The supermarket industry has been subject to substantial consolidation over the past few decades, with many regional chains being bought up by one of a handful of large conglomerates. In October 2022, Kroger– which owns chains around the country including Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Mariano’s, and Ralph’s– announced plans to buy Albertson’s–whose chains include […]
Author Archives: Adam Pulver
The California Attorney General brought claims against for-profit online college Ashford University and its parent company for violating the state’s unfair competition and false advertising laws by making false and misleading statements to prospective students. The trial court agreed with the AG, and imposed over $22 miillion in civil penalties. Yesterday, an intermediate appellate court […]
Paulette Barclift sued Keystone Credit Services after Keystone shared certain personal information with a mailing vendor that it hired to mail her a collection notice. Barclift never authorized Keystone to share that information with third parties, and thus sued for violating the FDCPA’s provisions on unauthorized communications. The district court held that Barclift had not […]
Many companies have started to put automated chatbots on their website to answer customer service questions. Air Canada is one of them. Its chatbot told a customer that he could retroactively seek a bereavement discount for a flight he needed to purchase. When the customer submitted the paperwork he was told by the bot to […]
In recent years, home sellers around the country have filed lawsuits against regional multiple listing services and affiliated realtors, generally alleging that by requiring sellers to agree to a single, set offer of compensation to any broker who found a buyer for their home in order to have their listing included (the “Buyer-Broker Commission Rule”), […]
The FCC issued a declaratory ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices fall under the TCPA’s restrictions on “artificial or prerecorded voice” calls. The declaratory ruling and accompanying statements are available here.
Last summer, the San Francisco City Attorney announced he was investigating former magazine U.S. News and World Report over its hospital rankings, noting “Consumers use these rankings to make consequential health care decisions, and yet there is little understanding that the rankings are fraught and that U.S. News has financial relationships with the hospitals it […]
As previously discussed on the blog, corporate defendants have in several cases refused to comply with AAA’s rules regarding payment when customers invoke their contractual rights and file arbitration demands en masse. Reacting to the complaints of corporate defendants, AAA has now altered its mass arbitration rules to, among other things, drastically reduce the fees […]
The FTC brought an administrative complaint against Intuit based on its nationwide, multichannel advertising campaigns promoting its TurboTax tax preparation service as “free,” when in reality, two-thirds of taxpayers were ineligible for its “free” product. Yesterday, the FTC made public a unanimous opinion affirming an ALJ’s cease-and-desist order and conclusion that the claims were false […]
An interview with Travelers United’s lawyer, explaining their legal theories and the kinds of fees they are challenging under DC consumer protection law, is available here.