Category: CONSUMER
Civil Lawsuits: Providing a path to create social change
With the Covid-19 pandemic, violent hate groups, policing misconduct, national crises, and societal challenges at the forefront, people may be quick to say, “There should be a law (or regulation) against that.” In many instances, there are laws in place. The question is, How they are enforced? Regulatory bodies such as legislatures or government agencies …
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DEFECTIVE FENTANYL PATCH BLAMED FOR MAN’S DEATH
Patients who need pain medication can receive such treatment in a variety of ways. Pills and injections are perhaps the most common means of administering pain relief, but pain patches containing the drug fentanyl are also widely used. Fentanyl is significantly stronger than morphine, so it’s no wonder that it takes a careful patch design …
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“America’s Worst Charities” – Where is the Money Going?
Almost $1 billion of $1.3 billion donated to “America’s Worst Charities” in the past decade went to for-profit solicitors rather than the intended beneficiaries of these donations, reported The Tampa Bay Times in conjunction with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and the Cable News Network (CNN). Entitled “America’s Worst Charities,” the exposé listed detailed …
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Supreme Court Further Denies Basic Rights to Workers & Consumers
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow against consumers and employees in the case of Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela. Yet again the Court reasoned backward from the result it wanted to reach and went out of its way to find in favor of a corporate defendant – at the expense of individual citizens …
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Class Action Lawsuit Basics
In our previous posts, we have reported on a number of class-action lawsuits involving chocolate, cell phone overcharges, and defective video game systems. While the settlements to these lawsuits may involve millions of dollars, many people may not understand how (or why) they are created. Through this post, we will explain why they are important. …
Halunen Law Plays Key Role as Co-counsel in Victory for Consumer Rights and Arbitration
Halunen Law plays key role as co-counsel in victory for consumer rights and arbitration Many companies include forced arbitration clauses and class action waivers in their contracts or terms of service. They do this to block consumers from banding together and holding them accountable in court when disputes arise, instead forcing them to proceed on …
Good News for Consumers – Supreme Court’s Decision Not to Hear Appeals Means Arbitration Clauses Still Cannot be Hidden in a Product’s Packaging – at Least in California
On October 2, 2017, the United States Supreme Court denied Samsung’s appeals from two joint decisions by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals on Norcia v. Samsung Telecoms. Am. LLC, 845 F.3d 1279 (9th Cir. 2017) and Dang v. Samsung Elecs. Co., 673 F. App’x 7798 (9th Cir. 2017). Before Norcia and Dang decisions, it was …
Class Action Protects Military from Bank Misconduct
This recent posting by Public Justice shows the importance of preserving the class action mechanism from arbitration clauses that prohibit class actions. Individual consumers often do not have the resources to challenge illegal conduct by a large corporation. In the attached story, if class actions were not available, military personnel would not have been able …
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Fighting the ‘fine print’: Halunen Law class action team successfully challenges manufacturer’s arbitration agreements
In the ever-evolving world of consumer purchasing, companies are placing contracts in increasingly inconspicuous places. And the small print document that came with your recent electronics purchase, chances are it includes an arbitration clause. The clause likely prevents the purchaser from filing a lawsuit against the manufacturer in court, and allows for resolution of disputes …
GLASS PARTICLES FOUND IN GENERIC LIPITOR
Ranbaxy, the maker of the generic version of the popular drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), recently announced that it will stop producing the drug after discovering that several lots may have been contaminated with small bits of glass. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Ranbaxy had found that some pills contained glass particles that were less than 1 …