Top Class Action Lawsuits
Hashtag Privacy Please! Naughty, naughty! Facebook’s allegedly been peeping into your privates—messages that is…which, a potential class action lawsuit claims, is in violation of federal and state laws.
Filed by two Facebook users against Facebook the lawsuit alleges the social media platform scans messages between users labeled “private” for links and other information that can be sold to third parties including advertisers, marketers and data aggregators. The Facebook lawsuit is seeking class action status, with a potential 166 million Facebook users in the US eligible to join the class, if it is certified.
Plaintiffs Matthew Campbell from Arkansas and Michael Hurley from Oregon filed the lawsuit in a US district court in Northern California, alleging Facebook data mines “private” messages without disclosing it does so, or seeking users’ consent. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges Facebook’s intercepting and using links in “private” messages between users is in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and California privacy and unfair competition laws.
“Facebook’s desire to harness the myriad data points of its users has led to overreach and intrusion … as it mines its account holders’ private communications for monetary gain,” the lawsuit contends.
Great start to the New Year guys!
Top Settlements
Holy Hyundai! (ok, bad, I know) A preliminary $395 settlement has been reached in a consumer fraud class action pending against Hyundai Motor Corp. and Kia Motors alleging gas mileage rating were overstated by the automotive manufacturers. The settlement will affect some 600,000 of Hyundai’s 2011-13 models and about 300,000 of Kia‘s 2011-13 models in the US.
The back story? ….In November 2012, Hyundai and Kia Motors agreed to restate expected gas mileage for 1.1 million vehicles in North America, following an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The automakers admitted they after overstated mileage claims on vehicle window stickers for 900,000 vehicles in the United States. The settlement impacts about 600,000 of Hyundai’s 2011-13 models and about 300,000 of Kia‘s 2011-13 models in the U.S. Hyundai’s settlement is valued at up to $210 million, while Kia’s is valued at $185 million.
The 2012 restatement reduced Hyundai-Kia’s fleetwide average fuel economy from 27 to 26 mpg for the 2012 model year. Individual ratings, depending on the car, will fall from 1 mpg to 6 mpg. Most vehicles saw combined city-highway efficiency drop by 1 mpg, the Detroit News reports. Exact figures will depend on how many customers elect to participate in the settlement’s one-time lump sum payment option or remain in the lifetime reimbursement program, the automakers said.
The Hyundai Kia settlement will resolve more than 50 lawsuits filed across the country to address the issue. Hyundai agreed to add the option of taking a lump sum payment. The proposed cash amount, which varies by vehicle model and ownership type, will result in an average payment of $353 to Hyundai owners and lessees. For example, an owner of a 2012 Elantra would receive a lump sum payment of $320 minus any previous reimbursement payments. For Kia owners, the proposed average cash lump-sum amount will be about $667.
A federal judge is expected to review the proposed settlement for preliminary approval in early 2014. If approved, settlement notices will be sent to individual class members. To get the full skinny on initial details of the settlement, you can visit hyundaimpginfo.com or www.kiampginfo.com.
Royal Health to Shell Out a Royal $1.94 Million …in unpaid overtime. Yup. A preliminary settlement has been reached in an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit pending against Royal Health Care of Long Island LLC. Employees who filed the class action alleged the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York state labor laws by not paying them overtime pay.
In their employment lawsuit, the 411 plaintiffs allege Royal Health misclassified their positions as Representative, which are exempt from the overtime provisions stipulated under the FLSA and NYLL, and thereby failed to pay Plaintiffs overtime when they worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.
Under the terms of the Royal Health settlement, the Royal Health will pay $1.94 million to plaintiffs who worked eight weeks or more, between May 2006 to May 2013. If approved, funds will be distributed proportionally among the Class Members based on number of weeks each worked at Royal Health Care. An incentive award of $10,000 each will also be given to the four original named plaintiffs.
A Fairness Hearing is scheduled for January 6, 2014. The Royal Health Care Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Chandrakalli Sukhnandan et al. v. Royal Health Care of Long Island LLC, Case No. 1:12-cv-04216, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Ok Folks, That’s all for this week. Happy New Year! Here’s to a peaceful and prosperous 2014 for all.
