Cases of Note

  Monday’s Supreme Court showdown in  NetChoice v. Paxton  and  Moody v. NetChoice  will determine whether states can forbid social media companies from blocking or removing user content that goes against platform rules. The state laws at issue also allow individuals to sue tech companies for alleged violations. The Florida and Texas laws are loosely written, but officials from both states say the laws will keep social media sites from unfairly muting conservatives and others. Social media platforms have insisted for years that they don’t discriminate against right-wing speech. Signed in 2021 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s  SB 7072  prohibits tech platforms from suspending or banning the accounts of political candidates in the state, with violations carrying steep possible fines of up to $250,000 per day. It also allows individual social media users to sue platforms if they believe they have been unfairly censored or “deplatformed.” The Texas law, signed in 2021 by Gov. Greg Abbott, m

Feb. 6, 2024 -- For many legitimate reasons, social media is often high on a parent's list of digital concerns. From online predators to privacy, there's genuinely a lot of questionable; stuff for children and teens to navigate. Enjoying social media wisely can also give kids a sense of connection, fun, and creativity. If a caregiver is involved in a kid's digital life, it prepares them for how to handle negative online situations. Talks about protecting privacy and being kind can go a long way toward a more positive social media experience. And if kids can avoid endless scrolling and comparing themselves to others, and instead focus on friendship and creativity, it may actually give them a boost instead of being a downer. Recently, U.S. lawmakers have accused Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and four other big tech bosses of having "blood on (their) hands"; allegations have surfaced that up to 100,000 children a day using Facebook and Instagram in 2022 were exposed to

Your Rights in the Workplace: Minimum Wage and Overtime Rules The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Overtime pays at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.  What is the minimum wage? The current federal standard for covered nonexempt workers being entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Additionally, most states have their own minimum wage laws that require a higher rate of pay. For example, the minimum wage in Illinois is $13.00 per hour in 2023. Employers must pay whichever minimum wage rate is higher. To find out the minimum wages in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, go to the DOL website . and select your state from the list. You can also contact your state labor department for inf

Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors America will compensate owners' theft-related vehicle losses. Case Summary Kia and Hyundai thefts skyrocketed because a viral TikTok video in the summer of 2022 showed people how to steal the cars with just a USB cable and screwdriver. And while the manufacturers made a software update available to owners, there was not a mandatory recall of any make and model related to this issue. Also, the update was only effective when the vehicle alarm is armed. The law firm Hagens Berman brought a national class-action lawsuit on behalf of the owners of affected vehicles in August 2022, and reached a proposed settlement in May of 2023 that covered roughly 8 million vehicles and is valued at more than $200 million.  Since May 2023, the companies worked with law enforcement agencies to provide more than 26,000 steering wheel locks to 77 law enforcement agencies in 12 states. The class action was enjoined by Governmental Entities and Insurers and sought relief for t

Update In an Antitrust Deal with States Google will pay $700 million and allow app makers to collect payments directly from consumers in a settlement it hopes will help resolve other legal challenges. Google deal is the result of an antitrust suit brought by state attorneys general, in the company’s latest move to navigate increased regulatory scrutiny of its power. The suit, brought in July 2021, alleged Google’s app store of abusing its market power and forcing aggressive terms on software developers. The tech giant is facing several antitrust challenges in the United States, including a trial in which the federal government claims Google has abused its dominance in online search. In its announcement on Dec. 18, Google said it would now allow apps to charge consumers directly rather than having to charge through Google. The company will pay $630 million to create a settlement fund for consumers, as well as pay $70 million into a fund to be used by the states. To highlight the choice

  Cassie Ventura, Sean 'Diddy' Combs attends Los Angeles Premiere of CANT STOP WONT STOP: A BAD BOY STORY on June 21, 2017, Beverly Hills, CA. — Photo by info@photographybyeugene.com Case Summary R&B singer, Cassie Ventura, better known by the stage name Cassie, had filed her blockbuster lawsuit in federal court against the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs only a day before Combs, a rapper and producer, paid her to drop the suit. In her complaint, Ventura described a pattern of coercive control, abuse, drugging and sexual violence perpetrated against her by Combs throughout their more than 11-year relationship, which began in 2007, when Cassie was 21 and had signed to the 37-year-old Combs’ Bad Boy Records, and ended in 2019. The suit alleged Combs brought the singer into his "ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle" soon after she met him and signed to his label in 2005, when she was 19 and he was 37. Ventura said Combs, now 54, began a pattern of abuse as so

Case Summary October 24, 2023 --The Federal Trade Commission or  FTC and the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a $1.1 million settlement with a group of Wisconsin auto dealers for allegedly charging customers illegal junk fees and unlawfully discriminating against American Indian customers. The complaint was pursued under the FTC Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Wisconsin Deceptive Trade Practices Act , and the Wisconsin Consumer Act alleging that the defendants deceived customers into paying junk fees by charging for additional "add-on" services and products without customers' consent. The complaint further alleges that the defendants misled customers into thinking the add-on services were mandatory. The defendants also engaged in unlawful discrimination by charging American Indian customers higher fees and financing costs. American Indian customers were charged junk fees at a higher rate than non-Latino White customers. On average Am