http://consumer-fraud-blog.com Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:38:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Shareholders in a derivative class action suit are accusing MetLife of using the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (DMF) to stop its clients’ annuity payments, but ignoring that same database when it informed the insurer that it had to start paying on a life insurance policy. According to lead ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/02/03/metlife-shareholde-sues-over-unpaid-death-benefits/ Frito Lay is being sued by a New Yorker who says the company is misleading consumers by claiming its Tostitos and SunChips products are made with all-natural ingredients. Chris Shake says they are in fact made with corn and oils from genetically engineered plants. The proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Brooklyn ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/02/01/new-yorker-alleges-fraud-in-tostito-all-natural-claims/ Consumers are suing Whirlpool, Lowe’s, and Sears because they say the major retailers sold Maytag Centennial washing machines with the ENERGY STAR logo, but the machines did not meet ENERGY STAR standards. ENERGY STAR-qualified washing machines are required to use around 37 percent less energy and 50 percent water, according to ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/02/01/whirlpool-named-in-lawsuit-over-maytag-centennial-washing-machine-claims/ One of Novartis AG’s units has won a judge’s preliminary approval of a $99 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by sales representatives who allege the unit failed to pay them for overtime. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty of Manhattan tentatively approved the class action yesterday and includes over 7,000 current ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/26/novartis-to-settle-overtime-lawsuit/ A Supreme Court decision allows employees who work primarily for tips and gratuity to file lawsuits against employers when they perform work that's not tipped at rates below the minimum wage. Servers like waitresses, waiters, bartenders and food prep workers often receive tips at work. Tipped employees are generally hired at ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/26/supreme-court-decision-allows-applebees-employees-to-sue-for-lost-wages/ The Internal Revenue Service will allow employers to reclassify independent contractors as employees with minimal costs, thanks to a new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program. Misclassified employees have been under the microscope of government agencies for some time now. Coordinated and targeted enforcement efforts were launched by the IRS and ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/24/irs-offering-amnesty-to-workers-who-misclassified-workers-as-independent-contractors/ MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. are facing a whistleblower lawsuit that accuses the two companies of not turning over unclaimed life insurance policies to Illinois’ abandoned property department. The suit asks for more than $1 billion in damages on behalf of Illinois. A Cook County, Ill., judge unsealed the lawsuit, ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/24/metlife-prudential-lawsuit-seeks-damages-for-unpaid-life-insurance-benefits/ National pharmacy retailer Walgreens faces a class-action lawsuit on racketeering charges for over-charging for generic prescription drugs in an effort to generate larger profits. According to a Fox News report, the lawsuit against Walgreens Co. and Par Pharmaceuticals Co. has been filed by United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Employers ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/18/walgreens-faces-racketeering-fraud-charges-in-separate-lawsuits/ CVS Caremark has agreed to pay $5 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleges CVS misrepresented the price of some prescription drugs in one of its Medicare drug plans, which forced seniors to pay much higher prices than advertised. The Commission investigated the company ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/16/cvs-to-settle-medicare-charges/ Massachusetts state officials are considering using DNA testing to fight the mislabeling of fish. They are also pondering the idea of banning the sale of escolar, and launching a pilot program in partnership with Legal Sea Foods to trace seafood through the food chain. The Boston Globe in October printed the ... http://consumer-fraud-blog.com/2012/01/12/massachusetts-may-dna-test-seafood-to-fight-mislabeling/