The Litigation Counsellor®

On July 21, 2017, Five Guys Enterprises LLC (“Five Guys”) was denied a motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit that alleged the popular burger chain violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Lead plaintiff, Lucia Marett, claimed that Five Guys failed to make their website and its features equally accessible to all their customers, disabled or not.

Counsel Financial was pleased to host a panel discussion—Emerging Mass Torts: Latest News from the Experts—during the American Association for Justice Annual Convention. We were honored to host some of the nation’s top trial lawyers, who lead discussions on cutting-edge mass torts including talc, hernia and physiomesh, Mirena pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) and opioids. Thank you to our speakers and all who joined us.

In case you weren’t able to attend, the presentation is available for download by clicking here.

Spotify USA Inc. is in the legal hot seat again over violations of the U.S. Copyright Act. This time, plaintiffs are alleging that Spotify’s business model itself was designed to “commit willful copyright infringement first, ask questions later…” A songwriter for The Four Seasons and another songwriter filed their respective suits on July 18, 2017, less than two months after the streaming hub settled another major copyright violation suit for $43 million in a previous class action.

Following a long litigation process stemming from a 2015 data breach, users of online adultery facilitator, Ashley Madison, and the website’s parent company, Ruby Life Inc., filed a proposed settlement on July 14, 2017. While maintaining their innocence, Ruby Life agreed to pay the class $11.2 million to put an end to the litigation.

Although filed separately, the wives of Thomas Walsh and Joseph Roman are the latest to officially accuse Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals of concealing life threatening risks associated with the use of their blood thinner, Xarelto. On July 10,2017 in New York State court, the couples filed claims alleging negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation and fraud and deceit, and are seeking compensatory damages.

On Monday, July 10, 2017, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer ordered Coca-Cola subsidiary, Odwalla Inc., and a class of consumers to resolve disputes over the beverage giant’s “no sugar added” fruit drink label in private mediation. Lead plaintiff, Stephen Wilson, alleged in March 2017 that Odwalla’s label, which was placed on the front of the beverage was in violation of FDA and state regulations because Odwalla Juice does not resemble and is not substitute for a food that normally contains added sugars.”

On Friday, July 7, 2017, a group of Hyatt customers asked a Florida Federal judge for class certification for their suit against the hotel chain for a potential violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”). Plaintiffs claim that Hyatt printed too much information on their credit card receipts during their stays at Hyatt hotels.

To add to Fiat Chrysler and Cummins’ legal woes, a proposed class of Dodge Ram owners have filed a lawsuit against the two companies alleging that Fiat was completely cognizant that it was selling vehicles with defective diesel engines. The defect is said to reduce fuel efficiency and engine performance, while potentially having a “significant” impact on the environment.

On July 3, 2017, U.S. District Judge William Pauley III signed off on a $32.5 million settlement which pays African American MetLife Securities Inc. employees thousands of dollars to end a proposed class action claiming that MetLife violated federal civil rights laws. Marcus Creighton, the lead plaintiff in the suit, alleged that the company systematically discriminated against its black employees and ultimately paid them less than their white coworkers.

On June 27, 2017 a proposed class of dissatisfied California consumers filed suit against Miami-based food vendor Transnational Food Inc. and supplier Conservas Cerqueira SA, alleging that the defendants purposefully misled consumers as to the content of their Pampa Octopus seafood product. The product was advertised as octopus but was in reality comprised of squid.

On June 27, 2017, a would-be class of Chicago-area storeowners filed suit in Cook County Court in a bid to stop the enactment of a penny-an-ounce county tax on soda and sweetened beverages, which is slated to go into effect on Sunday, July 2, 2017.

On Wednesday, June 21, 2017, a judge granted preliminarily approval for the $1.6 million settlement reached by Neiman Marcus Group LLC and a class of consumers whose credit card data was exposed while shopping at the high-end department store back in 2013. Originally announced in March of this year, the deal seeks to compensate anyone who used a credit or debit card at any store under the Neiman Marcus umbrella, including Bergdorf Goodman, Cusp and Last Call, between July 16, 2013 and January 10, 2014.

On Monday, June 19, 2017, based on a Supreme Court ruling earlier that day, a Missouri judge declared a mistrial in the sixth Johnson & Johnson (J&J) class action held in Missouri state court brought by the families of three deceased women, two of which were not Missouri residents. The families allege that the ovarian cancer and consequent deaths of their loved ones were caused by talc powder use.

On Monday June 19, 2017 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a controversial ruling from the California Supreme Court, which held that California state courts had jurisdiction to hear class claims from nearly 600 non-California residents who filed suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The lawsuit was filed in California court alleging that the plaintiffs had sustained injuries from the blood-thinning drug Plavix.