News in Brief June 17 – MillerCoors, Harlequin Books and More

MillerCoors “Craft Brewed” Lawsuit Dismissed

A proposed class action claiming that MillerCoors tricked its customers into thinking its Blue Moon beer was “craft brewed” was dismissed on Thursday. According to the lawsuit, Blue Moon was advertised in a way that made people think it was an independent microbrew. The suit was dismissed when Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel found that the plaintiff failed to show how MillerCoors and Blue Moon Brewing Co. misrepresented the product.

Fannie Mae Accused of Making Illegal Credit Inquiries

Fannie Mae has been hit with a proposed class action claiming that it made untimely inquiries into consumers’ credit. Plaintiff Grant D. Bailey claims that even after he filed for bankruptcy and discharged his debt to Fannie Mae, the company checked up on his credit without authorization – in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Harlequin Sued For Denying Authors’ Royalties

Harlequin Enterprises has agreed to pay $4.1 million to settle claims that it cheated authors out of the royalties for their work. The suit claimed Harlequin used some contract trickery and a Swiss subsidiary to avoid giving authors the 50 percent of the publisher’s licensing proceeds that they had agreed on. Reportedly, the settlement would cover close to 75 percent of what the actual damages were believed to be.