Class Action Roundup - December 11

Designer shoes, food companies and United Airlines all made the headlines recently. Read on to find out more about what happened this week in class action news.

DSW Faces False Advertising Claims

Shoe retailer Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) was hit with a proposed class action last Friday. The lawsuit says that DSW has been taking advantage of customers by misleading them about how much they’re saving while shopping. “Compare at” pricing is supposed to show how much money a product used to be sold for, allowing the customer to see how much they saved at the current price. DSW allegedly violated terms associated with such advertising by never selling or intending to sell their products at the “compare at” price. The plaintiffs in this case claim that DSW led them to believe that the comparison prices were legitimate and that they were saving money compared to the previous prices. At the end of the transaction, the store would even print how much customers “saved” on their receipts, furthering claims that DSW violated California False Advertising Law, as well as California’s Business and Professions Code.

DSW isn’t the first company to come under scrutiny for false advertising claims. Michael Kors reached a $4.9 million settlement last year after they were hit with a similar class action over deceptive marketing practices. Check out our settlements page if you think you may be a class member in the Kors settlement.

Farm Fresh Delivers, But No One Asked Them To

It’s always fun to get a package delivered when you forgot you ordered it – it’s like a birthday present from the past. But, according to a new class action, Farm Fresh to You, an organic produce delivery service, charged for unrequested deliveries. It’s not as fun when you get something you didn’t want, and even less so when you still have to pay for it. The plaintiff claimed that the company billed him and others who didn’t intend to sign up for the monthly delivery service or that they had cancelled the service, but still received packages of produce on their doorsteps. The suit reached a settlement last week, with Farm Fresh to You shelling out $3.9 million to resolve the allegations. $365,000 of the settlement fund will cover two free deliveries worth up to $70 for more than 49,000 class members.

United Avoids a Potential Class Action

A proposed class against United Airlines was denied by a New Jersey federal judge last Tuesday. The plaintiff claimed that United deceived customers by not disclosing that in-flight DirecTV and Wi-Fi services are only available within the continental United States. Allegedly, the plaintiff was only able to use the DirecTV service she had purchased for 10 minutes during a four-hour flight. United said they provided a full disclosure about the issue on both their website and the seat-back screens on international flights – but the plaintiff claims that they did no such thing and that the airline breached its contract to its passengers. The judge found that the claims the plaintiff argued were preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act and that the airline acted just as they had promised. So, remember to bring a book if you are traveling internationally anytime soon.

Safeway Settles Breach of Contract Allegations

Safeway agreed to a $4.9 million judgement last Monday after a breach of contract class action claimed that the supermarket was overcharging for its online orders. The grocer allegedly added an additional ten percent increase to most of its products while advertising that the prices would be the same as what they charged in store. The settlement will allow class members to recover the cost of markup prices on products purchased online between April 2010 and December 2012. A separate motion found that the company was not liable for customers who ordered online prior to 2006 since the service was run by a third-party vendor at that time. Unless Safeway chooses to pursue an appeal, they will have to go through with the settlement.

McDonald’s Reaches Workers’ Wage Settlement

A class of McDonald’s employees are set to receive compensation after the fast food restaurant settled claims that it failed to properly pay for the time and cost associated with cleaning work uniforms. McDonald’s policy required employees to keep their mandated uniforms in good condition, but failed to provide payments for maintenance, as well as compensation for the time spent keeping the uniforms up to snuff. In its own defense, McDonald’s argued that it didn’t owe workers any sort of payment for uniform maintenance because it provided a sufficient number of uniforms that could be washed with other clothes. They still deny liability, but saw the settlement as the best way to put an end to the lawsuit. In the end, a group of non-managerial restaurant staff in New York are eligible to receive part of the $1.5 million settlement.