Class Action Roundup – January 23

Want to know what’s been happening this week in class action news? We’ve gathered together the best links and the most recent news to bring you ClassAction.org’s latest class action roundup. Enjoy!

Everything’s Not All White: Colgate Faces Lawsuit Over Toothpaste

Colgate-Palmolive Co. have been hit with a lawsuit over the company’s whitening toothpaste after plaintiff Jacqueline Dean accused the company of false advertising. The suit, filed on January 15, claims that Colgate’s Optic White toothpaste fails to “deeply whiten” teeth as advertised. Dean apparently used the toothpaste regularly since 2013 and has failed to notice a difference so far. Read more at Legal Newsline.

United Airlines Fares Aren’t Fair

United Airlines, Inc. is facing a putative class action in Texas federal court following allegations that the company routinely violates its own “low fare guarantee” when passengers buy multiple tickets at the same time. United allegedly charges passengers more if they buy multiple tickets for the same flight at the same time compared to those who buy tickets through separate transactions. Plaintiff Scott Coulier claims that United’s website offers customers additional tickets at higher prices rather than letting customers buy lower priced seats that are available. United denies the claims. The case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Transvaginal Mesh News: Settlements and Rulings

It’s been a busy few days for vaginal mesh litigation. A federal judge in West Virginia upheld a $2 million jury verdict against C. R. Bard after the company sought a new trial. Bard claimed, among other things, that a document detailing safety concerns about a material used in the implants should not have been allowed as evidence. Judge Joseph Goodwin rejected these arguments, ruling that the document supported the plaintiff’s claims and was correctly used.

Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, has settled 111 lawsuits as part of a multidistrict litigation over the allegedly defective pelvic mesh implant ObTape. J&J asked a Georgia federal judge on Tuesday to approve the establishment of a settlement trust fund to administer the proceeds of a confidential settlement reached with more than one hundred women. Plaintiffs claimed that ObTape was defective and led to internal body tissue erosion that often required multiple surgeries to correct. The company also settled four vaginal mesh lawsuits this week.

McDonald’s Faces Civil Rights Suit for Alleged Racism, Discrimination

Is the McDonald’s Corporation responsible for the actions of its franchises? That’s one of the questions at the heart of a discrimination lawsuit filed by former McDonald’s workers in Virginia. A lawsuit was filed Thursday by nine African-American and one Hispanic worker who claimed they were: 1) fired because of their race; 2) verbally and sexually harassed; and 3) deliberately replaced with white workers after franchise owners claimed the store was “too dark.”

McDonald’s has previously distanced itself from potentially troublesome lawsuits by arguing that franchises are operated individually and the corporate office cannot be held responsible for managers’ actions – but that claim is under attack in the new lawsuit, meaning a lot of things could be about to change in the fast food world. Reuters has more on the story.

UNC Fake Classes Leads to Real Class Action

TheState.com is reporting that the University of North Carolina is facing a new class action lawsuit seeking damages for scholarship athletes caught up in a scandal concerning fake college classes. UNC, along with the NCAA, are accused of “abject failure to safeguard and provide a meaningful education” to athletes who attended UNC on sports scholarships. According to the report, “the class action lawsuit is the second filed after former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein released a report in October finding that athletes were steered to the fake classes for at least 18 years.”

Wisconsin LCD Settlement Checks Worth $500,000 Still Unclaimed

Around half a million dollars in settlement checks remain unclaimed by Wisconsin consumers who purchased LCD flat-screen televisions and other electronic devices at inflated prices, according to state officials. JSOnline.com reports that a news release circulated Wednesday is aiming to remind consumers that the deadline to claim settlement funds for overpriced Hitachi, Sharp, Samsun, LG Display and Toshiba screens is now only 90 days away and that even individuals who have since moved may still be eligible to claim part of the historic $1.1 billion settlement announced in 2002. Click here for more details.