Complaints/Comments Archive

LawyersandSettlements.com on Best of the Web

December 2nd, 2011. By AbiK

As we enter the holiday season and anticipate celebrations with family and friends, we also—sadly—are reminded every day of things like shopping scams, defective products, toys with lead in them—the list goes on—that attempt to tarnish everyone’s holiday spirit.

That’s why we’re dedicated to ensuring our readers have the latest legal news—emerging issues, recalls, lawsuits filed, settlement announcements—in order to make informed decisions about whatever issues they may be facing that may require legal help.

We’re proud of our 10+ years of reporting on the legal issues that can, and do, affect each of us every day—and we continue to be proud of our A+ BBB rating.

It’s in that spirit that we’re also proud to announce our inclusion in the Best of the Web directory. We’re in some pretty good company as part of the Best of the Web directory, and we’re honored to be listed among such revered sites.

Thanks to all our readers—you’re the reason we continue to strive to deliver the “best legal news you can use”.

Tags: BBB, Best of the Web Directory, lawyersandsettlements.com, Legal News
Posted in Complaints/Comments, lawsuits, Settlement | 9137No Comments »2011-12-02+19%3A59%3A21AbiK

Fracking Racking up Lawsuits (#Fracking #NIMBY)

May 23rd, 2011. By AbiK

This time we leave the Marcellus Shale region and set our sights a bit southwest, to Clinton—er, former Clinton—territory: Little Rock, AR. Seems folks there aren’t convinced that fracking’s the way to go to drill for natural gas—at least not in their backyard. Also seems like fracking’s become the NIMBY hot-button issue of the day, reminiscent of the tenor that swept the nation when the Three Mile Island core meltdown was hot and heavy in the news. NIMBY indeed.

The backyard in question here, however, happens to be government-owned land—namely the Ozark National Forest, and also Greers Ferry Lake. The plaintiffs, which are a collective of environmental groups and concerned citizens, are calling for three US government agencies (US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service and the US Army Corps of Engineers) to stop drilling operations from going forward until proper studies are done that show that fracking is not harmful to the environment.

Hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) has been getting a fair amount of attention in the press lately—thanks in large part to the work that Public Citizenand other consumer advocacy groups have been doing. The issue with fracking is that the drilling process calls for massive amounts of water combined with chemicals—chemicals that have not fully been disclosed yet to the public by the oil companies—to be forced into the ground in order to facilitate (ie, by helping to ”fracture” the underground) the release of the natural gas below.

Environmental groups, farmers and homeowners alike who live in areas where fracking is going on are concerned for the safety of their drinking water, their land—their very health. The EPA is conducting a study to assess the overall impact on water quality and human health—but those results are not available yet, and of course, there are plenty of oil-industry-backed or -initiated studies proclaiming the merits and safety of fracking. So bottom line, until the EPA study is available, anecdotal information—such as that of flammable tap water—doesn’t have too many folks grabbing a glass of their local water well’s finest with much confidence.

It’s that lack of information and lack of confidence that forms the backdrop to the current charges of the lawsuit. The plaintiffs’ allegations state that the number of wells in which drilling is already going on in the region surpasses the number that were estimated in 2005 by the BLM—and its the agencies listed as defendants in the lawsuit that are responsible for leasing the gas and issuing drilling licenses on land owned by the government. (thesuntimes.com)

Tags: Arkansas, environment, fracking, gas drilling, Greers Ferry Lake, hydraulic fracturing, Hydrofracking, Marcellus Shale, natural gas, Ozark National Forest, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service
Posted in Complaints/Comments, Environment, lawsuits | 7875No Comments »2011-05-23+21%3A45%3A53AbiK

Want a Flat Stomach? Check out my Ab Circle Pro Review…

May 19th, 2011. By AbiK

I’m gearing up—with mere weeks to go—for baring what I can this summer in a bathing suit. After 3 kids and a grand exodus out of my 20′s (alright, 30′s too), hopes for a bikini bod may be right up there with my hope to have been creator of LinkedIn (#IPO!!). Delusional I may be, but hope rings eternal and—dammit—I’m going to get into a 2-piece this summer. Won’t be a D&G string bikini—my fantasies don’t extend to role-playing Eve donning a leaf or two for coverage and my wallet, well, just doesn’t extend period—but lose the Speedo I shall. So I’m shopping for fitness equipment, and I happen upon the Ab Circle Pro. Come check it out with me…

First stop, the Ab Circle Pro website. First question? Who the hell is Audrina Patridge? Ditto Jennifer Nicole Lee. And as for Amanda Beard, well, her “before” photo has her looking a bit pregnant and my guess on how she lost that 45 lbs is it was more a result of delivering her baby vs. the Ab Circle Pro. A bit dubious. But no, I am not jaded.

So the Ab Circle Pro website is beckoning me to “take the ride of your life”. The “ride” is a get-on-all-fours on what’s basically one of those disc sled saucers—knees resting on moveable pads that can rotate around the rim of the saucer. I wanted a better view, so I hopped over to Consumer Reports Ab Circle Pro video (above)—always good for some unbiased input. And what do you know? They pretty much slam the contraption as not worth it. Hmm.

