A federal court has agreed to certify a class of California consumers allegedly misled by representations that AriZona Iced Tea® is “Natural” because it contains the processed, man-made ingredients high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and citric acid. Ries v. Arizona Beverages USA LLC, No. 10-01139 RS (U.S. Dist. Ct., N.D. Cal., San Francisco Div., order entered November 27, 2012). But the court granted the certification motion “for the purpose of injunctive and declaratory relief only” thus foreclosing the recovery of “monetary damages, including restitution, refund, reimbursement and disgorgement.” Read more…
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Judge certifies injunctive class action in AriZona Beverages “All Natural” class action
Southwest Airlines settles drink coupon class action
If you’re a Southwest flyer you were probably upset when the airline decided to stop honoring some its drink coupons without any notice a couple years ago. Luckily, a few irate customers took Southwest Airlines to court and have reached a class action lawsuit settlement over the fiasco.
Southwest Airlines on Monday agreed to pay between $29 million and $58 million to settle the Southwest drink voucher class action lawsuit. Read more…
Federal judges file class action saying Congress violated constitution when it blocked salary increases
Seven federal judges from across the country claim Congress violated their constitutional and statutory rights when it blocked judicial cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) in six of the past 17 years. In a lawsuit filed November 30, 2012, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., the judges contend that Congress effectively lowered their pay by passing appropriations legislation in fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2007 and 2010 that stated that judicial salaries would not be adjusted. Read more…
Zillow sued in securities fraud class action
According to a recently filed complaint in the Western District of Washington, Zillow (NASDAQ: Z) did not disclose to shareholders that it was having trouble signing up new real estate agents as customers and retaining existing subscribers. The complaint alleges that as a result of Zillow’s omissions, shares of the Washington-based real estate data company reached a high of $46.17 per share on September 20, allowing executives and board members to sell 3.1 million shares of their own Zillow stock for proceeds of about $115 million. Zillow also received $156 million through a secondary equity offering in September 2012. Read more…
Major Panera Bread franchisee settles discrimination class action
A federal judge late Friday approved the settlement of a class action lawsuit in which Covelli Enterprises, a major Panera Bread franchisee, was accused of denying promotions to black employees.
Under the settlement, any African American who worked for Covelli’s Panera stores for longer than a year and wanted a promotion between January 11, 2008, and January 11, 2012, can get payment for alleged lost opportunities. Read more…
GEICO misclassified security investigators as exempt from overtime
A Maryland federal judge has ruled that Geico General Insurance Co. misclassified security investigators as exempt from overtime pay. In Calderon v. Geico, the Maryland federal court granted the employees’ motion for summary judgment and held that the employee investigators were entitled to receive overtime wages. The court held GEICO had misclassified the employees as exempt from overtime and rejected the employer’s claim that the employees fell within the administrative exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Read more…
