Class Action Roundup – April 28, 2017

Black Employees’ Lawsuit Against Fox News Alleges “Abhorrent, Intolerable” Racial Discrimination

Fresh off the fallout from host Bill O’Reilly’s very public departure from the network, Fox News is now the subject of a proposed class action filed by 11 current and former employees who allege they and others were subject to “abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination.” As reported by the New York Times, the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court on April 25 expands upon a previous action filed in March. The previous filing, reports say, stemmed from accusations of particularly heinous discriminatory conduct concerning former Fox News comptroller Judith Slater, as well as the indifference of senior executives to this conduct, while at the same time noting the company’s alleged failures in handling repeated employee complaints from as far back as 2008.

“When it comes to racial discrimination, 21^st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18^th Century Fox,” plaintiffs’ lawyers scorched about Fox News’ parent company.

New York Times writer Sydney Ember has more on the troubling lawsuit over at the publication’s website.

Lawsuit Alleges Bose Headphones Spy on Users, Secretly Collect Data

Earlier this week, Fortune published a report detailing a lawsuit against audio giant Bose claiming the company uses an app to document the listening habits of headphone users and provides that data to third parties—without consent.

Filed in Chicago, the proposed class action cites alleged violations of the WireTap Act and a multitude of state privacy statutes. The suit’s plaintiff claims he downloaded the Bose Connect app—as per the company’s suggestion to “get the most out of your headphones”—which asked him to provide his name, phone number and email address. Specifically, Bose allegedly created “detailed profiles” of individuals’ listening histories and habits, Fortune writes, which were then shared unlawfully shared with marketing firms.

Some of the Bose products cited in the complaint include its QuietComfort 35, SoundSport Wireless, and SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless headphones.

Fortune’s Jeff John Roberts has more.

Consumer Lawsuit: MGM, 20^th Century Fox Owe Two More James Bond Films for Box Set

Dubbed by The Hollywood Reporter as the presumptive most entertaining class action of the year, a Washington woman claims MGM Studios and 20^th Century Fox Home Entertainment shorted consumers when they left out two James Bond films from a DVD box set. The lawsuit, which after its filing was bumped to federal court, was lodged on behalf of consumers who bought box sets purported to hold “All the Bond films gathered together for the first time.” Unfortunately, two films that hold a special esteem in the Bond timeline—1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again—were missing.

The class action cites alleged violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, as well as an ostensible breach of warranties.

Head over to HollywoodReporter.com writer Eriq Gardner’s post to learn more about the case—as well as the history of those two particular Bond films allegedly left out of the box set.

Fan Class Action Against Live Nation Wants Answers about “Postponed” Janet Jackson Tour

In the aftermath of Janet Jackson’s abrupt 2016 hiatus to start her family, for which the remaining dates of her world tour were postponed, Live Nation has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the ticket broker wasn’t entirely truthful when the company announced the tour would be rescheduled for 2017.

The fan-filed lawsuit, as reported on by Pitchfork, alleges Live Nation is “avoiding using refunds” by claiming Jackson’s Unbreakable tour is merely rescheduled rather than canceled.

Writer Matthew Strauss has the latest over at Pitchfork.com.

2014 Nissan Sentra Transmissions Are Defective, New Class Action Claims

CarComplaints.com reports Nissan is facing a class action out of New Jersey that alleges the continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) found in 2014 model Sentras are prone to shaking, jerking, and sudden downshifts. The case, filed by a garbage collection company, argues the CVT transmissions in Nissan Sentras have caused owners problems for years, and notes that transmissions found in 2007-2010 model year Sentras were already subject to a customer service warranty program.

At the heart of the suit, CarComplaints’ David A. Wood writes, is whether Nissan knew some its CVT transmissions were faulty, but still marketed them as superior to other transmissions.

Get caught up with Woods’ piece for CarComplaints.com.

Wells Fargo Tacks $32M More onto Class Action Fraud Settlement

Greensboro.com reported this week that Wells Fargo, in acknowledging its fraudulent customer account practices dated even further back (15 years or so, to May 2002) than previously realized, has agreed to fork over an additional $32 million as part of a $142 million March 28 settlement.

Framing the extra damages as a step toward healing deep customer wounds and mistrust, Wells Fargo president and top exec Tim Sloan said the settlement is “another step to make things right for our customers.”

The updated $185 million settlement figure, agreed upon back in September 2016, resolves litigation over the estimated 1.5 million possibly fraudulent accounts created by Wells Fargo employees that many believe stemmed from the banks’ gaudy and near-unreachable sales quotas.

Writer Richard Craver has all the details on Greensboro.com.

Four Plaintiffs Hit LabCorp with Class Action Over “Deceptive Trade Practice”

Individuals from New York, California, Tennessee and Maryland claim in a proposed class action against Laboratory Corporation of America—LabCorp—that it unlawfully overcharged patients for medical tests not covered by their health insurance providers. The lawsuit, covered online at TheTimesNews.com, alleges LabCorp utilizes a “double standard” through which it overcharges customers who cannot negotiate better costs. In practice, LabCorp allegedly intentionally fails to warn patients that they’ll be charged rates “that are frequently more than 10 times greater than fair-market value rates” when their insurers don’t foot the bill.

Learn more about the lawsuit and the named plaintiffs’ alleged experiences from The Times News reporter Isaac Groves.