JP Morgan Chase Sued for Illegal Lawsuits Against Consumers
Chase Sued by California Attorney General
The California Attorney General’s office has sued JP Morgan Chase Bank for abusive debt collection practices.
Apparently, over the last few years, Chase flooded California courts with unpaid credit-card lawsuits by using illegal robo-signing and other unlawful debt collection practices. Chase is accused of failing to provide borrowers with debt collection notices as required by law, before initiating lawsuits. Chase also apparently failed to investigate whether certain borrowers were active military personnel or service-members, even though “swearing” under penalties of perjury that they were not, which is required for default judgments to be entered against individuals who have not responded to a lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, “At nearly every stage of the collection process, Defendants cut corners in the name of speed, cost savings, and their own convenience, providing only the thinnest veneer of legitimacy to their lawsuits.”
“Robo-signing” refers to the practice of signing declarations, affidavits, and other documents in voluminous quantities, without having any knowledge of the facts in the document and without regard to the truth or accuracy as to those facts. In Chase’s case, Chase would often file affidavits, “under penalty of perjury” that the declarant was an “assistant treasurer and officer Chase USA” when in reality, it was a “low-level employee” of Chase “who has never even seen the Complaint.”
Read More:
Copy of the Complaint - http://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press_releases/Complaint_0.pdf?
Yamaha to Pay $3.3 Million to Injured Florida Woman for Rhino ATV Lawsuit
Yamaha Motor Corporation has been slapped with a $3.3 million jury verdict for role in manufacturing “Rhino” ATVs, which have a tendency of overturning and crushing the limbs of drivers.
The lawsuit was decided in favor of a Pensacola, Florida woman Jackie McMahon, who had severe injuries to her limbs as a result
Jackie McMahon, of Pensacola, Fla., was driving the four-wheeler on a family farm in Alabama when she tried to make a right turn and the vehicle overturned on top of her, causing serious injuries to her limbs.
Yamaha has been sued numerous times since the Rhino came onto the market in 2003. In 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said 70 deaths were reported in Rhino crashes.
McMahon’s $3.3 million verdict also included $2 million in punitive damages for Yamaha’s reckless conduct in keeping the vehicle on the market, despite all of the complaints that came in.
Read More:
http://www.pnj.com/article/20130502/NEWS01/305020016?odyssey=mod%7cmostcom&nclick_check=1
UC-Berkeley Asks Court to Dismiss Multi-Million Dollar First Amendment / Excessive Force Lawsuit Brought by Student Protestors Beaten by UC-Police
Photos of the UC-Berkeley Protests of November, 2011
The UC-Berkeley police, officials, and other administrators who were sued in a multi-million dollar First Amendment and excessive force lawsuit by student protestors during the Occupy protests of 2011 are now asking the Court presiding over the case to throw out the lawsuit.
The suit was filed on behalf of 24 protesters against 17 defendants, including four UCPD officers and detectives, three Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies, Chief of Oakland Police Department Howard Jordan, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and five other campus administrators.
The lawsuit arose out of the Occupy protests in Berkeley in November, 2011. In videos of the altercations between students and police, police used batons to beat with batons some protesters who refused to leave tent/encampment areas. UC-Berkeley had forbidden students, some of whom were protesting the rising cost of tuition at UC schools, from protesting in the area.
The UC-Campus’s motion to dismiss will be heard by the Court next week, on Nov. 13.
Travolta Sued Again – This Time for Libel
Sued Again
John Travolta and his attorney Martin Singer have been sued for libel by Robert Randolph, author of the book “You’ll Never Spa in this Town Again.” Randolph’s book was allegedly about his gay encounters with Travolta.
Randolph accuses Travolta and Singer of spreading false statements about his mental health to discredit the book. Apparently, Singer, on behalf of Travolta, had written a letter to a gossip blog about the book, presumably to prevent the blog from publishing content about it. Randolph accuses the letter of being libelous.
Psychiatrist Sued for Giving Sexual Orientation “Conversion” Therapy – WITHOUT Patient’s Consent
Max Hirsh
This story is so sad, we don’t even know where to begin with it. Apparently, the Southern Poverty Law Center has sued an Oregon psychiatrist for practicing “conversion therapy,” intended to “change” the sexual oirentation of troubled teenage boys and girls, on a young patient, without the patient’s consent.
The patient was Max Hirsh, an openly gay young man. Hirsh reported that when he would visit his psychiatrist, the topics would often veer into the topic of his sexuality, with the psychiatrist insisting that Hirsh was not gay, that Hirsh had failed at sports and with teenage women, and that he had a deficient relationship with older men.
The psychiatrist in question was not named, which is not unusual in ethics complaints, as these are made to rectify the inappropriate conduct by the professional, without creating a public spectacle of the situation.
650,000 Bottles of Advil Recalled due to “Strong Odors”
Unclear what caused the strong odors.
Notice that your Advil pills are smellier than usual? Pfizer has recalled 650,000 bottles of Advil Ligui-Gels due to “strong odors” associated with the product. The recall was issued to distribution centers (and not retail outlets) only.
Apparently, something in the manufacturing process ”may have caused a stronger odor in the product,” according to a notice posted by the FDA. It is unclear whether the odor-affected Advil bottles have anything else wrong with them.
Maryland Court Rules That Pitbulls Are “Inherently Dangerous,” Increasing Chances of Dog-Bite Lawsuits
Maryland courts have now ruled that pit bulls are “inherently vicious” animals. This means that if an owner’s pit bull bites, causing injury, the injured person does not have to prove that the animal was dangerous – it will be presumed.
This will make it much easier for injured individuals to succeed in lawsuits involving pit bull dog bites.
Heineken Orders Recall of Beer Products Due to Broken Glass Inside Bottles
There won’t be much of a chance of smooth taste here. Heineken USA has ordered a recall of several brands of its beer products, including Dos Equis, Carta Blanca, Indio, Beers of Mexico, and Best of Mexico varieties. Apparently, there were some defects in the glass-manufacturing process (produced by a third party supplier) and detected through quality control inspections. U.S. Food Safety reports that there may be grains or particles of glass in the liquid that separated from the lip of the bottle.
Apple iPhone 4 Settlement: A Roadmap For Consumers
For purchasers of the original Apple iPhone 4 who survived “Antenna-gate,” there is good news: Apple has agreed to settle the class action brought over the poor antenna reception of the iPhone 4 and will be offering consumers a $15 cash payment or a free bumper/case to rectify the problem. Affected consumers will have four (4) months to file claims under the settlement to receive their cash payment , once Notice has been provided.
Attorney Rabeh M. A. Soofi
Phone: (213) 632-9390
Fax: (213) 986-3485
Email: rsoofi@sb-lc.com
Twitter: @rabehsoofi