By Brian Chase on June 24, 2019 -
A federal judge in California has given the green light to advance a class action accusing e-cigarette maker Juul Labs of building a multimillion-dollar electronic cigarette empire by secretly designing a highly addictive product and luring teens to use products with “cool” ads and flavors that would prove appealing to youth. According to a Courthouse News report, in a hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III said the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that Juul’s advertising campaign had helped the company capture a giant share of the market-beating out established Big Tobacco companies. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on June 13, 2019 -
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay around $385 million to settle a class action lawsuit in California alleging it signed up thousands of auto loan customers for costly car insurance without their consent, which resulted in many having their vehicles repossessed. According to an ABC News report, the bank filed the agreement this week in a federal court in Santa Ana. A judge still needs to approve it. Wells Fargo has said this settlement agreement is “an important step in making things right” with customers and said it will be sending out checks to affected customers. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on June 6, 2019 -
The Newport Beach consumer rights law firm of Bisnar Chase has filed class actions in connection with two large data breach cases that were recently reported. One involved Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s largest lab testing company, which reported a massive data breach involving about 12 million consumers’ personal information including medical information, financial information (bank account numbers and credit card numbers) and personal information such as Social Security numbers. Consumers’ crucial information was accessed through the American Medical Collection Agency’s (AMCA) system by unauthorized parties between Aug. 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019.
The other major data breach involved First American Title Company in Santa Ana, a Fortune 500 company that leaked more than 885 million documents and records relating to mortgage deals going back more than 15 years. The breach leaked digitized records including bank account numbers and statements, Social Security numbers, driver’s license images, mortgage and tax records and wire transaction receipts, which were all available to anyone with a Web browser. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on June 3, 2019 -
Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest lab test providers, has warned millions of its customers that their personal information, including financial and medical information, may have been compromised due to an issue with one of its vendors. According to an NBC news report, in a filing with securities regulators, Quest said it was notified that someone had unauthorized access to the systems of AMCA, a billing collections vendor, between Aug. 1, 2018, and March 30, 2019. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on May 29, 2019 -
The website for Fortune 500 real estate title insurance giant, First American Financial Corporation, leaked hundreds of millions of documents and records relating to mortgage deals going back more than 15 years. According to an article on KrebsOnSecurity.com the digitized records, including bank account numbers and statements, Social Security numbers, driver’s license images, mortgage and tax records and wire transaction receipts, were available to pretty much anyone with a Web browser. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on May 23, 2019 -
The Newport Beach consumer rights lawyers at Bisnar Chase have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of an elderly plaintiff whose defective medical alert device failed when he fell and required emergency medical attention. According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court (Central District of California – Western Division), the defendant, GreatCall Inc., who manufactures and sells Lively Mobile Plus advertised it as “the highest standard in medical alerts” claiming that it will provide elderly individuals with “help anytime, anywhere, 24/7” and that it has the “fastest call response time, enhanced GPS and fall detection.” …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on May 22, 2019 -
The developer of a Santa Monica beach hotel has been hit with a record $15.58-million fine for constructing an upscale hotel on the Southern California coast after initially getting a permit for a property with moderately priced rooms. According to news reports, the California Coastal Commission, the state agency that regulates development and activities along the coast, imposed the fine on Sunshine Enterprises because it violated a state law that enshrines public access to beach areas. Commissioners unanimously approved the fine, which is the largest imposed by the agency in its 40-year history. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on March 29, 2019 -
Nearly one billion people’s personal information has been compromised in a massive data breach involving a dubious online marketing company. According to a news report in The Daily Mail, email addresses from 982 million people were listed in what researchers are calling one of the biggest and most comprehensive email data breaches ever. The information that has been compromised includes names, gender, date of birth, employer, details of social media accounts and even home addresses. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on March 22, 2019 -
UCLA Health has reached a class-action lawsuit settlement with 4.5 million current and former patients who were affected by its May 2015 health data breach. According to a news report, the settlement will provide $2 million for unreimbursed loss and preventive measures claims. The remaining $5.5 million will provide a cyber security enhancement fund, which was agreed to by UCLA. The plaintiffs in this case are essentially patients whose personal information was exposed in a hack on the health system’s network. …Read the rest »
By Brian Chase on March 18, 2019 -
A civil class-action lawsuit has been filed by seven college students against eight universities in connection with a massive college admissions corruption scandal, which has rocked the nation over the last week. According to a CNBC news report, the defendants in the lawsuit include top colleges including Yale, USC, Stanford, UCLA, University of San Diego, University of Texas, Georgetown and Wake Forest University. …Read the rest »
