Articles Posted in Class-Actions

A class action lawsuit filed on Thursday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California names Stanford, USC, UCLA, the University of San Diego, the University of Texas at Austin, Wake Forest, Yale, and Georgetown.

Earlier this month, the United States women’s soccer team filed a lawsuit in a California district court, alleging that U.S. Soccer’s codified policies and its actual practices discriminate against members of the women’s national team based on their gender. The claimed result is that female team members are paid less than similarly situated male soccer players on the U.S. men’s team, according to the complaint.

In a suit recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the eight plaintiffs represented in the class claim that Lime and Bird knowingly distributed scooters for personal, recreational use that wouldn't be able to withstand daily, commercial fleet usage.

On Saturday, October 6, 2018, U.S. Pastors Council and Texas Values filed multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts alleging that Christian businesses and churches may fire or not hire LGBTQ workers as a constitutional right. One of the filed lawsuits challenges the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against job candidates and workers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.The two other filed suits challenge part of an Austin, TX city ordinance that prohibits employers from discriminating against all the protected classes outlined in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as sexual orientation and gender identity.

Plaintiff Lenora Rice recently filed a class action lawsuit against National Beverage Corp., the makers of LaCroix, in an Illinois state court alleging that their popular sparkling water is not “100% Natural” as it is advertised. Rice claims that LaCroix beverages actually contain ingredients such as ethyl butanoate, limonene, linalool, and linalool propionate, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies as synthetic.

Last Friday, the law firm Hagens Berman filed a lawsuit in California federal court on behalf of Allen Lee who is suing both Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, for “unlawful and unfair business practices” that have “unjustly enriched” the ticket-seller at the expense of live events fans.

A federal district court judge in Illinois has granted preliminary approval to a settlement between State Farm and a class of plaintiffs claiming that the insurance giant created a RICO enterprise to bankroll the election of a judge to the state's high court. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier was elected in 2004, and in 2005 voted to overturn a $1.05 billion verdict against the insurer stemming from breach of contract claims regarding its alleged use of non-original parts in vehicles damaged in accidents. State Farm will not admit liability through the recently-proposed settlement, but will pay $250 million to class members. 

Court papers filed late last week show that according to the government's most recent estimates, close to 500 children, including 22 under the age of 5, remain in US custody after being separated from their parents at the border earlier this year pursuant to the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy. The greatest logistical challenge that government officials and immigrants' rights advocates have faced in reuniting many of these children with their families is that their parents were deported without them, and are now proving difficult if not impossible to locate.

A lawsuit seeking class action status has recently been filed against Google after the tech company admitted to tracking the location history of even users who have turned off location services.

In a joint status report filed last week, the Department of Justice provided its most detailed figures to date regarding the status of migrant children who were separated from their parents at the border this year under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, stating that 24 children under the age of 5 remain separated. Under the policy, the administration separated more than 2,600 children from their parents, and reports that over 360 parents who are still separated are outside the country, with many having been deported without their children.