News in Brief October 19 – Advil, Dreamworks, Domino's and More

Pfizer Cut Some Slack, Advil “Slack Fill” Suit Dismissed

A class action lawsuit filed against Pfizer alleging the pharma company included excessive amounts of “slack fill” (empty space) in bottles of Advil has been thrown out by a New York federal judge. The 2015 case claimed Pfizer tricked consumers into believing larger Advil bottles would contain more pills, but instead had large amounts of “slack fill” space. The judge overseeing the suit ruled that the plaintiffs’ suit lacked standing because every Advil bottle’s label displays a “clear and unambiguous” pill count, which would not deceive a reasonable consumer. “The suggestion that such [consumer protection] laws should cover [the plaintiffs’] failure to read an unambiguous tablet-count does not pass the proverbial laugh test,” the judge said.

$50M Settlement Will End Dreamworks Employee Poaching Suit

Dreamworks Animation will settle a class action claiming it entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” with other animation studios not to poach each other’s employees. The $50 million settlement comes after other studios paid up to squash similar lawsuits filed by animators who alleged the illegal arrangement reportedly suppressed animators’ salaries and violated antitrust regulations. Filed in 2015, the suit named Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, and LucasFilm Ltd., among others.

Chicago Police Overtime Pay Case Settles for Almost $1 Million

Chicago will pay a $931,152 settlement to a class of police officers who alleged the city worked with the Fraternal Order of Police to not retroactively apply newly negotiated higher wages to overtime pay. The deal reportedly covers all police below the rank of sergeant whose retroactive pay increases did not take affect for overtime hours worked from 2012 through 2013. “I can only guess that the city of Chicago and the union weren’t aware of the law on the subject,” the judge overseeing the case said, “so they entered into an agreement that, in hindsight, they shouldn’t have entered into.” At this time, the city is entangled in a separate overtime pay lawsuit that could reportedly add up to $135 million in unpaid overtime for Chicago police officers.

$750k Settlement Will End Four Domino’s Class Actions

Four class action lawsuits alleging a Massachusetts Domino’s franchisee violated state labor laws by pocketing delivery fees will be settled for $750,000. Filed against PMLRA Pizza, AM Pizza Inc. and their owner, the lawsuits claimed that delivery fees should have gone to drivers and that a reasonable pizza consumer would surmise the charges were actually the drivers’ tips. The suit also alleged the franchisee broke state labor laws by failing to pay drivers the normal minimum wage, as opposed to the tipped minimum wage, when asked to do non-delivery-related tasks.

Air Bag Electrical Problems Responsible for Recall of 84k Hyundai Vehicles

Hyundai has pulled more than 84,000 2010-2016 Genesis model vehicles over concerns that faulty electrical components could cause air bags to incorrectly deploy in an accident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced yesterday. According to reports, the cars came with an occupational classification system used by the vehicle to determine if the front seat is occupied and if the passenger is an adult. The South Korean car company said the system’s electrical harness connector could come loose “when the seat is moved while objects on the floor come into contact with the component,” which might result in only the first step of the vehicles’ two-step air bag to deploy.