work time. In the case of Rogers v. City and County of Denver, the district court judge denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and specifically held that time spent by patrol officers “donning and doffing” the equipment and uniform that are explicitly prescribed in the operations manual for the officers is compensable work time. The fact that the officers were not mandated to dress at the office and were permitted to get prepared at home was ultimately not viewed to be a determinative factor.

Continue reading "Police Officers Owed Pay for Time Spent Putting on Uniform & Equipment? Perhaps." »

Per the FDA's order on April 30, 2010, Baxter Healthcare Corp.must recall and destroy all of its Colleague Infusion Pumps due to their longstanding failure to correct serious safety problems.

These pumps are medical devices designed to deliver fluids, nutrients and medication to patients in a controlled manner. More than 500 deaths and 56,000 adverse events associated with these infusion pumps have been reported to the FDA in the last five years.

The FDA has also ordered Baxter to provide “refunds” to customers or replace the pumps at no cost in order to help defray the expense of replacement.

Please see my blog for more information and to find out whether you may have a potential claim.

Obama's new Health Care Reform bill prevents health insurance companies from dropping, or rescinding, patients once they develop serious illnesses. This policy has been widely practiced by major insurers, such as Humana, Wellpoint, and UnitedHealth. The reform bill does not take effect until September 23, 2010, and many insurance companies are still trying to drop coverage of sick insureds between now and then.

Please see my blog for more information.

With the advent of the triple play, a marketing term for offering cable, internet and phone for one price, the country’s cable providers have been in a mad rush to attract consumers to bundle their services for these basic utilities. RCN, Verizon and Comcast are just some of the providers bundling these services.

Continue reading "Triple Play Subscription Scam by Cable Providers" »

Numerous Blackberry© users are finding that their 8100-9000 series devices are intermittently or permanently losing audio, without warning or any apparent reason. Call tones, alarms,music and video sound have disappeared at random for many owners of the Blackberry© Pearl, Curve, and other "smartphones."

Continue reading "Blackberry© Cell Phones Losing Audio" »

In the past year, AT&T and Sprint agreed to pay $18 million and $17.5 million to settle claims that they imposed unfairly high fees on wireless customers who wanted to end their contracts. The settlement provided former AT&T customers with as much as $140 back, if they canceled thier cell phone contract just before it was about to expire. Part of the reasoning behind the settlement was that these early termination fees bore no relation to the carrier's actual costs. On January 26, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission sent letters to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Communications, Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Google, Inc., asking whether they give customers adequate notice about early termination fees.

Continue reading "AT&T Wireless Restoral Fee Charges - Cell Phone Companies Up to their Old Tricks" »

Hundreds of cell phone customers are finding unfamiliar charges on their phone bills for products or services that they have not requested or authorized. These charges often come from other billing clearinghouses, like HBS and BSG Services, and are automatically added to customer’s phone bills, through their service provider. AT&T appears to be a common provider associated with these complaints.

Continue reading " HBS and BSG Billing Services: Unauthorized Charges on Phone Bills" »

A California-based temp agency faces charges that they have been scamming employees out of wages for years.

On December 10, 2009, a group of Illinois day laborers filed a class action lawsuit against the temporary employment agency SelectRemedy, for allegedly shorting their wages, withholding overtime, and even paying some workers less than minimum wage.

Temporary employment is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors in the job market, and staffing agencies are increasingly competitive. Companies feel strong pressure to cut expenses, which often means bidding contracts low and cheating employees out of their rightful wages, in order to turn a profit.

Continue reading "Alleging underpayment, day laborers take temp agencies to court" »

Last week, three employees of PPG Industries, the owner of the paints and stains in Lowe’s home improvement stores, sued the company for denying them overtime compensation.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, December 30, 2009, in federal court in Pittsburgh. According to The Washington Post, all three plaintiffs allege that PPG owes them an unspecified amount of money in overtime pay and damages for violations of The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA mandates that covered nonexempt workers are entitled to overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work per week.

Continue reading "Lowe's Territory Managers Claim They Should Have Been Paid Overtime in Suit " »

This past summer, three lawsuits were brought by current and/or former employees against the University of Phoenix. These employees worked as academic and enrollment counselors and allege that they were not paid overtime compensation for hours worked over forty hours in a week. Specifically, these employees allege that in order to meet quotas and requirements set by their supervisors, the counselors were forced to work more than forty hours. However, despite their supervisors' encouragement to meet these quotas and knowledge of the overtime hours being worked, these employees were not paid any overtime compensation for the time worked. The employees maintain that these practices violate the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), and therefore, they seek to represent a nationwide class of all enrollment and/or academic counselors working for the University of Phoenix.

