Category Archives: Consumer Litigation

Washingtonian Article on the Rise (and Fall?) of Ambiguous Restaurant Fees

Available here, the article explains the history of additional fees added by D.C. restaurants, the rationales given by supporters and defenders, and the status of enforcement and litigation efforts.

Third Circuit Finds No Standing Where Creditor Shared Info With Mail Vendor

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 […]

Canadian court holds Air Canada liable for information chatbot gave to consumer

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 […]

DOJ Objects to Settlement of Consumers’ Suit against Multiple Listing Service

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”), […]

Supreme Court holds that federal agencies can be held accountable under the FCRA

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday in favor of consumer interests in Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, a case argued by Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney Nandan Joshi. The case concerned the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows consumers to sue creditors for failing to correct inaccurate credit information that […]

Travelers United Continues Lawsuits Against DC Restaurant Fees

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.

Fourth Circuit Limits Scope of TCPA Fax Prohibitions and Suggests Class Actions to Enforce are Doomed

The TCPA prohibits “send[ing], to a telephone facsimile machine, an unsolicited advertisement.” 47 U.S.C. s. 227(b)(1)(c). After receiving such an unsolicited advertisement on its fax machine from AmeriFactors Financial Group, plaintiff  Career Counseling, Inc. brought a putative class action in South Carolina. While that litigation was pending, AmeriFactors obtained a declaratory ruling from the FCC, […]

FDA’s Delayed Action Plan for Baby Foods Won’t Delay Consumer Lawsuit

In 2023, a New York district court dismissed three consolidated class actions against Beech-Nut, a baby food manufacturer, alleging that its baby food products contained elevated levels of certain toxic metals. The district court had agreed with Beech-Nut that it should abstain from addressing the plaintiffs’ claims, instead deferring to the FDA under the doctrine […]

NJ Consumer Frauds Act refund provision applies only to food fraud

In 1979, the New Jersey Legislature added Chapter 347 to the state’s Consumer Frauds Act. That  chapter contained a provision expanding what constitutes an “unlawful practice” to include misrepresentations of the identity of food, and also created a refund remedy–specifying that “[a]ny person violating the provisions of the within act shall be liable for a […]