Dealers Accuse Carfax of Monopoly in New Class Action Lawsuit

By Mike Holter

Over 120 car dealers have filed a $50 million class action lawsuit against Carfax, alleging it is monopolizing the vehicle history report industry and forcing dealers to use Carfax instead of cheaper competitors.

Appeals Court Limits Cy Pres Class Action Settlement Awards

By Robert J. Boumis

Cy pres awards have become a popular way to distribute money from a class action lawsuit settlement, but they’ve come under scrutiny lately from critics who say they unfairly give money to charities that should be going to injured Class Members. Several high-profile consumer class action settlements have been rejected over the past year by judges who ruled the proposed cy pres distributions were unfair.

A recent decision in the Toys “R” Us class action lawsuit In Re: Baby Products Antitrust Litigation has put a limit on the use of cy pres awards in class action settlements – a decision that will set a precedent in future class action lawsuits.

Midland Credit Call Recording Class Action Settlement

By Matt O'Donnell

Midland Credit Management Inc. has reached a $4.5 million class action lawsuit settlement with consumers who say the debt collection agency illegally recorded phone calls with them. If you received a telephone call from Midland between 2006 and 2011, you may be eligible to receive debt forgiveness or a cash award of up to $1,000 from the class action settlement.

Macmillan to Pay $20M to Settle Consumer e-Book Class Action

By Mike Holter

Book publisher Macmillan has agreed to pay $20 million to settle state and consumer claims that it conspired with Apple Inc. and other U.S. publishers to fix the prices of electronic books. The class action lawsuit settlement comes nearly three months after Macmillan settled price-fixing and collusion claims with the Justice Department.

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.