Consumer Fraud

In our consumer-based economy, working families who purchase products and services must receive truthful information so they can make meaningful choices about how to spend their hard-earned money. When financial institutions and other corporations deceive consumers or take advantage of unequal bargaining power, class action suits provide, in many instances, the only realistic means for an individual to right a corporate wrong.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s attorneys represent consumers around the country in a variety of important, complex class actions. Our attorneys have taken a leading role in many of the largest federal and state consumer fraud, environmental, human rights and public health cases throughout the U.S. The Firm is also actively involved in many cases relating to banks and the financial services industry, pursuing claims on behalf of individuals victimized by abusive telemarketing practices, abusive mortgage lending practices, market timing violations in the sale of variable annuities, and deceptive consumer credit lending practices in violation of the Truth-In-Lending Act. Below are a few representative samples of our robust, nationwide consumer practice.

  • Bank Overdraft Fees. The banking industry charges consumers exorbitant amounts for “overdraft” of their checking accounts, even if the customer did not authorize a charge beyond the available balance and even if they would not have overdrawn the account if the transactions were ordered chronologically as they occurred–that is, banks reorder transactions to maximize such fees. In fact, it is reported that Americans spent more money on bank overdraft fees than on vegetables last year. The Firm has brought lawsuits against major banks to stop this practice and recover the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in overdraft fees. We are investigating other banks that engage in this practice. Contact: Bonny Sweeney (bonnys@rgrdlaw.com).

  • In re Vertrue Sales and Marketing Practices Litigation. Telemarketing companies use a deceptive telemarketing practice they call “upselling.” In the Vertrue Sales Practices Litigation, after purchasing products (including Nad’s, vitamins, knives, Q-Ray bracelets, Edgemaster paint roller, Simoniz car washer, flowers, dance videos, AB Slider, ultrasonic toothbrushes and OxiClean) via an infomercial, consumers were told they were being sent a free 30-day trial membership in an unrelated buying club. Those consumers who did not refuse the 30-day membership were charged between $60 and $150 annually for this so-called “gift.” We have filed suit in 21 states. Contact: Chris Collins (chrisc@rgrdlaw.com).

  • CHASE Bank Home Equity Line of Credit Litigation. In October 2008, after receiving $25 billion in TARP funding to encourage lending institutions to provide businesses and consumers with access to credit, Chase Bank began unilaterally suspending its customers’ Home Equity Lines of Credit. Plaintiffs charge that Chase Bank did so using an unreliable computer model that did not reliably estimate the actual value of its customers’ homes in breach of the borrowers’ contracts. The Firm has brought a lawsuit to secure damages on behalf of borrowers whose credit lines were improperly suspended. Contact: Chris Collins (chrisc@rgrdlaw.com).

  • Pacific Gas & Electric Trespass Litigation. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s attorneys have filed suit on behalf of property owners alleging that PG&E has trespassed on their land. In short, PG&E’s has electricity easements giving them access for the purposes of building towers and stringing lines related to the transmission of electricity. PG&E has recently installed a fiber-optic telecommunications network which it has leased to telephone and Internet services, despite the fact that the electricity easements do not allow PG&E to use plaintiffs’ property to engage in general telecommunications business. Through their lawsuit, plaintiffs seek damages to compensate them for PG&E’s trespass. Contact: Chris Collins (chrisc@rgrdlaw.com).

Settlements:

  • Visa and MasterCard Fees. After years of litigation and a six-month trial, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys won one of the largest consumer-protection verdicts ever awarded in the United States. The Firm’s attorneys represented California consumers in an action against Visa and MasterCard for intentionally imposing and concealing a fee from cardholders. The court ordered Visa and MasterCard to return $800,000,000 in cardholder losses, which represented 100% of the amount illegally taken, plus 2% interest. In addition, the court ordered full disclosure of the hidden fee.

  • Drivers’ Privacy Case. In a cutting edge consumer case, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys brought a case on behalf of a half-million Florida drivers against a national bank for purchasing their private information from the state department of motor vehicles for marketing purposes. After years of litigation that included appeals to the United States Supreme Court, the Firm’s attorneys successfully negotiated a $50 million all cash settlement in this cutting-edge case involving consumer privacy rights. The published decision in Kehoe v. Fidelity Fed. Bank & Trust, 421 F.3d 1209 (S.D. Fla. 2005), cert denied, 547 U.S. 1051 (2006), one of the first opinions construing the Federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, was a victory for the Firm's clients and has been cited over 50 times by other courts since its publication in 2005.

  • Lifescan Diabetic Systems. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were responsible for achieving a $45 million all cash settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lifescan, Inc., over claims that Lifescan deceptively marketed and sold a defective blood-glucose monitoring system for diabetics. The Lifescan settlement was noted by the court as providing “exceptional results” for members of the class.

  • West Telemarketing Case. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys secured a $39 million settlement for class members caught up in a telemarketing scheme where consumers were charged for an unwanted membership program after purchasing Tae-Bo exercise videos. Under the settlement, consumers were entitled to claim between one and one-half to three times the amount of all fees they unknowingly paid.

  • Dannon Activia®. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys secured the largest ever settlement for a false advertising case involving a food product. The case alleged that Dannon’s advertising for its Activia® and DanActive® branded products and their benefits from “probiotic” bacteria were overstated. As part of the nationwide settlement, Dannon agreed to modify its advertising and establish a fund of up to $45 million to compensate consumers for their purchases of Activia® and DanActive®.

  • Out-of-Network Emergency Room Doctors. In a case that changed the way out-of-network emergency room physicians are paid by insurance carriers in Florida, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP successfully represented a class of physicians who claimed their reimbursements for emergency services were unfair. As a result of the case, these physicians were guaranteed approximately double the rate of reimbursement they received prior to the case being pursued, resulting in a recovery of nearly $20 million and important business reforms.

  • Mattel Lead Paint Toys. In 2006-2007, toy manufacturing giant, Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher-Price, announced the recall of over 14 million toys made in China due to hazardous lead and dangerous magnets. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys filed lawsuits on behalf of millions of parents and other consumers who purchased or received toys for children that were marketed as safe but were later recalled because they were dangerous. The Firm’s attorneys reached a landmark settlement for millions of dollars in refunds and lead testing reimbursements, as well as important testing requirements to ensure that Mattel’s toys are safe for consumers in the future. If you purchased or received a Mattel toy between the years 2002-2007, please visit www.MattelSettlement.com, or contact Rachel Jensen (rachelj@rgrdlaw.com).

  • Tenet Healthcare Cases. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP attorneys were co-lead counsel in a class action alleging a fraudulent scheme of corporate misconduct, resulting in the overcharging of uninsured patients by the Tenet chain of hospitals. The Firm’s attorneys represented uninsured patients of Tenet hospitals nationwide who were overcharged by Tenet’s admittedly “aggressive pricing strategy,” which resulted in price gouging of the uninsured. The case was settled with Tenet changing its practices and making refunds to patients.

Precedent-Setting Decisions