News in Brief March 30 – Dave & Buster's, Volkswagen and More

It’s Wednesday March 30^th and this is the news. Today, we have some narrowly escaped background check and wage and hour lawsuits, an affirmed pelvic mesh judgment and a popular car-maker accused of lying.

Gawker Gets Out of Lawsuit with Interns

A proposed class action claiming that Gawker Media illegally failed to pay its interns was dismissed from New York federal court on Tuesday. The judge found that Gawker didn’t violate the Fair Labor Standards Act because the interns gained valuable experience that overshadowed the benefits the internship program brought to the company.

Dave & Buster’s Escapes Background Check Lawsuit

On Tuesday, Dave & Buster’s avoided a proposed class action claiming that it made employment decisions based on information contained in background checks without informing applicants of the results. The case, which was brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, were dismissed with prejudice when the judge found that the plaintiff had no standing to bring the claims because D&B didn’t obtain or use any consumer reports when it chose not to hire him.

FTC Says Volkswagen Should Pay For Lying About Clean Diesel

The Federal Trade Commission has accused Volkswagen of causing billions of dollars in damage by deceiving consumers with its “clean diesel” ad campaign. According to the lawsuit, Volkswagen tricked consumers into buying vehicles that were designed to cheat standard emissions testing and should be required to compensate every U.S. consumer who bought or leased an affected vehicle.

Johnson & Johnson Transvaginal Mesh Judgment Affirmed

An appeals court has affirmed an $11.1 million judgment in a transvaginal mesh bellwether case against Johnson & Johnson that claimed the product caused unbearable nerve pain. In the case, the jury found that Ethicon (J&J’s subsidiary) failed to disclose all of the risks involved with using its Gynecare Prolift mesh product and that stronger warnings might have prevented the injuries.