Tea Party Files Class Action Against IRS Asserting Discrimination
Tea Party Files Class Action
A California Tea Party group, NorCal Tea Party Patriots, has sued the IRS yesterday, in connection with the recently revealed news that the federal government was scrutinizing them disparately because of their political affiliations.
According to Ginni Rapini, the group’s founding president, as told to KGO-ABC7 in San Francisco, the IRS requested voluminous data when they were applying for tax-exempt status. ’They wanted every email I had ever sent out,’ she said. ‘They wanted the transcripts of every speech from any speaker at any event, meeting or anything that we had had,” Rapini reported to ABC7. More than two years passed while their application remained pending.
NorCal Tea Party’s lawsuit asserts that the IRS has violated its rights under the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. They claim that the IRS “engaged in systematic discrimination based upon the speech, expressed viewpoints, and association of NorCal Tea Party Patriots, its members, and similarly situated groups.”
It is unclear to what extent the lawsuit was brought merely to make a statement in and of itself, given the likelihood that it will not ultimately succeed. Class actions, by their nature, require the injured victims to have suffered nearly-identical injuries so as to prove typicality among the class. It is hard to imagine how individualized tax-exempt applications are not unique to each tax-exempt applicant. Further, the Supreme Court previously refused to hold in the famous Dukes v. Wal-Mart matter that gender discrimination claimed by the female employees of Wal-Mart could be certified as a class.
Citizens know soon enough – with every class action comes a motion to dismiss.
Skechers Paying $40 Million for “Toning” Shoe Claims
Sketchers Paying $40 Million to Settle False Advertising Claims
Skechers is going to be paying $40 million to settle a huge class action over its “toning” shoes, which advertised that the shoes would help people lose weight and tone leg/calf muscles. More than 520,000 claims could be made. Settlement claimants with approved claims will be able to obtain a repayment of up to $80 for Shape-Ups, $84 for Resistance Runner shoes, $54 for Padded Sole Shoes, and $40 for Tone-Ups. Last year, Skechers also settled a governmental investigation brought against it over “toning” shoes from the Federal Trade Commission.
Supreme Court Shelters U.S. Federal Gov’t Violations of Credit Card Privacy Laws: Do As I Say, Not As I Do
U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Credit-Card Privacy Claim Against U.S. Federal Government
In its first opinion of the new term, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a class action brought against the federal government for violating privacy / identity theft protection laws by printing credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts, determining that the federal government is not liable for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Continue reading
Orange Juice Products by Tropicana and Simply Orange Sued for False and Deceptive “All Natural” Advertising
Not "All Natural"
A slew of lawsuits have been filed against Tropicana and its parent, PepsiCo, as well as Simply Orange, and its parent, Coca-Cola, for false advertising in connection with orange juice products. Apparently, the orange juices, which are billed as “all-natural” actually contain flavor packs that replace the orange “flavor” lost through inconsistent ripening times, heat pasteurization, and loss of oxygen.
The fight is over the words “all natural.” For FDA purposes, as long as the product is free of added color, flavor and synthetic substances, it’s OK to call it “all natural.” The plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege that the “all natural” label is false and misleading to consumers.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/06/08/4069237/lawsuits-against-orange-juice.html#storylink=cpy
If you have been misled by false and deceptive products, click here to request a no-risk and no-charge consultation with an attorney to explore your legal rights.
Time Warner & Comcast Sued in Class Action Lawsuit for Privacy Violations
Another class action lawsuit.
Time Warner and Comcast have been sued in class-action lawsuits for privacy violations because of their practice of keeping customers’ names, social security numbers, and personal data — even after those customers terminated their services.
According to the 1984 Cable Communications Policy Act, cable companies are required to destroy subscribers’ data once it is no longer needed. Comcast may also have violated California’s state laws, which require businesses to destroy customers’ personal data once it is no longer needed.
Read more at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/176403/time-warner-comcast-hit-with-privacy-lawsuits.html#ixzz1xLo3HpJA
Attorney Rabeh M. A. Soofi
Phone: (213) 632-9390
Fax: (213) 986-3485
Email: rsoofi@sb-lc.com
Twitter: @rabehsoofi