Continue reading "Collective Action Against University of Phoenix For Unpaid Overtime" »

In October 2009, shortly after TD Banknorth changed its name to TD Bank - "America’s Most Convenient Bank" - there were apparently some major IT glitches that resulted in many customers having difficulties with their direct deposits and viewing real-time account balances. As a result, many customers, including myself, were charged overdraft fees through no fault of their own. It was at this time, while viewing numerous overdraft fees on my statement, that I became aware of a little known banking trick. When there are several current debits to an account, many banks, not just TD Bank, apply the debits in reverse order of their value and not the chronological order that they were posted to the account. Therefore, no matter the order received, the largest current debit is applied to the balance FIRST, then the second largest debit, third largest debit and so forth. This is important because, if for some reason that largest debit makes you go over your balance, you are then charged overdraft fees for every other debit – even if the remainder of the debits would have been covered by your initial balance. (read this customer's complaint.)

Continue reading "Unwarranted Bank Overdraft Fees" »

In June, over 467,000 jobs were cut by employers, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent. From General Motors to Microsoft to General Electric, most if not all business sectors are struggling to handle the lingering economic downturn. But along with the terminations come questions related to earned income, specifically issues of accrued vacation time. Courts throughout the country are examining corporate policies and contracts to determine whether fired employees are receiving all of the compensation they deserve.

Continue reading "Class Action...Fired Employees Entitled to Vacation Pay?" »

Various lawsuits have been filed, from New York to Texas to California, claiming that hospitals and nurse-staffing agencies are violating the overtime policies of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The claims of the nurses include not only failure to pay overtime for all hours worked over forty in one week or eighty hours in two weeks, depending on how the pay period is calculated, but also claims of improper time deductions for breaks and meals that were not actually taken by the nurses.

Continue reading "Nurses Entitled to Overtime Pay" »

We have all seen the commercials on television and heard the ads on the radio promising to consolidate your debt and/or settle it with your debtors for less than you owe. For many people dealing with unmanageable and ever-increasing bills, these companies seem to offer the hope of being debt-free someday soon. However, especially during these difficult economic times with high unemployment rates, these companies are simply preying on vulnerable consumers.

Continue reading "NY Attorney General Sues Two Debt Settlement Companies" »

As we reported here in February, Chinese drywall is becoming a significant health concern in addition to costing homeowners thousands to replace it. Current estimates are that between 350,000 to 500,000 US homes contain toxic Chinese drywall throughout the Gulf States, specifically Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and others. Exposure to toxic Chinese drywall is potentially lethal. The gases emitted by toxic Chinese drywall are not only strong enough to corrode various metals, they have also led to severe upper respiratory issues including nose bleeds, headaches, rashes, with the potential of cancer or other long term serious health affects.

Continue reading "Chinese Drywall: A Serious Headache for Homeowners" »

There is a new report that car rental companies are imposing car rental surcharges, hidden fees, and other costs to consumers to compensate for lost revenue as a result of the economic turn-down.

According to an article by CNN, “it’s easy to see why car rental companies are taking these steps … the industry is hemorrhaging money faster than oil leaking from a cracked gasket [where] Hertz lost $73 million in the fourth quarter, and competitor Avis lost $121 million in the same period.”

Continue reading "Car Rental Surcharges --- Class Action Lawsuit? " »

Similar to the settlement last year in a case against Aetna Health, Horizon Blue Cross has reached a settlement in the case of Drazin v. Horizon Blue Cross whereby the insurance company will pay $1.2 million to the 566 affected insureds who were denied extended coverage for treatment of their eating disorders. Also part of the settlement, Horizon Blue Cross agreed to treat any future eating disorder claims by its insureds as they would claims for biologically-based mental illnesses (BBMI) like schizophrenia. Such reforms will cost the company an estimated $17.8 million.

Continue reading "Insurance Co. Settles Case and Extends Coverage for Eating Disorders" »

Recently, several class action lawsuits have been filed against three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hospitals that could impact more than 100,000 current and former hospital workers. The lawsuits allege that the hospitals were cheating workers out of pay by automatically deducting a half-hour for meals, regardless of whether such a break was taken, not paying for work performed before and after scheduled shifts and not paying for required training.

Continue reading "Hospital Cheating Employees By Automatically Deducting Break Time" »

As reported by the Wall Street Journal today, a number of automobile dealerships throughout the United States are now extending financing to consumers with no established credit history or poor credit, where consumers are required as a condition to financing, to have a “disabler” installed in their newly purchased vehicle.

Continue reading "Car Loans and Automobile Disablers: Consumer Class Action?" »

A Company called Privacy Matters, a purported online service provider of free credit reports, is signing up individuals for their service without their explicit consent or permission.

Continue reading "Privacy Matters: Involuntary Membership Sign-up, Monthly Fees, and Failure to Provide Refunds --- Consumer Class Action " »

The number of infected people continues to climb in the wake of the recall of Salmonella-tainted peanut products originating from Peanut Corp. of America (PCA). The reported cases of salmonella associated with the recall has reached 683 and spans from coast-to-coast accounting for almost every state and even Canada. It is troubling that the number continues to increase because the indication is that there are still products in circulation. Therefore, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is warning the public to continue paying close attention to peanut products within their homes that may be subject to the recall.

