Class Action Roundup – ‘Free Cruise’ Robocalls, Poland Spring and More [UPDATE]

Alas, we’ve entered the summer’s home stretch. Break’s over! Back to work! (Back to school, too!) As always, we have a lot of big items to cover.

“Free Cruise” Robocall Settlement: Here’s What You Need to Know

So…that settlement you’ve seen on the news saying you could get $900 for robocalls offering a “free cruise trip?”

Yes, it’s legitimate.

Resort Marketing Group, which boasts Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line among those under its tutelage, has settled a class action that claimed the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) with its nuisance auto-dialed telemarketing calls to consumers.

Here’s what’s important:

If you want to learn more, Fortune writer Jennifer Calfas has a write up of the settlement over at the publication’s website.

Class Action Case Slams Poland Spring as ‘Colossal Fraud,’ Alleges Consumers Get Groundwater Instead of Spring Water [UPDATE]

There’s a certain kind of poetry to when a proposed class action can sum up the entirety of its allegations in a single sentence. Which brings us to a case filed against Nestle alleging it has, for years, lied to consumers about the source of its Poland Spring bottled water.

“Not one drop of Poland Spring Water emanates from a water source that complies with the Food and Drug Administration definition of ‘spring water’,” the case reads, before going on to allege the actual Poland Spring in Poland Spring, Maine “ran dry nearly 50 years ago.”

Detailed by the Washington Post, the lawsuit out of Connecticut against Nestle Waters North America, Inc. cites an alleged absence of “any historical evidence for six of [Nestle’s] alleged springs,” and claims two of the company’s springs no longer exist. The case also takes issue with the labeling found on Poland Spring bottles, which show “pristine” scenes of flowing water that the lawsuit wages hide the fact that “the vast bulk of the water is drawn from wells in low-lying populated areas near potential sources of contamination.”

Now, none of this is to say spring water literally must be collected from a spring. It’s important to note that FDA regulations say spring water must come from an underground source and flow naturally to the earth’s surface, the Post wrote, a point in which Nestle Waters North America is planting its stake in denying the suit’s allegations.

The worst part, though? According to the lawsuit, Nestle’s six groundwater collection sites in Maine are allegedly “near a present or former human waste dump, landfill, fish hatchery or toxic petroleum dump site.”

Washington Post writer Abha Bhattarai notes in her write up of the case that sales of bottled water have spiked in recent years, ballooning by as much as 10 percent in 2016 alone, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation.

Attention TD Bank Penny Arcade Customers: Now’s the Time to File a Claim

The time has come for consumers who used TD Bank’s now-defunct Penny Arcades within the last seven years to file a claim for part of the bank’s $7.5 million class action-ending settlement. Between August 28 and October 27, 2017, consumers can either print or submit a claim through the official settlement website, or request a form by mail by calling 855-312-1974.

This settlement is different from others in that options exist for TD Bank customers that are not available to those without TD Bank accounts. Customers with accounts do not need to take action and will be paid automatically, NJ.com writes. Individuals without TB Bank accounts must submit a claim through the avenues detailed above.

Now for the bad news.

According to the calculations agreed upon between TD Bank and plaintiffs’ attorneys, consumers can figure out how much they may be owed by multiplying the total amount obtained from the Penny Arcades by .26 percent, meaning claimants will get 26 cents per $100 counted in the machines.

Writer Rebecca Everett has a helpful explainer over at NJ.com.

Showtime to Spar with Consumers in Class Action Over McGregor-Mayweather Pay-Per-View Outages

The biggest to-do in the sports world over the last few weeks has undoubtedly been the “boxing” match held last Saturday night in Las Vegas between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Irish MMA superstar Conor McGregor. Now, Showtime, which charged a $99 premium for the Pay-Per-View event, is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit filed by consumers whose evening was allegedly marred by HD streaming issues, including, as Hollywood Reporter writes, “grainy video, error screens, buffer events, and stalls.”

Alleging unlawful trade practices and unjust enrichment, the lawsuit, chock full of blurry screenshots and tweets from other frustrated streamers, claims Showtime made its streaming service available to consumers without first ensuring it had the necessary bandwidth to handle scores of high-definition streams. Further still, the case argues Showtime unlawfully rolled out an “underpowered service” while failing to disclose it could not provide the quality of HD video the company promised.

