News in Brief May 17 – Southwest Airlines, Uber and More

Uber Plaintiff Disagrees with Settlement Terms

The named plaintiff in a class action against Uber has announced that he doesn’t approve of the company’s proposed $100 million settlement. Plaintiff Douglas O’Conner says that the proposed settlement is not in the best interest of any Uber driver and that it went public before he had a chance to reject it. He stated that the settlement does nothing to protect Uber employees and that the damages were improperly calculated.

Starbucks Tassimo Lawsuit – Dismissal Upheld

The Sixth Circuit has decided to uphold the dismissal of a $5 million class action claiming that Kraft Foods deceived consumers into thinking they could make Starbucks-brand coffee with their Tassimo coffeemakers. (When the business relationship between Kraft and Starbucks fell through, Starbucks coffee was no longer available for the specialized Tassimo.) The court found that, at the time of the plaintiff’s purchase, the claims made about the Tassimo were not untrue or misleading.

Judge Rules That Southwest Pilots Can Advertise Pay Grievances at Airport

An Illinois federal judge decided that Southwest Airline pilots can’t be stopped from advertising their grievances over unfair pay at Midway Airport in Chicago. Judge Virginia Kendall found that the city of Chicago couldn’t stand in the way of the pilots placing their billboard because the city has approved similar ads in the past.