In The Courtroom

Supreme Court: Binding Arbitration Clauses In Consumer Contracts Trump California Law

December 14, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>California consumers who are angry about being hit with unexpected fees can be forced to air their complaints individually before an arbitrator rather than in a class-action lawsuit, under a decision handed down Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.</p> <p>The justices by a 6-3 vote overturned a state ruling and threw out a class-action lawsuit against DirecTV over its termination fees for customers who canceled its service.</p>

U.S. Supreme Court Forces DIRECTV Customers Out Of Court, Into Private Arbitration Over Illegal $480 Early Cancellation Fees

December 14, 2015  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

In the latest of a series of decisions closing the courthouse doors on consumers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning, 6 to 3, that DIRECTV customers in California who were illegally charged “cancellation fees” of up to $480 – often taken directly out of a consumer’s bank account or charged to a credit card without the customer’s permission

High Court Says DirecTV Can Cut Off Class Action Lawsuit

December 14, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that satellite provider DirecTV can avoid a class action lawsuit in California over early termination fees and force customers into private arbitration hearings instead.</p> <p><br /> In a 6-3 opinion, the justices said that DirecTV's contracts can specifically prohibit customers from banding together to sue the company, even though California state law would allow such class action lawsuits to go forward.</p>

Supreme Court Halts Class-Action Suit Against DirecTV Over Fees

December 14, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<article itemprop="articleBody"> <p>The Supreme Court said Monday that a class-action suit against satellite TV provider ­DirecTV over early-termination fees cannot go forward, because such complaints must be settled by private arbitration hearings.</p> <p>The court <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-462_2co3.pdf">ruled 6 to 3</a> that its previous decisions on the subject mean that California consumers may not rely on a state law that would have allowed consumers the right to band together to sue.</p>

U.S. Supreme Court Forces DIRECTV Customers Out Of Court, Into Private Arbitration Over Illegal $480 “Early Cancellation Fees”

December 14, 2015  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: larger;"><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2895" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/images_directvlogo_5_0.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 90px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="120" height="90" />Santa Monica, CA -- In the latest of a series of decisions closing the courthouse doors on consumers, the U.S.

US Supreme Court Reveals Little In Oral Argument On DIRECTV Case

October 6, 2015  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2902" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/images_supreme_court_of_the_united_states-300x299.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 199px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="300" height="299" /><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Our attorneys' report from the US Supreme Court is that this morning’s oral argument didn’t reveal which way the majority was leaning in <strong><em>Imburgia v. DIRECTV</em></strong>.</span></span></p>

Californians’ Love Of Class-Action Lawsuits To Be Tested By Supreme Court

October 6, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>Supreme Court will hear DirecTV's bid to block suit over early cancellation fees</strong></p> <p>The Supreme Court's conservative justices have long been skeptical of class-action lawsuits that may be profitable for trial lawyers but can be costly to companies.</p> <p>Judges in California have leaned the other way, fearing consumers and employees will be shortchanged if they cannot sue as a class.</p>

US Supreme Court to Hold Hearing on Consumer Lawsuit Against DIRECTV

September 16, 2015  ·  Harvey Rosenfield

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2895" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/images_directvlogo_5_0.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 90px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="120" height="90" />Seven years ago, Consumer Watchdog’s legal team brought a class action lawsuit against DIRECTV on behalf of California customers who were charged unlawful early cancellation fees of up to $480 – often taken directly out of a consumer’s bank account or charged to a credit card without the customer’s permission. Next month, the U.S.

Judge Allows DTSC Cleanup Lawsuit To Proceed Over Boeing’s Objections

January 15, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Sacramento County Superior Court judge has ruled that a case filed by environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists against the toxics department over the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site in southern California can proceed, rejecting a motion for summary judgment by The Boeing Co., which is at the center of the dispute.</p>

Boeing’s Santa Susana Field Lab Demolition Plans Delayed

January 15, 2015  ·  Mark Reback

<p>A Sacramento judge has denied the Boeing Co.’s motion that argued that demolition and disposal of old buildings on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory can proceed without any intervention by state regulators.</p>

Sacramento Judge Rejects Boeing’s Bid to Demolish and Dispose of Radioactive Waste Without Accountability

January 12, 2015  ·  Liza Tucker

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-20441" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/images_boeingtohellinahandbasket.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 230px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="350" height="230" />Santa Monica, CA -- Sacramento Superior Court has denied Boeing’s motion for summary judgment in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit over the demolition and disposal of radioactively contaminated structures from the site of a partial nuclear meltdown near Los Angeles, Consumer Watchdog said today.</p>

Court Tentatively Upholds Prop 103 Rule Prohibiting Auto Insurance Companies From Making Consumers Pay For Branding/Advertising Such as Sporting Event Sponsorships and Naming Rights

January 9, 2015  ·  Pam Pressley

In a tentative ruling today, the Sacramento Superior Court rejected an insurance industry attack on regulations that limit the amount of advertising costs insurers can pass through to consumers in their premiums. The regulation is part of the landmark Prop 103 insurance reform initiative that has saved California drivers $102 billion since 1988, according to the Consumer Federation of America.