The Litigation Counsellor®

Tik-Tok, the video-sharing social networking service that has taken youth by storm, recently was the target of a lawsuit alleging that it collected and shared personally identifiable information about children under the age of 13. On December 6, 2019, a proposed class of parents and children asked an Illinois federal court to approve a $1.1 million settlement to resolve alleged claims.

On January 24, 2019, U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., granted initial approval to a $24 million settlement between the former NFL team, the St. Louis Rams, and a class of football fans who purchased personal seat licenses (“PSLs”) during the Rams’ last season in St. Louis in 2014, shortly before the team was moved to Los Angeles.

On September 7, 2018, a class action suit against sportswear giant Adidas America Inc. was removed from the California state court in San Diego to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The suit, which was filed on July 3, 2018, claims that a June 2018 data breach of Adidas customers’ personal information was the result of the company’s negligent failure to implement proper cyber security measures.

On April 6, 2018, a lawsuit was filed against Capital One N.A. by Capital One account holders who alleged that the company violated customer contracts by charging numerous undisclosed fees for both out-of-network and in-network ATM transactions.

On January 10, 2018, class claims were filed against defunct digital currency exchange Vircurex in Colorado federal court. Vircurex subscriber, Timothy Shaw, alleges that the Beijing-based company unlawfully froze subscribers’ accounts when it disabled the ability to withdraw Bitcoin, Litecoin, Terracoin and Feathercoin. Vircurex launched in October 2011 as a virtual exchange where account holders could deposit USD and EUR to buy, sell and exchange digital currencies.

Bad news emerged for fans of eco-minded grocery chain, Whole Foods, as the company was hit with proposed class claims in Ohio Federal Court on October 10, 2017. The lawsuit alleges the grocery chain negligently failed to protect the personal data of customers who patronized its taprooms and restaurants.

On Monday September 18, 2017, class claims were filed in Miami-Dade County Court against Florida Power & Light Co. (“FPL”) by a group of Florida residents who have been without power since the destruction caused by Hurricane Irma. The plaintiffs claim that prior to the hurricane, Florida residents paid a “storm charge fee” in exchange for the defendant’s promise to prune trees near power lines and move some power lines underground as an improvement to the power grid.

A proposed class-action suit has been filed in Illinois federal court against online dating service conglomerate, Match Group Inc., accusing the company, through its website OkCupid.com, of fraudulently enticing subscribers to upgrade their profiles to a premium level. The suit alleges the company misleads customers by alluding to potential matches accessible only through the upgraded service, which turned out to be non-active accounts and hence, not legitimate potential matches.

After five years of legal battles and set backs, over 170,000 disgruntled British Airways frequent fliers were granted class certification in New York federal court on March 31, 2017. The class accuses the airline of charging its frequent fliers arbitrary fuel surcharges when using rewards points to pay for flights a large, sometimes up to $500. The plaintiffs argue that British Airways actions with regards to the fuel surcharge are a direct breach of the frequent fliers Executive Club contract.

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, while the nation flocked to the polls, pharmaceutical super store, Walgreens, filed a $140 million breach of contract suit in Delaware federal court against healthcare technology company, Theranos Inc. Because the case was filed under seal, few details are known about the suit at this time; however, many people familiar with the controversy have pointed out that the $140 million in damages that Walgreens is seeking is equal to the initial sum it invested in Theranos.

Residents of New Jersey have filed suit against wholesale superstore, Costco, alleging that the company charged its New Jersey customers a 7% sales tax on Charmin toilet paper in direct violation of New Jersey tax law, which excludes toilet paper from sales tax. Named plaintiffs, Jacqueline Taufield and Robert Arnold, argue that the supposed “tax” was in fact a surcharge masquerading as a sales tax. The plaintiffs further allege that when they brought the issue of the tax up with Costco, they were not offered a refund of any kind.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (“Sony”) has settled class claims made by about 10 million PlayStation3 (“PS3”) console owners who accused the company of engaging in deceptive business practices and breaching the sales contract between the company and its customers.