Class Action Roundup – March 27

Want to know what’s been going on in legal news this week? Look no further…

False “Body Slimming” Cream Refunds Will Be Sent Out Soon

L’Occitane Inc.’s Almond Beautiful Shape and Almond Shaping Delight skin creams sounded too good to be true – and that’s because they were, according to the FTC. In January 2015, the agency ruled that L’Occitane falsely advertised the products by implying that they somehow aided weight loss and found that the price tag – a whopping $48 for seven ounces of the “Delight” cream and $44 for 6.7 ounces of the “Beautiful Shape” cream – was unjustifiable. A $450,000 settlement fund was set up and, as of this week, the FTC will begin sending out more than 10,000 refund checks to customers who bought the products.

It’s not just L’Occitane that’s under fire for falsely advertising their “weight loss” products. The company, along with Sensa Products, HCG Diet Direct, and LeanSpa, was hit with a $34 million fine from the FTC for selling products, including supplements, food additives and skin products, under misleading claims.

Pregnancy Discrimination Case Brought Back to Life by Supreme Court

How far do companies have to go to accommodate pregnant workers? When Peggy Young, a UPS worker whose doctor told her to avoid heavy lifting while pregnant, sought “light duty” from the company, she was put on unpaid leave. In response, Young sued UPS in 2006 alleging that the company violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act – a federal law designed to protect women from such treatment. Disappointingly, her lawsuit was dismissed – until the Supreme Court ruled this week that the lower court had made an error when determining whether Young had been discriminated against. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that Young deserved another chance to prove UPS had acted illegally and, as the New York Times reports, UPS has even changed its own rules in the years since the initial decision.

Lumber Liquidators Faces New Federal Probe

You don’t expect your floors to be poisoning you – but news that certain Chinese-made Lumber Liquidator floors may contain toxic levels of formaldehyde has a lot of people worried. Now, the U.S. Consumer Protection Safety Commission is weighing in, announcing Wednesday that it will investigate the formaldehyde content of the flooring. Lumber Liquidators is said to be cooperating so far, although CPSC Chairman Elliot F. Kaye added that the investigation may take several months. The focus, he said, will be on the specific flooring targeted by the 60 Minutes investigation, which first brought to light the alleged problems with the imported wood. “We are taking it very seriously and moving aggressively to get the answers that consumers, especially parents of young children, deserve to have,” Kaye said.

SeaWorld’s Whale Woes

A proposed consumer class action had been filed in California against SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. accusing the company of misleading ticketholders about the conditions in which its whales are kept. The suit, filed Wednesday, claims that SeaWorld drugs its whales and forces calves away from their mothers and, if people knew about such treatment, well, they might be less likely to visit. The suit also claims that whales are kept in cramped conditions that can lead to aggression, shorten the whales’ life spans, and put other animals in danger. According to the complaint:

“The deceptive and false illusion carefully scripted by SeaWorld and created for the public has concealed not only the mistreatment of these animals, but also concealed orca behavior that evidences how their captivity at SeaWorld is harmful to their welfare.”

This isn’t the first time SeaWorld has faced intense criticism. A documentary released last year, “Blackfish,” brought to light the treatment of whales and other marine animals kept at the park and led to falling share prices and a decline in visitors. In responding to the lawsuit, however, SeaWorld accused the documentary maker, John Hargrove, of manufacturing publicity to support his newly published book, which is critical of the company and came out earlier this week. Suspicious or coincidence? That remains to be seen.

California recently proposed a ban on all orca entertainment shows, although the ban has been put on hold while additional investigations are carried out by the California Assembly.

Annoyed About Hotel Fees? Lawsuit Hits Back

We reported recently that some hotels have been illegally jamming their customers’ personal W-Fi. New technology will always make companies more vulnerable to lawsuits, but the idea that a company would actually block a paid service in order to promote their own costly alternative is bold, to say the least. Hotels have always been good at finding new things to charge their customers for, whether it’s a $5 bottle of water from the mini-bar or a $15 omelet that’s cold when it gets to your room. One man, Benjamin Brin, has had enough of undisclosed fees and has filed a class action lawsuit against the Palazzo hotel in Las Vegas. According to the suit, Brin stayed at the hotel last year and, after three days, found he owed $84 in “resort fees.” As the International Business Times reports, the number of hotels charging mandatory fees has doubled since 2012 and, in the lawsuit, Brin asserts that advertised prices no longer match the actual price of spending the night. The FTC seems to agree with Brin, pointing out that back in 2012, hotels risked deceiving customers if the prices on their websites failed to reflect actual costs.

The Palazzo has not yet responded to the lawsuit.