Safeway Settles Kona Coffee Blend Class Action Lawsuit

By Kimberly Mirando

Safeway Inc. has reached a class action lawsuit settlement with consumers who say the grocery chain committed fraud by selling coffee labeled as a Kona blend even though it contained “only a small proportion of Kona beans.”

The class action lawsuit was filed in 2011 by California consumer Chanee Thurston, who claims Safeway falsely advertised that its Safeway Select Kona Blend coffee is primarily composed of Hawaiian-grown Kona beans. Hawaiian law requires that coffee blends advertised as containing Hawaii-grown coffee must have at least 10% of Hawaiian beans to make the labeling claims.

Concerns Mount from Former Xbox LIVE Subscribers

By John Curran

It is now possible to access movies, TV shows and music everywhere, as touted by numerous cable and internet service providers, but some of those providing these services may have jumped the gun on some issues. Some former Xbox LIVE subscribers are worried about certain aspects of the service that happened before October 2011, which may make them eligible to pursue a class action lawsuit against Microsoft.

Freight Forward Class Action Settlement

By Mike Holter

A New York federal court has preliminarily approved 11 settlements reached in a consolidated class action lawsuit against dozens of freight shipping companies. If you purchased freight forwarding services between 2001 and 2012, you may be eligible to claim a cash award from the combined $105.6 million class action settlement.

The freight forwarding settlements will resolve allegations raised in a class action lawsuit called Precision Associates Inc., et al. v. Panalpina World Transport that accuses dozens of freight forwarding companies around the world of conspiring to fix the prices for freight forwarding services during specific time periods. These alleged conspiracies were carried out worldwide, including on shipping routes between the United States and China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

QBE, Bank of America Force-Placed Insurance Class Action Lawsuit

By Kimberly Mirando

A class action lawsuit filed Thursday claims Bank of America Corp. conspired with insurance company QBE Holdings Inc. and various affiliates to inflate premiums for mortgage holders by instituting force-placed hazard insurance on their policies. This force-placed insurance was sometimes up to 10 times more expensive than policies purchased voluntarily, despite providing far less protection, according to the class action lawsuit.

Judge Trims Toyota Steering Defect Class Action Lawsuit

By Matt O'Donnell

A federal judge last week significantly trimmed a proposed class action lawsuit accusing Toyota of hiding a dangerous steering defect in its 2009 and 2010 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles, but allowed plaintiffs in the case to revise the complaint and try again.

Toyota owners Irene Corson and Susan Yacks sued Toyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. in 2009 alleging that these Corolla and Matrix vehicles contain a defect in their electric power steering systems that makes them drift out of the driver’s control. Yacks claims the defect caused her daughter to spin out of control on a highway, causing her to drive into oncoming traffic before ending up on an embankment.

Acer Laptop Memory Class Action Settlement

By Mike Holter

Acer has reached a class action lawsuit settlement over allegations it sold laptops that did not contain enough memory to properly run the pre-installed Microsoft Windows Vista  Premium operating systems. Eligible Class Members who submit a valid claim can receive a cash award of between $10 and $100 or a free Flash Drive from the Acer class action settlement.

Hydroxatone Product Class Action Settlement

By Matt O'Donnell

A proposed class action lawsuit settlement has been reached between the companies behind the skin care product Hydroxatone and customers who claim they were duped into purchasing the products based on a “Risk Free Trial” offer that the companies didn’t honor. Consumers who purchased Hydroxatone-branded products between 2005 and 2013 may be eligible to receive a cash award or free product if the class action settlement is approved.

The Hydroxatone settlement will resolve a class action lawsuit (Susan Sabol, et al. v. Hydroxatone LLC, et al.) alleging, among other things, that defendants Hydroxatone LLC and Atlantic Coast Media Group LLC:

Aeropostale Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Certified

By Mike Holter

Aeropostale store workers won class certification last week in a wage and hour class action lawsuit accusing the clothing retailing over failing to pay overtime to thousands of store employees in a timely manner.

Lead plaintiff Portia Daniels sued Aeropostale Inc. last November, claiming that Aeropostale had under-paid overtime to non-exempt store employees by failing to include earned bonus amounts in their regular rate of pay.