News in Brief May 16 – Sallie Mae, SeaWorld and More

SeaWorld Whale Abuse Suit Dismissed

California federal judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo has dismissed a proposed class action against SeaWorld. The lawsuit claimed that consumers wouldn’t have bought tickets to the park if they had known about SeaWorld’s alleged mistreatment of orca whales. Bencivengo determined that there was not enough evidence to prove that SeaWorld deceived the public about the conditions the whales were kept in.

JPMorgan Avoids Potential Class Action over Attorney’s Fees

A proposed class action claiming that JPMorgan Chase Bank illegally split attorney’s fees with non-lawyers was dismissed from New York federal court on Friday. Judge Paul A. Crotty approved the bank’s request for summary judgement, claiming that the action lacked jurisdiction since the plaintiff didn’t make any payments into the attorney’s fees.

Sallie Mae Accused of Knowing Culinary Students Couldn’t Repay Loans

Former students are trying to revive a class action against Sallie Mae. The students are emphasizing claims that the loan service knew that low-income culinary students wouldn’t make enough as chefs to repay high-interest loans.

Kmart Settles Data Breach Lawsuit

Kmart has agreed to settle claims that it failed to update its network security measures – allowing for a 2014 data breach to take place. The lawsuit was brought by a group of financial institutions who were looking to compensate bank customers who made purchases at Kmart stores during the time period affected by the breach. The details of the settlement have not yet been made public.