Nov 27, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Volkswagen’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit Ruled Moot With Filing of Amended Complaint
On November 22, 2017, Law360 reported that
[a] Florida federal judge . . . denied Volkswagen’s bid to toss a lawsuit over an alleged suspension defect in its CC sedans, finding the motion moot after the proposed class of drivers who launched the suit filed a new complaint the day before that added a number of new claims.
The 161-page amended complaint against Volkswagen Group of America Inc. and its parent, Volkswagen AG, is more than double the length of the drivers’ original complaint against the automaker in August. It includes six new named plaintiffs, adds 13 new state subclasses, expands the time period covered by the proposed class back to 2009, and brings six new sets of state law claims plus some new federal law claims.
The new complaint maintains allegations that the CC sedans have a defective suspension system that can’t be readjusted when the tires naturally creep out of alignment, causing the tires to quickly and unevenly wear down, an effect described as “cupping” or “feathering.” Despite allegedly knowing about the problem, Volkswagen ignored it and told dealerships and repair shops to simply replace the vehicles’ tires, which quickly wore down again, the drivers said.
The amended complaint against Volkswagen, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, can be viewed by clicking Wilson, et al v. Volkswagen Group of America, et al
Law360 also reported that
[t]he 15 named plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide class of people who owned or leased Volkswagen CCs from 2009 to the present, expanding the scope of the proposed class three years, as the original complaint covered 2012 to the present. They also seek to represent subclasses of drivers from 14 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia, whereas the original complaint only described a Florida subclass.
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Nov 27, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Uber – Uber Allegedly Paid Hackers To Delete Stolen Data
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating claims related to a massive data breach of sensitive personal information from transportation company Uber.
According to The New York Times:
Uber disclosed . . . that hackers had stolen 57 million driver and rider accounts and that the company had kept the data breach secret for more than a year after paying a $100,000 ransom.
The deal was arranged by the company’s chief security officer and under the watch of the former chief executive, Travis Kalanick, according to several current and former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details were private.
The security officer, Joe Sullivan, has been fired. Mr. Kalanick was forced out in June, although he remains on Uber’s board.
The two hackers stole data about the company’s riders and drivers — including phone numbers, email addresses and names — from a third-party server and then approached Uber and demanded $100,000 to delete their copy of the data, the employees said.
Uber acquiesced to the demands, and then went further. The company tracked down the hackers and pushed them to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to the people familiar with the matter. To further conceal the damage, Uber executives also made it appear as if the payout had been part of a “bug bounty” — a common practice among technology companies in which they pay hackers to attack their software to test for soft spots.
Uber – Data Hack Details Remained Hidden
According to The New York Times, the details of the attack remained hidden until Tuesday. The ride-hailing company said it had discovered the breach as part of a board investigation into Uber’s business practices.
Uber Has Experienced Other Data Breaches
The New York Times also reported that Uber has experienced breaches before. The company was hit with a data breach in May 2014, an event Uber discovered later that year and disclosed in February 2015. In that attack, the names and driver’s licenses of more than 50,000 of the company’s drivers were compromised. Further, The New York Times reported:
While it is not illegal to pay money to hackers, Uber may have violated several laws in its interaction with them.
By demanding that the hackers destroy the stolen data, Uber may have violated a Federal Trade Commission rule on breach disclosure that prohibits companies from destroying any forensic evidence in the course of their investigation.
The company may have also violated state breach disclosure laws by not disclosing the theft of Uber drivers’ stolen data. If the data stolen was not encrypted, Uber would have been required by California state law to disclose that driver’s license data from its drivers had been stolen in the course of the hacking.
What Can Individuals Do If They Believe Their Personal Information Has Been Compromised?
If you believe your personal information may have been exposed or compromised due to the Uber data breach, please complete the form to the right or contact either John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Oct 11, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Kobe Steel, Ltd. – Securities Investigation On Behalf of KBSTY Investors
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is investigating potential claims on behalf of investors of Kobe Steel, Ltd. (KBSTY) involving Kobe Steel’s admission that employees had engaged in “improper conduct” that included falsifying records.