[Re: US Hyundai-Kia Fuel Economy Litigation] [Part 4 of 4] For court updates see websites see pacer.gov under case number 2:13 – ml – 02424 – GW – FFM Hyundai -Kia fuel economy litigation. For more unbiased
updates see “discussion” on YouTube channel “legal advocate 71” or see the website attorney-ethics-elderly-abuse.com. The Hyundai-Kia settlement is "proposed" and the court will review the proposed settlement in 2014 . The court will have final approval and the court could reject the settlement agreement
and say that is not enough going to the car owners or the court could require the settlement agreement to include an anti-retaliation section.
[Re: US Hyundai-Kia Fuel Economy Litigation] [Part 3 of 4] If the court approves the settlement in 2014, class members may still have the option to opt out of the settlement or go before the court with their grievances. It will be unfortunate if the court does not consider the fraud and retaliation that has already been proven and admitted to by Hyundai Motor America. Is it worth it for car owners to agree to $400 and possible waive their rights to any Hyundai warranty repairs in the further? The best bet may be to get rid of the Hyundai car due to Hyundai’s history of retaliation. Many car owners say they will not buy Hyundai-Kia because of Hyundai’s stated policy that they can deny service and seek your arrest if you seek service at their dealers. [based on documents filed with the court.] Keep in mind that other lawsuits like Johnson v Taylor and the Canadian Class action asked for more.
[Re: US Hyundai-Kia Fuel Economy Litigation] [Part 2 of 4] Hyundai Motor America and Girard Gibbs are also named in a Los Angeles filed bankruptcy case. The State Bar of California and office of the state attorney general has been asked to revoke the license certification of two firms/dealers indirectly connected
to the class action. Read the Toyota class action filed 2012 settlement agreement online to get an idea of what will happen if the Hyundai settlement is signed by the Judge. Class members received $30-$125 each, for damages and diminished value, while the CASH COW lawsuit awarded 25 law firms and 85 attorneys
attorneys a whopping $227 million dollars (estimated).
[Re: US Hyundai-Kia Fuel Economy Litigation] [Part 1 of 4] In a Inglewood, California small claims case 12S01314, a Hyundai car owner was able to get a judgment against a Hyundai dealer for $724 including court fees. A Hyundai dealer did not oppose a payout of $10,000 for the single Hyundai owner. This same car owner, by himself, sought $85 million dollars judgment against Hyundai Motor America, Los Angeles Central District case Johnson v Taylor et al. CV13-2264 FMO (MRWx). The proposed settlement by lawyers Hagens Berman Sobol will give car owners at about $400, less than what the small claims court had already ruled in a similar case worth. Hyundai also sought to pay the $724 themselves, thus bringing the potential value to $1400 for a single plaintiff, and the possibility of engine failure, factsthat class action law firm Hagens Berman Sobol has ignored.
Class Action Update: [Part 1 of 2] Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro law firm know that in the same court district a Judge was inclined to grant entry of default against Hyundai for $85 million dollars, and this to a single class member plaintiff. Hyundai-Kia is now proposing only $353 to each class member. A Canadian class action asks for $10,000 each class member. Along with the deceptive gas mileage claims, Hyundai was also sued in the class action for false advertising, breach of express warranty, fraud, unjust enrichment, reduced resale value, however the proposed settlement by Hyundai appears to offer $353 for the false gas mileage claims ONLY. There is no indication that Hyundai offers damages for false advertising, breach of express warranty, fraud, unjust compensation, and reduced resale value of the vehicle.
Class Action Update: [Part 2 of 2] Some plaintiffs may take Hyundai into a jury trial. I believe the proposed settlement should be rejected as too loo low and bad faith. Hyundai agent Inglewood Police said if you come to a Hyundai dealer for service you will be arrested and thrown in jail. The motion to certify the class is set for Jan. 23 in Los Angeles. If you do not want the payout of $353, you may have to put that in writing and the door may stay open for a jury trial against Hyundai. Next court hearings are Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. If you want to make your voice heard before those dates, and express what you feel class members are due $$$$, write Judge George H. Wu, Phone 213-894-0191, 312 North Spring Street 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012-4701, and priority mail a copy to the attorneys Hagens, Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Phone 213-330-7150, 301 N Lake Avenue Suite 203, Pasadena, CA 91101. Mention Case 2:13-ml-2424-GW-FFM.
my Kia Forte is a 2010, Oct.010, was told it would get about 35mpg and i get about 20mpg, mentioned it at dealership and they're like it's running fine. what do we do b/c the lawsuit starts at 2011, like they were honest about it before then? Not! thanks, m. turner