Posts from 2017.

Kids’ privacy and safety may be jeopardized by toys that connect to the internet. Parents should pay attention to toys with speech recognition, GPS, microphone, camera, or data storage capabilities. Such devices may ask for a child’s name, age, address, phone number, or other personal information. This is information parents may not want in the hands of an unscrupulous hacker, if it is intercepted or otherwise obtained.

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The number of data breaches occurring in the United States has privacy advocates watching new privacy laws that will soon take effect in European Union (“EU”) countries.

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I recently visited a small coffee shop and glanced at my phone while waiting for a friend to arrive. I had a notification asking if I was, indeed, at that cafe. When I clicked on the icon, my phone immediately showed the full menu and several photos of the establishment. This was possible because the geolocation feature on the phone could pinpoint my travel throughout the morning based on GPS, WiFi, and cell tower networks.

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In September 2017 an East Palo Alto women was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for financial elder abuse.  The prosecutors in the case, including San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, did an excellent job seeing the case against Shirley Remmert to conclusion.

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Topics: Elder Abuse

From time to time we have posted information about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) because it is an extraordinary agency fighting in the trenches for everyday consumers against big business, including financial institutions that are scamming Americans.  On Friday September 8, 2017 the CFPB won a trial in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California before Judge Richard Seeborg.  The CFPB won $7.9 million in its case against Nationwide Biweekly Administration Inc. and its subsidiary, Loan Payment Administration, and its owner, Daniel Lipsk.  The CFPB presented testimony by experts as well as everyday consumers, including a retired schoolteacher and a member of the armed services and an FBI agent (all who testified that they had personally been tricked by the defendants).

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As a result of the recent case, Williams v. Superior Court (July 13, 2017, No. S227228) ___Cal.4th___ [2017 Cal. LEXIS 5124], employees received a big win on PAGA (Private Attorney General Act) class action claims. 

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On July 7, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in United States ex rel. Campie v. Gilead Sciences, laying out the standards for pleading plausible claims under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) in whistleblower cases filed under the False Claims Act.  United States ex rel. Campie v. Gilead Sciences, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 12163 (9th Cir. July 7, 2017) (“Campie”).

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On Monday, July 10, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a rule that will halt abusive tactics by credit card companies, banks, and other financial firms to prevent consumers from bringing class actions. 

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With the median price of home in some Bay Area counties topping the $1 million mark real estate fraud is rampant.  There are many types of real estate fraud – from equity stripping to foreclosure rescue, however, in recent years, the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) has noticed an uptick in criminal fraud related to real property deeds. 

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On April 14, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s partial denial of All Nippon Airways, EVA Airways, and China Airlines’ motions for summary judgment, holding that the filed rate doctrine does not bar an antitrust class action challenging the airlines’ unfiled fares, fuel surcharges, and special discount fares. This marked the first time the Ninth Circuit addressed the application of the filed rate doctrine to airfares and fees.

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Topics: Antitrust

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