Entries Tagged 'Business Law' ↓

Although Airborne denies any illegal conduct or wrongdoing, they have decided to settle a class action lawsuit brought against them by the Federal Trade Commission which challenged the older packaging labeling on Airborne dietary supplements and the associated advertising. Airborne claims the settlement decision is in order to avoid any additional expenses and distraction from running in their corporation.

Back on November 29, 2007 Judge Phillips approved of an initial settlement of $23.5 million, with most of the funds scheduled to be distributed amongst class action attorneys associated with the case and the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, DC. Now, an additional $6.5 million has been added to the total amount Airborne will pay out, with these funds specifically set aside to refund consumers who joined in the class action lawsuit. An assigned claims administrator will approve and pay out individual claims by mid October.

In related news, attorneys with Airborne are continuing their discussions with attorneys general in 28 states to resolve investigations into the older advertising and packaging labeling on the company’s dietary supplements. Airborne CEO Elise Donahue has stated that “we’re just one of many major consumer brands across America that are under assault by class action lawyers” as she continues to defend her company’s practices.

In 2007, a false advertising and misleading marketing lawsuit was filed by POM Wonderful against rival juice company Purely Juice for stating that their product is 100% pomegranate juice. POM Wonderful, who worked in conjunction with seven independent labs, found that the product Purely Juice was selling was not purely juice but in fact contained primarily cane sugar and corn sweetener and little pomegranate solids.

The court ruling, which was filed in the Central District of California, specifically noted that “Purely Juice’s advertising from January 7, 2007 to August 30, 2007 was literally false, as demonstrated by the independent tests performed by seven different laboratories. Although Purely Juice claimed that its adulterated “100% Pomegranate” product consisted of “100% pomegranate juice” and contained “NO added sugar or sweeteners,” independent laboratory testing of the juice found these statements to have been false.”

The two companies finally settled earlier this week, with Purely Juice agreeing to pay POM Wonderful $1.5 million in damages. Purely Juice, who relies on a broker to get their juice, admits that there may have been sugar added to their incoming supplies in 2007 and claims that after dealing with the issue internally have had no issues since. Purely Juice returned jabs against POM Wonderful, claiming that they have been bullying nearly a dozen pomegranate juice makers in campaigns to damage their reputations.

After an investigation headed by Associate Attorney General Kevin O’Connor, four international airlines have agreed to a plea deal for charges of price-fixing cargo costs and fleecing companies of millions, which in turn have cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in increased prices. The plea deal settlement, which contained a total of $504 million in fines, named Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Martinair Holland and SAS Cargo Group as the airline conspirators according to the Department of Justice.

O’Connor stated in a June 26 conference that “this investigation focuses on a conspiracy involving a number of the world’s largest airlines to manipulate air cargo transportation costs through a multi-year price fixing scheme,” and went on to not that “the conspiracy, conservatively, has affected billions of dollars in shipments.”

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said that under the plea deal the airlines were not obligated to notify which shippers had been cheated. She added that any produce companies, which were a prime target in this price-fixing conspiracy, who hoped to recoup money should take part in one of several class action lawsuits that have already been filed.

Shippers will not be able to file claims against the $504 million, which is set to be added to a crime victims’ fund that supports almost 2,500 victim assistance programs.

When Massachusetts consumer attorney Matthew P. McCue filed a class action lawsuit against New Jersey based estate auction company Metropolitan Antiques in 2002 over unsolicited junk faxes, he had no idea that his efforts to have the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) enforced would transform into a legal battle that would last over six years.

From 2001-2003 Metropolitan Antiques is said to have sent out over 360,000 faxes advertising themselves. The TCPA prohibits unsolicited telemarketing via fax, and can have penalties of up to $500 to $1500 per violation. But with Metropolitan Antiques being nearly bankrupt, the responsibility to pay such fees fell on their insurance company. The insurance company claimed they were not required to pay these fines, but when the case came before the Supreme Judicial Court, the found that the insurance coverage was triggered.

With that ruling, a heated ten-hour mediation session hammered out a settlement between the plaintiffs and defendants, with a final negotiated amount of $1.8 million to be paid by Metropolitan Antiques and their insurers. McCue and his lawyer are seeking a third of the money for contingency fees, with the remaining amount to be divided among potential class members. A website, www.metrojunkfaxsettlement.com, has been set up for these class members can instantly find out if they are entitled to part of the settlement.

The attorneys at Venardi Elam LLP obtained a $4,900,000 arbitration award for a company that supplies parts and services for a radar reconnaissance and surveillance system sold by a United States company to foreign governments. The client had an exclusive license to supply the parts and service the systems. The defendant terminated the license agreement without cause because it considered the terms unfavorable. The law firm prevailed after a three-week arbitration and obtained a $4,900,000 lost profits award for the client.

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