Miscellaneous

• Holland America's New Blog Fails to Outline Claims Limitations

  Mark McLean | August 09, 2007 3:49 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A surprising number of cruise ship patrons are injured aboard ships every year. Holland America Line is a giant of the cruise line industry. Holland America's cruise tickets contain small print forcing requirements on its patrons including a one-year limitation on claims and that all lawsuits must be filed in Seattle courts, among others. Holland America also recognizes the power of a...

• Apple and AT&T Sued Over iPhone

  Mark McLean | August 07, 2007 2:49 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Apple and AT&T are facing a potential class-action lawsuit over the battery life of the new iPhone. The suit alleges not only that the iPhone was defective, but also that corporate officers knew of the defects and fraudulently withheld that information from customers. The lawsuit follows a complaint sent to Apple CEO Steve Jobs by the New York State Consumer Protection Board which asks him to...

• Samsung Sued for Faulty Camcorders

  Mark McLean | August 02, 2007 12:16 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Samsung customers recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging that it knowingly sold faulty camcorders, forcing customers to pay as much as $150 to fix them.In a lawsuit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Samsung is accused of ignoring customer complaints that its camcorders with an image sensor device known as a CCD imager...

• BarBri Settles Class Action Lawsuit

  Mark McLean | August 02, 2007 11:41 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  BarBri, the nation's leading preparation course for bar examinations throughout the country, recently settled a class action lawsuit brought by its customers, alleging BarBri violated antitrust laws by, among other things, colluding with Kaplan (an LSAT preparation course) to stay out of each other's dominant areas of emphasis. The case settled for $49 million.

• Tainted Ginger Recalled from China

  Mark McLean | August 02, 2007 10:51 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  In the latest scandal involving Chinese food exports, tainted ginger has recently been recalled. Apparently, the ginger contained a toxic pesticide.State and federal health officials are now working to determine how the ginger got into this country and how widely it has been sold. It's not the first time that contaminated Chinese ginger has been a problem.U.S. port inspectors in Seattle have...

• Castleberry Foods Recalls Toxic Hot Dog Chili Sauce

  Mark McLean | July 26, 2007 12:03 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Castleberry Foods recently recalled cans of its hot dog chili sauce after the toxic Botulism poison was found in the sauce and caused four hospitalizations. Botulism is similar to Botox in the face--causing a muscle-paralyzing disease that comes from the extremely toxic Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium commonly found in soil.The toxin often originates from under-processed and under-heated...

• Study Reveals Seattle Bicycle Helmet Laws Reduce Injuries

  Mark McLean | July 25, 2007 5:07 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Studies have shown that Seattle's bicycle helmet laws have reduced injuries, especially inuries to children.According to Beterem and the road safety organization Or Yarok, hospitalization due to cycling accidents in New York, New Jersey, Canada, Seatle and California were down by dozens of percentage points - especially among children - after helmet laws were passed.Bicycles are a great form of...

• Washington Supreme Court Prohibits Class Action Waivers

  Mark McLean | July 20, 2007 1:41 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Washington's Supreme Court gave consumers a victory this month by ruling that companies may not disclaim class action liability. In a significant victory for consumers, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the former Cingular Wireless, now AT&T, cannot enforce a waiver in its contract that prohibits customers from pursuing a class action.The Supreme Court ruled that the waiver...

• Sony Wants Class Action in Federal Courts

  Mark McLean | July 20, 2007 9:17 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  The Sony Electronics Corporation "removed" a class action lawsuit from California state court to federal district court on Tuesday. The lawsuit concerns defects to Sony's "Trinitron" televisions. Sony refuted the complaint but admitted that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million. "Removal" is a legal term allowing a defendant to move a case from state court to federal court if it...

• 7 Year Old Boy Dies Off Cruise Ship

  Mark McLean | July 18, 2007 12:28 PM | 1 CommentSeattle, WA

  A seven year old boy was killed in a jet ski accident during a cruise vacation in the Bahamas recently. Interestingly, Royal Caribbean claims that it holds no responsibility since the accident occurred while the boy was on an excursion from the ship.Most excursion tickets from cruise lines contain disclaimers that the cruise line is not liable for injuries that happen ashore. However, in most...