Consumer Fraud/Consumer Protection

Seventh Circuit Rules Class Action Objectors Cannot Collect Damages for Privacy Breach Under FCRA or State Consumer Protection Law

April 26, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

In a long-running consumer privacy violation case, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied damages to a group of homeowners whose mortgage company sold their information to telemarketers. In Mirfasihi v. Fleet Mortgage , No. 07-3402 (7th Cir. Dec. 30, 2008), Fleet Mortgage Company sold information on 1.6 million clients to telemarketers, without those clients’ permission. Two nationwide classes were certified: a class of people who bought products from the telemarketers (who used deceptive practices in their sales) and a class of people who merely had their information shared. This appeal comes from the latter group, some of whose members objected to a proposed settlement that gave them no damages.

In its analysis, written by Judge Posner, the court started by agreeing with the appellants that their claims may have some value under state consumer protection laws, despite the trial court’s conclusion that they did not. Many state statutes allow statutory damages even when no actual harm is present. However, the majority wrote, the information-sharing class had no claim in a class action — only in individual actions. And no individual plaintiff has demonstrated a willingness to sue for the “modest statutory damages” available under state laws, despite eight years of litigation and two prior appeals to the Seventh Circuit, the judge wrote.

The court turned next to the objectors’ claims under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which allows statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per willful violation, even if no actual harm resulted from the violations. This claim also failed, because class members had not brought it up until their second round in trial court. Furthermore, the majority wrote, the FCRA claim is frivolous because Fleet is not a consumer reporting agency, as the law requires; agencies that merely pass on information about debts owed to it are not covered by the law. And under the FCRA, a report on transactions only between the customer and the agency making the report is specifically excluded from the definition of a “consumer report.”

Consumers May Be Entitled To Hundreds of Millions of Dollars of Refunds Due to Alleged Health Insurance Fraud

April 26, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo entered into a 50 million dollar settlement with health insurance carriers for alleged deceptive setting of “usual, customary and reasonable and rates” for out of net work health care providers through use of a conflicted rating agency owned by an insurance company. A news story on the settlement is below:

Our private law firm is investigating alleged deceptive use by health insurance companies of bogus low ball out of net work rates to avoid paying for needed health care and is considering filing consumer fraud class actions on behalf of victims of this practice.

Class action lawsuits our firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totalling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. DiTommaso Lubin is proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from corporate misdeeds.

Motion to Dismiss Denied in Proposed Federal Class Action on Alleged Fraud by OnStar and Four Automakers

March 11, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

DiTommaso Lubin is pleased to announce that we are part of a large auto dealer fraud class action lawsuit that recently survived a dismissal motion in the Eastern District of Michigan. In Re: OnStar Contract Litigation is a proposed class action consolidating lawsuits from around the nation against OnStar Corporation and four automakers that include the company’s technology in their new vehicles.

Along with other attorneys, our auto dealer fraud lawyers represent consumers who purchased vehicles with a version of OnStar that relies on analog cellular phone technology. The FCC voted in 2002 to phase out that technology and replace it with digital by Feb. 18, 2008. The “sunset period” was intended to allow companies time to phase out products based on analog technology and replace them with digital products. Nonetheless, our consolidated suit alleges, OnStar and the car manufacturers continued to sell analog OnStar to consumers allegedly without notifying them of the phase-out. When allegedly it did belatedly inform analog customers that their product would no longer work, it offered them a chance to pay for an upgrade to digital technology.

The case was consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. On Feb. 19, 2009, the court considered the defendants’ motions to dismiss. In its opinion and order, the court started by rejecting the defendants’ request for a choice-of-law determination, saying it is inappropriate to make a choice this early. Thus, it declined to consider motions related to choice of law. However, it did order limited discovery on the choice of law to allow the court to determine class certification.

United States Postal Inspection Service Website Offers Important Tips For Avoiding Mail Fraud, Ponzi Schemes and Identity Theft

March 10, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

The website for the United States Postal Service outlines many tips to avoid becoming a victim of mail fraud or ponzi schemes or indentity theft. You can click here to link to the website. The website has this to say about investment fraud and ponzi schemes:

Investment Fraud (Ponzi Schemes)

Fraudulent investment schemes are often marketed by telephone salespersons armed with high pressure and sophisticated selling techniques. Some swindlers surround themselves with the trappings of legitimacy — rented office space, a receptionist, investment counselors, and professionally designed color brochures describing the investment.

