News in Brief September 29 – Uber, Samsung and More

Uber Faces Class Action Over More TCPA Text Message Violations

Uber is once against the target of class action litigation over its alleged practice of sending unsolicited text messages to consumers’ cell phones using an automatic dialing system, a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Filed in California, this new suit claims the company “engages in mass marketing and solicitation of their driving service” to individuals who have never used Uber using sophisticated platforms that send texts “en masse” to consumers, the majority of whom never consented to receive the messages. The case comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed in May 2016 against the ride-sharing service alleging it sent unwarranted text messages to potential drivers about possible employment opportunities.

Samsung, CPSC in “Active Discussions” Over Dangerous Top-Load Washing Machines

In the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 battery combustion fiasco, Samsung and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are working in tandem to try and rectify allegedly explosion-prone top-load washing machines made between March 2011 and April 2016. “The CPSC and Samsung are working on a remedy for affected consumers that will help insure there are no further incidents,” the CPSC said this week. Discussions between the two entities were sparked by a putative class action filed in Indiana in March 2016 saying Samsung knowingly sold defective top-load washing machines that could spontaneously explode and were prone to “catastrophic failure.” The CPSC has urged consumers to report any issues they’ve experience with their Samsung top-load washers at www.SaferProducts.gov.

Former USC Football Player Leads Putative Class in NCAA Suit Seeking Unpaid Wages

A putative class action has been filed by a former University of Southern California football player claiming the NCAA and Pac-12 conference violated both the FLSA and California labor statues by preventing athletes from being paid. The linebacker, who was an active USC player from June 2011 through December 2015, claims football players and other college athletes are owed at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked. According to the complaint, student athletes should be classified as workers due to the demanding regulations wielded by the NCAA—a more than $6 billion per year business—and Pac-12 over players’ on- and off-field conduct, which include rules that govern academic performance benchmarks and ban payment for their services. “Not a single dollar of that enormous revenue would exist if it were not for the efforts of the athletes themselves,” the complaint notes.

Ex-Inmates Sue Private Prison Corp. GEO Group Over “Misplaced” Personal Data

A new class action filed against GEO Group alleges the private prison corporation is responsible for “misplacing” sensitive personal information of hundreds of current and former inmates. The lost data, which includes first and last names, medical symptoms and diagnoses and prescribed medications, the complaint claims, was kept on a standard USB hard drive that was “negligently misplaced” in May 2016. This latest suit against GEO Group, which operates more than 100 prisons around the world, comes on the heels of a recent US Department of Justice decree vowing to put an end to the use of private prisons.