(Update: Deadline reports Showtime has said it will issue full refunds to consumers who bought the fight directly from the company who were unable to watch the broadcast.)

Check out Ashley Cullins’ post on the lawsuit over at The Hollywood Reporter.

While we’re on the topic . . .

CA Judge Tosses Class Action Filed Over 2015 Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight

A proposed class action filed in the wake of a May 2015 bout between Mayweather Jr. and fellow aged boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has been thrown out by a federal judge in California, ESPN reports, citing the Associated Press. The case was filed after some pay-per-view customers (and, no doubt, gamblers) felt Pacquiao was not upfront about his health status prior to the fight, namely that the Filipino boxer intentionally did not disclose he was suffering from a shoulder injury until roughly three hours before the match.

Despite tossing the case, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, of Los Angeles, did extend sympathy to boxing fans nationwide who felt duped, but stated in his decision that the fans still—technically—got what they paid for.

“Plaintiffs had no legally protected interest or right to see an exciting fight, a fight between two totally healthy and fully prepared boxers, or a fight that lived up to the significant pre-fight hype,” Judge Klausner wrote, adding that allowing the class action to proceed “could destroy the very thing that makes sports fandom so special.”

Mayweather won the fight via decision after 12 rounds. Head over to ESPN.com for the full scoop.

Apple Dodges Lawsuit Claiming It’s Responsible for Texting-While-Driving Accidents

A lawsuit filed against Apple in the wake of the 2013 death of a young man killed by an individual who was texting while driving has been thrown out with prejudice by a California judge. 9 to 5 Mac reports Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Maureen A. Folan tossed the case due in part to a ruling from 2016 that said it was “unreasonable” to assume Apple was “actually responsible for the ultimate harm.” The 2013 lawsuit sought to hold Apple accountable for failing to roll out a lockout system to prevent texting while driving.

A similar class action, arguing Apple put profits before safety by failing to implement a texting-while-driving lockout system for its phones, was filed against the company in early 2017 and is still pending.

9 to 5 Mac’s Chance Miller has the latest.

Another One from the “Tossed” Folder: Class Action Over Zillow’s Home Value “Zestimates” Thrown Out

Consumerist writes a months-old proposed class action filed against online real estate database Zillow over its allegedly inaccurate and harmful “Zestimate” home value estimating tool has been thrown out. According to U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve’s ruling, Zillow’s Zestimates are merely a starting point for consumers looking to buy a home and not likely to confuse buyers conducting research.

“Outside of conclusory claims, viewing the allegations in the light more favorable to [the plaintiffs], they do not plead sufficient facts to plausibly claim that Zestimates cause consumers to avoid plaintiffs’ properties to the extent that plaintiffs cannot sell their homes at their true market value,” Judge St. Eve said. “Accordingly, even if Zestimates were likely to confuse consumers—which they are not—plaintiffs’ [Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act] claim based on the confusion of others still fails. Their prospect of future harm based on marketplace confusion is too speculative.”

The case argued Zestimates caused home sellers and builders economic harm because properties were listed at values lower than asking prices. On top of this, the lawsuit took a shot at Zillow itself, claiming the company’s Zestimates algorithm was fraudulent since Zillow is not a licensed real estate appraiser and therefore prohibited from producing appraisals under Illinois law.

Consumerist’s Ashley Kieler has a complete write up of the ruling.

Sony Xperia Owners Could Recover Half the Cost of Non-Water-Resistant Devices

A preliminary settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed against Sony Mobile Communications over allegations that the company’s Xperia smartphones and tablets, despite advertising and marketing claims, are not waterproof. Twenty-four Xperia phone and tablet models sold nationwide are covered by the agreement, which could see owners who filed water damage claims recoup up to 50 percent of the cost of their devices.

As Gizmodo noted, Sony’s television ads showing people taking underwater photos with their devices—which, admittedly, are lost in the smartphone shuffle between Apple and Android here in the U.S.—more or less left out the fact that the Xperia devices were only certified to resist certain types of water exposure, not among them full submersion in bodies of water.

Gizmodo’s Sam Rutherford has a full list of covered Xperia devices over at the publication’s website.