Class Action Roundup – November 4, 2016

“Landmark” Settlement Reached in Idaho Medicaid Class Action

A years-long class action filed over cuts to service levels for Idaho residents with developmental disabilities will be put to rest following the preliminary approval of a settlement between the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) and the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A federal judge has restored almost $30 million in Medicaid funding to the state’s Adult Developmental Disability Services program, which reports say will affect an estimated 4,000 Idahoans with developmental disabilities. Though not all the details of the settlement have been hammered out, the agreement includes a makeover of the IDHW’s method of deciding individuals' service levels and new training and funding for advocates.

The exact terms of the settlement are expected to be finalized by all parties involved with the case in early January 2017.

Learn more about the wide-reaching settlement by reading George Prentice’s piece over at Boise Weekly’s website.

Class Action Goes Deep on Indianapolis Colts Over “Bugged” Fan App

The Indianapolis Colts and two technology companies were sacked with a class action out of Pennsylvania claiming the team’s fan app violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The suit alleges the team, as well as app developer Yinzacam, Inc. and ultrasonic tech company Lisnr, Inc., created an app that listens in on users’ personal phone conversations, with the collected information being used for advertising purposes. Plaintiffs say the app, by pinpointing a user’s exact location and activating his or her microphone, listens for nearby audio beacons that allows it to target specific user demographics and send out tailor-made advertisements and promotions.

Go more in-depth on the case by reading Sulina D. Gabale and Jason Gordon’s write up at TechnologyLawDispatch.com.

Settlement Might Wipe Out Wells Fargo Forced-Arbitration Policies

Reports have surfaced that Wells Fargo has been putting the finishing touches on a settlement that would stamp out a class action filed by customers in the wake of the bank’s fake accounts scandal. While the precise terms of the purported settlement are not yet clear, the deal could possibly erase the company’s arbitration policies it forces consumers to enter when they open accounts with the bank. “We are committed to making things right for customers who may have been impacted and are working hard to rebuild trust in our company,” a Wells Fargo representative said.

Check out Deon Roberts’ post on the forthcoming settlement on CharlotteObserver.com.

Nonprofit Files “Debtors’ Jail” Class Action Against City of Florissant (Missouri)

A class action filed against the city of Florissant, Missouri claims police and court authorities systematically incarcerate people, “often arbitrarily,” because they cannot pay fines for speeding tickets and other traffic violations. Filed by non-profit group ArchCity Defenders—a group that has filed similar complaints against numerous St. Louis-area towns—the lawsuit claims Florissant police and local officials run what is essentially a debtors’ prison filled with people “held indefinitely” solely because they cannot afford the cost of their own release. (You can view the complaint here.) Florissant’s debtors’ prison practices, the 51-page complaint claims, are responsible for “trapping people for years in a cycle of increased fees, debt, extortion and cruel jailings.

Dig deeper into the debtors’ prison case against Florissant by reading the article from St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Jeremy Kohl.