Settlement Archive
Tagged.com agrees to pay up
November 10th, 2009. By AbiK
It’s really a small price to pay, but Tagged.com has agreed to settle—to the tune of $750k—with both New York state and Texas after both states charged the social networking site with using less than scrupulous tactics to try and build their user base.
If you recall—and we covered the drama on LawyersAndSettlements.com—Tagged.com was basically snagging users’ email lists and sending out “invitations” to those email addresses. The catch was that the invitations asked recipients to view private photos that the Tagged.com member wanted to share. Unfortunately, the Tagged.com member didn’t want to share any photos, and they had no clue that Tagged.com was going out and sending these emails to their entire personal email contact list.
For those who clicked through the invitation in hopes of finding those private photos, the only thing they really found was a ploy to get them to become Tagged.com members as well. Not cool.
So New York (specifically state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo) and Texas went after Tagged.com and now there’s an agreement to settle.
Of course, Tagged.com admits no wrongdoing. But they are going to pay $500,000 to New York and $250,000 to Texas. Along with paying these penalties, the Associated Press reports that Tagged.com will “not access contacts or send messages without the member’s informed permission” and it will “also provide clear and conspicuous disclosures”.
Vytorin Zetia Settlement…What’s in it for You?
November 6th, 2009. By AbiK
LawyersAndSettlements.com reported a while ago (Aug. 5th precisely) about the proposed class action settlement in the Vytorin-Zetia case against Merck and Schering-Plough.
At the heart of this case are claims that Vytorin and Zetia were marketed as being more effective than other anti-cholesteral drugs on the market (namely, those drugs in the class known as statins)—and that Vytorin and Zetia were sold at higher prices even though there wasn’t really evidence that they were more effective than less-expensive anti-cholesterol drugs.
For consumers—aka the “Consumer Class” of the Vytorin/Zetia settlement, it means that if you were taking either of these drugs and either paid or were obligated to pay for them between November 1, 2002 and September 17, 2009, you may be eligible to participate in this settlement. Translation: you may be able to get some money back on your purchases as a result of this settlement.
How much money?—it’s the number one question we always get about settlements. Well, as
16 Days to File for Bextra, Celebrex Settlement
October 7th, 2009. By AbiK
I can’t get that Tai-Chi woman out of my head from the initial Celebrex ads way back when–remember those ads? Regardless, if you were buying Celebrex (or Bextra) back then, just a reminder…the deadline to file a claim (or opposition) for the Pfizer Bextra and Celebrex Settlement is October 23, 2009…16 days from now.
What’s the Bextra & Celebrex Settlement about?
The lawsuit claimed that Pfizer marketed Bextra and Celebrex as having more benefit than non-selective Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen (that you can find on drugstore and grocery store shelves), when such benefits had not been established. Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that Pfizer’s marketing of Bextra and Celebrex was inconsistent with their FDA-approved labels, and that these false marketing tactics made consumers pay more for Bextra and Celebrex than they might have been able to pay for OTC NSAIDs, or no medication at all.
The Bextra/Celebrex Settlement is $89 million, and will be paid out in the following manner: 70% to Third-Party Payors, and 30% to consumers.
Does the Bextra & Celebrex Settlement affect you?
If you paid for a Bextra or Celebrex prescription on or before July 29, 2005, you may be part of the class and eligible to file a claim.
CIGNA LINA disability screw-up nets $600k Settlement in California
October 7th, 2009. By AbiK
I may not agree with Steve Poizner on his views of California labor law, but when he gets it right on other things, I give him his due. The recent bad faith insurance settlement that the California Insurance Commissioner announced with Life Insurance Company of North America (aka LINA, and part of CIGNA) is one such time when he got it right. Here’s the general play by play…(click to end of post to find out if you qualify)
1. LINA Denies Disability Insurance Claims
During the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007, LINA improperly handled disability insurance claims in violation of California state laws. Translation: folks filing for disability insurance during that time were denied benefits that they may have actually been eligible for…they got screwed.
2. California Department of Insurance Investigates LINA
This is where Poizner’s team comes into play. The CDI conducted an on-site examination of how LINA processed claims. That’s when the “gotcha!” moment occurred. Seems in some instances
$150M Zurich Insurer Settlement…by the numbers
September 11th, 2009. By AbiK
Here’s the down and dirty on the insurer price fixing class action settlement imposed on Zurich Financial Services and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.—the settlement was upheld on Tuesday after going through an appeal process stemming from the original 2006 settlement ruling. The upheld settlement was reported on in the NJ Law Journal.
[By the way, if you want to read about Zurich's history with price fixing, see previous Zurich articles here]
Settlement Amount:
$150 million, plus $29.9 million in legal fees and costs, paid by the insurance companies as follows:
$122 million to be paid by Zurich Financial Services
$28 million to be paid by Gallagher & Co.
$29.9 million to be paid separately by Zurich to plaintiffs’ lawyers
Who Gets the Settlement Money:
3.79 million potential class members–maybe more, according to estimates
How’s the Settlement Money’s Divided:
51.7% goes to Zurich policyholders who bought excess casualty insurance from 2001 to 2004
33.9% to policyholders who bought other lines of insurance or excess policies at other times
9% to non-policyholders who were affected by the alleged wrongdoing
States party to the Settlement Agreement:
10…California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
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