Next, my interest piqued, I decided to search for Ab Circle Pro reviews—which landed me at the mother of all marketplaces, Amazon. Here’s a little depiction of what I found there (as of 5/19/11):

Ab Circle Amazon Ratings Want a Flat Stomach? Check out my Ab Circle Pro Review...

Seems the Ab Circle Pro only got a 1-star rating by close to 50% of those who bought and tried it. And there are two interesting trends in all those reviewers comments:

1. The Ab Circle Pro is described with words like “falls apart”, “cheap construction”, “paint peeling”, “wheels come off”, “quality sucks”. Described consistently I might add. Hmm.

2. The Ab Circle Pro seems as connected to the words “injury” and “damage” as downing a daily Klondike bar is connected to keeping the pounds on. No kidding—here are some comments:

Ab Circle Pro Knee Injury: “This is an excellent piece of crap. From the time it comes to your home it keeps on injuring you…when you are using it screws your knees“

Ab Circle Pro Knee Injury: “All buyers need to be careful of this machine. It is unsafe. Depending on the level of your workouts, you can throw yourself out of the knee holders. I did this and ended up having surgery on my shoulder for a torn rotator cuff! I found out, when I called and explained the situation to the customer service rep, that I could have gel knee pads to put in the cups for an extra fee! I told them that I was injured by this machine due to not having the gel inserts and required surgery! I got them for free, and I can see why, the gel inserts are garbage! I do not use this machine anymore. It scares me! The surgery I had was the worst in pain and now my ROM is restricted. If you buy this, please be cautious as to how you use it and if you are smart, you will avoid it all together.”

Not to mention several stories from people who resorted to either Vaseline® or Pam cooking spray to lubricate the Ab Circle Pro’s parts.

I Googled Ab Circle Pro a bit more—only to find my search revealed new keyword associations like “Ab Circle Pro Back Pain Damage to Lower Spine” as the headline of a user’s comment over at Complaints Board. Which also led me to two individuals who found themselves with fractured Humerus bones, apparently compliments of that “ride” of their lives on Ab Circle Pro.

Crowning touch? The handful of folks who’ve gone as far as to suggest an Ab Circle Pro lawsuit or an Ab Circle Pro class action. Hey, wait a minute! That just might make for a story over at LawyersandSettlements.com (wink-wink)…

This is not boding well for my get-a-bikini-bod plan. Or maybe it is—keep the Speedo, get in shape the tried and true old-fashioned way with some exercise and a few less Lindt truffles—and skip risking an Ab Circle Pro injury and the aggravation of a piece of junk that falls apart. Maybe for some folks the Ab Circle Pro is the way to go, but for my pre-buy review, I think it’ll be buyer beware…

Tags: Ab Circle Pro, Ab exerciser, Amanda Beard, Amazon, Audrina Patridge, Bikini Body, Consumer Reports, Diet, Flat Stomach, Flat Tummy, Get in Shape, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Lose Weight
Posted in Complaints/Comments, Defective Products, Emerging Issues | 78291 Comment »2011-05-19+16%3A46%3A41AbiK

Announcing LawyersandSettlements.com Settlements RSS Feed

May 13th, 2011. By AbiK

A lot of our readers have been asking for this, so we’ve gone ahead and added a Settlements-only feed to our main news RSS feeds.

If you’re looking for current news and info on lawsuits, class actions, settlements, emerging issues and more, we’ve put it all at your fingertips. Check here for what you’re looking for…

Legal News However You Want It

Free Weekly Legal News and Info Newsletter

LawyersandSettlements.com Main News Feed

LawyersandSettlements.com Hot Issues News Feed

LawyersandSettlements.com Settlements News Feed

LawyersandSettlements.com Emerging Issues News Feed

Daily Legal News Updates on Twitter @OnlineLegalNews

Daily Legal News Updates on Facebook

Our Tips & Travels on Foursquare

LawyersandSettlements.com Company News & Updates on LinkedIn

Oh, and of course, if you’ve got a complaint for a lawyer to review, simply fill out a claim form here.

Tags: @OnlineLegalNews, Class Action, Emerging Issues, Facebook, Foursquare, lawsuits, LawyersandSettlements, Legal Issues, Legal News, LinkedIn, Settlements, Twitter
Posted in Class Action, Complaints/Comments, Emerging Issues, lawsuits | 7796No Comments »2011-05-13+19%3A30%3A29AbiK

Dear Chevy, Check out my HHR Key Stuck in Ignition Video!

May 6th, 2011. By LucyC

Dear Chevy,

Here’s an HHR Chevy Key Stuck in Ignition video from one of our readers, Melvin. Check it out—you can even see his fingers going white in areas from the amount of pressure he’s applying to try to get the blessed key out of the ignition. What gives?

Thanks for sharing this Melvin!

ps—if you find yourself stuck in your Chevy HHR with a problem, just grab your phone, videotape it and send it to us at Editorial@lawyersandsettlements.com …we’ll be sure to post it!