News in Brief April 14 – FedEx, TurboTax and More

FedEx Driver Settlement Granted Conditional Approval

A California federal judge has approved FedEx’s $226 million settlement with its drivers, so long as the drivers’ attorneys make “all reasonable efforts” to find class members who have not yet submitted claim forms. The lawsuit claimed that FedEx misclassified its drivers as independent contractors, depriving them of overtime and other employee benefits. The settlement is open to a class of 2,016 FedEx drivers and is expected to award each class member $112,000 on average.

Tanning Supply Company Hit with FTC Lawsuit

Tanning supply company Mercola.com LLC allegedly claimed that indoor tanning isn’t linked to skin cancer, but a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission says otherwise. The lawsuit claims that Mercola made misleading and deceitful claims about the effects of indoor tanning, including stating that the Food and Drug Administration verified that indoor tanning devices are safe (they didn’t). In reality, the FDA increased its warnings on indoor tanning in 2014.

Lawsuit Claims TurboTax Violates Consumer Protection Law

Just in time for Tax Day, a lawsuit filed on Tuesday claims that Intuit Inc., which makes TurboTax, is using its terms and conditions to protect itself from any liability associated with its software and, in turn, violating state consumer protection laws. According to the lawsuit, there’s a clause in TurboTax’s terms and conditions that says Intuit isn’t responsible if users are harmed by computer viruses, data breaches or theft. The complaint claims that the clause violates New Jersey’s Truth-In-Consumer, Warranty and Notice Act.

Workers Losing Grasp on Allstate Class Action

Two classes in a California case claiming that Allstate failed to properly pay insurance adjusters and provide them with accurate wage statements were decertified on Wednesday. Judge John Shepard Wiley found that the statistical sampling provided by the plaintiff was unreliable and the sample size recommended by the statistician would have the trial going on for months.