Continue reading "Number of Salmonella Cases Only Growing" »

Those suffering from the prospect of foreclosure in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, may have an opportunity pursuant to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), to seek legal recourse against their mortgage lender.

Continue reading "Truth in Lending Act (TILA) Class Action – Consumers Seek Recovery for Misleading Lending Practices by New Jersey and Pennsylvania Mortgage Companies" »

Homeowners in Florida have filed a class action against several manufacturers and suppliers of drywall imported from China. The homeowners claim that the drywall was defective; specifically, the drywall emits sulfur compounds that corrode copper and other metals and make homes smell like rotten eggs. Furthermore, considering the sulfur particulates that can be inhaled, there could be significant health problems, especially respiratory issues, as some homeowners have reported experiencing.

Continue reading "Homeowners File Suit over Chinese Drywall" »

Benchmark Financial Groups, LLC, located in Aliso Viejo, California, purports to assist companies obtain financing for equipment and capital related leases. According to the company’s website, Benchmark provides “quick competitive leasing in 5 easy steps.”

Continue reading "Benchmark Financial Groups, LLC Class Action --- Lease Financing Bait and Switch?" »

Recently, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies as well as multimedia retailer F.Y.E. have been faced with class action lawsuits contending that they failed to pay their store managers and assistant managers the correct overtime wages, as outlined by both state and federal laws. F.Y.E. and the pharmacies classified such employees as "exempt" from overtime pay, paid them a salary, and failed to pay such employees 1.5 times their normal rate for hours worked over 40 hours. Recent cases regarding overtime wages for store managers and assistant managers have been receiving a lot of attention as courts have been finding that such employees do not fall under the "executive exemption" that exists under state and federal laws, because the primary duties of the employees fall outside of their managerial capacity.

Continue reading "RiteAid, CVS, F.Y.E. Managers and Ass't Managers Owed Overtime Pay" »

The Fair Labor and Standards Act, which establishes rules for employers concerning maximum hours and overtime wages, has several clauses that excuse some employers from having to pay time and one-half for overtime wages. One such exemption provides that getting paid time and one-half for overtime hours is not required for any employee with respect to who the Secretary of Transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”).

Continue reading "Overtime Pay for Interstate Drivers" »

On August 28, 2008, a group of current employees sued ADT Security Services, Inc. for failing to pay time and one-half for overtime hours worked, as required by the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act. The employees include those with positions as service and maintenance technicians as well as commercial and residential installers also known as installation technicians.

Continue reading "ADT Alerted to its Own Overtime Violations" »

On Monday, November 10, 2008, Forest Laboratories, Inc. filed a quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing that it had agreed in principle to a settlement amounting to $65 million in In re: Forest Laboratories, Inc. Securities Litigation, 05-cv-02827 (S.D. NY).

Continue reading "Forest Agrees to Settle Securities Class Action for $65 Million" »

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today, has issued a nation-wide recall of approximately 600,000 cribs sold at “sold by retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Bain Capital LLC 's Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. and Babies "R" Us, a unit of Toys "R" Us Inc.”

Continue reading "Simplicity, Inc. Baby Crib Nationwide Recallhttp://www.classactionattorneysblog.com/cgi-bin/mt.cgi?offset=0&__mode=list_entries&is_power_edit=1&blog_id=456&offset=20" »

The FDA yesterday issued a warning to Consumers concerning a voluntary recall by Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., of “all varieties of its in-store made bagels and bialys (flattened bagels with various toppings, i.e. pizza) sold in the bakery and purchased between August 24 and September 9, 2008.” See the Complete FDA Warning Here.

Continue reading "Wegman’s Grocery Chain Recalls In-Store Made Bagels: Concern Bagels May Contain Pieces of a Metal Spring " »

The class action In re Forest Laboratories, Inc. Securities Litigation, 1:05-cv-02827 (S.D.N.Y.), has been set for trial on November 3, 2008.

Initiated by a complaint filed in the Southern District Court of New York in March 2005, the action is being prosecuted by class representatives who claim that Forest violated federal securities laws in marketing and promoting its SSRI antidepressants, Celexa and Lexapro, and its Alzheimer’s drug, Namenda. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that Forest deceived the investing public by hiding the risk of suicidality posed by the antidepressants to the pediatric and adolescent populations and the fact that the antidepressants failed to demonstrate efficacy in treating those populations. The case had originally been set for trial in July 2008, but that trial date was adjourned. In a June 3, 2008 order approving the parties’ class notice stipulation, the court set the trial date for November 3, 2008.

Notably, in Forest’s August 8, 2008 filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed that the only lawsuits currently pending against it other than the securities case are the cases pending in the suicidality MDL, In re Celexa and Lexapro Products Liab. Lit., MDL No. 06-md-01736, and approximately 25 birth defects cases. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/38074/000003807408000019/forest10qjun08.htm