Best Websites to Learn About Consumer Law Issues — Our DuPage, Lake, and Cook County, and Chicago Consumer Attorneys Can Assist You in Junk Fax, Privacy Rights, TCPA and Other Consumer Rights Lawsuits

March 7, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

One of the best websites especially for lawyers to learn about consumer law issues and to review first rate legal briefs prepared by the top attorneys in the country who focus on consumer rights issues is the website of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

The website contains a section with briefs prepared by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice on a number of important consumer law issues that have nation impact. You can click here to look at that section and read any of the briefs contained in that section. The website also has a page with descriptions of some key cases and landmark consumer rights victories by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

Our consumer rights private law firm handles individual and class action cases that government agencies and public interest law firms such as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice may not be able to pursue. Class action lawsuits our firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totalling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. DiTommaso Lubin is proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from corporate misdeeds.

FBI Website Provides Tips For Avoiding Internet Fraud

February 28, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

The FBI maintains a number of web pages on fraud and internet fraud topics. The FBI web page on internet fraud provides tips for avoiding those scams “to protect yourself and your family from various forms of Internet fraud.” The following are the tips provided on the FBI’s web page:

Avoiding Internet Auction Fraud

Understand as much as possible about how the auction works, what your obligations are as a buyer, and what the seller’s obligations are before you bid.

FTC “Consumer Sentinel” Database Relies on Individual Consumer Complaints to Monitor and Stop Consumer Fraud

February 22, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

If you believe you are the victim of a consumer fraud or scam that is harming many other individuals you should file a report with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC maintains a Consumer Sentinel database which can be used by law enforcement authorities all over the world to fight consumer fraud. Click here if you want to learn more about that database or want to make a complaint with the FTC.

The FTC has this to say about its Consumer Sentinel database:

Your complaints can help us detect patterns of wrong-doing, and lead to investigations and prosecutions. The FTC enters all complaints it receives into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database that is used by thousands of civil and criminal law enforcement authorities worldwide. The FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints.

Best Websites to Learn About Consumer Law Issues — Our DuPage and Cook County, and Chicago Consumer Lawyers Can Assist You in Your Lemon Law, Auto and RV Fraud, Unfair Debt Collection, Unfair Wage Practices Claims and Other Consumer Rights Lawsuits

February 1, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

One of the best websites to learn about consumer law issues and to find lawyers who focus on consumer rights issues is the website of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

The website contains numerous links to sections on Auto Fraud, Lemon Law, Predatory Lending Practices, Credit Reporting Problems and Debt Collection Abuse.

Class action lawsuits our firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totalling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. DiTommaso Lubin is proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from corporate misdeeds.

Direct Deception Not Necessary in Consumer Fraud By Omission, Rules Appeals Court

January 22, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

In a consumer fraud class action, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled that consumers may sue over a manufacturer’s intentional suppression of important facts, even when when disclosure of the hidden information would have alerted the consumer to the product’s dangers and caused the consumer not to purchase the product. In De Bouse v. Bayer, 5-06-0077 (Oct. 9, 2008), plaintiff Teresa De Bouse filed a proposed class action against pharmaceutical companies Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as several individuals, alleging that they violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by intentionally concealing information casting doubt on the safety and efficacy of the statin drug Baycor.

This is actually the second appellate decision in De Bouse; the Illinois Supreme Court had returned it to the appeals court with instructions to reconsider it in light of a contemporary decision on the Consumer Fraud Act called Barbara’s Sales v. Intel Corp., 227 Ill. 2d 45, 879 N.E.2d 910 (2007). In that case, the state Supreme Court held that claims that a product was “the best” was “puffing” (routine exaggeration by advertisers) and did not amount to deception. Thus, a deceptive advertising campaign was not enough to violate the Consumer Fraud Act in this case, the Supreme Court ruled. The Fifth District, on remand, pointed out that while the drug makers were accused of a deceptive advertising campaign, their campaign was not “puffing” and involved alleged suppression of material facts so Barbara’s Sales did not apply.

The original appeal to the appeals court came with three certified questions:

Best Websites to Learn About Consumer Law Issues — Our Chicago Consumer Attorneys Can Assist You in Your Internet Fraud, Lemon Law, Auto and RV Fraud, Unfair Debt Collection, Unfair Wage Practices Claims and Other Consumer Rights Lawsuits

January 5, 2009 | Peter S. Lubin and James V. DiTommaso

The National Consumers League’s Fraud Center is one of the best informational websites on the internet to learn about consumer rights and protection issues. Informed consumers are best armed to protect themselves from consumer scams and consumer frauds. The website contains sections for Telemarketing Fraud, Internet Fraud, Scams Against Businesses, Scams Against Elderly, Counterfeit Drugs, and a Fraud News section.

DiTommaso Lubin is a private consumer rights law firm who associates with other law firms around the country that can help you recover funds lost due to fraud against brick and mortar companies in the United States with assets. All too often with many internet and telemarketing frauds this may not be possible as the scam artists may be overseas, hard to locate or without assets.

Class action lawsuits our firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totalling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. DiTommaso Lubin is proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from corporate misdeeds.