On October 8, 2017, Kobe Steel, Ltd. issued a press release titled “Improper conduct concerning a portion of the aluminum and copper products manufactured by Kobe Steel”, revealing that employees at four of its factories had altered inspection certificates on aluminum and copper products between September 2016 and August this year, making it appear as though the products met manufacturing specifications required by customers, such as tensile strength, when the products did not.
The press release is available at: http://www.kobelco.co.jp/english/releases/1197808_15581.html
According to Kobe Steel, “[t]his incident of improper conduct came to light following self-inspections and emergency quality audits of the compliance status of contracts executed as to products shipped over the past year.”
Kobe Steel also reported that the serious of the matter “has brought overwhelming shame to the Company.” Kobe Steel added that it was examining other possible episodes of data falsification going back 10 years.
As reported by The New York Times, all of Japan’s major carmakers — Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota — are looking into their use of Kobe Steel materials, and Toyota reportedly characterized the data falsification a “grave issue.” Ford and General Motors are reportedly investigating whether they have used Kobe Steel products in their vehicles.
The New York Times article is available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/kobe-steel-japan.html
Following the Kobe Steel’s press release, the stock price dropped nearly 8% on October 9, 2017, and plunged nearly another 25% on October 10, causing investors hundreds of millions in losses.
Kobe Steel Losses?
If you purchased Kobe Steel shares and would like to speak privately with a securities attorney to contribute to or learn more about the investigation, please complete the form to the right or contact John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected] or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches. Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.
Sep 20, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Class Action Complaints Filed Against Experian and TransUnion
Class action complaints have been filed in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of individuals who received Experian or TransUnion consumer reports containing tax lien or other public record errors and in state court in Pennsylvania against Experian only.
Consumer Reports Containing Tax Lien or Other Errors
Individuals have reported receiving consumer reports from consumer reporting agencies that reflect paid, satisfied or released tax liens as unpaid or not satisfied.
Individuals also have reported paid, satisfied or released civil judgments as unpaid, or not satisfied, as well as other errors with derogatory public record reporting.
The Class Actions Against Experian and TransUnion
Plaintiffs have alleged that Experian and TransUnion, two of the “big three” U.S. consumer reporting agencies, willfully violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by reporting tax liens that were already paid and failing to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that the tax lien information they reported was as accurate as possible.
Plaintiffs and the proposed class members are seeking an award of statutory, actual, and punitive damages from the inaccurate tax lien reporting. They also seek to ensure that Experian and TransUnion cease reporting inaccurate public record information and update the public record information they obtain and report about consumers.
Are Experian and TransUnion Aware of Consumer Reporting Inaccuracies?
The class action complaints allege that Experian and TransUnion are well aware that they have problems with failing to accurately report public record information. In fact, both agencies, in addition to Equifax, have been sued multiple times for releasing inaccurate consumer reports.
Both consumer reporting agencies receive the public information that they include on their reports from a third party. According to the complaints, Experian and TransUnion know that the tax lien information they obtain from this third party is often inaccurate or out of date. Despite this knowledge, neither agency takes any reasonable action to ensure that the information they receive is accurate before reporting it.
Why Is The Inaccurate Information Not Corrected by Experian and TransUnion?
Neither Experian nor TransUnion has a reasonable systemic procedure to assure that, when tax liens are paid, satisfied, or released, the updated status is promptly obtained and reflected on a consumer’s credit report.
In fact, both agencies acknowledge on their websites that outdated tax lien reporting is a problem. However, both agencies attempt to put the responsibility on the consumer to report or correct any outdated tax lien information.
What Is a Tax Lien?
A tax lien is the government’s claim on a taxpayer’s property. It is generally placed when a taxpayer fails to pay owed taxes. This ensures that the government gets first right to the property over other creditors if the taxpayer does not pay back the overdue taxes.
Tax liens are considered derogatory marks on consumers’ credit reports. By reporting paid tax liens as unpaid, Experian and TransUnion are placing individuals’ credit scores at risk.
What Is a Public Record?
A public record is any record maintained by the government. Judgments in civil cases are public records, and an entry is made when the judgment is paid. If you have ever had a debt collection or other lawsuit filed against you and have paid money, you have a public judgment record. In addition to having problems with tax lien reporting, many consumer reporting agencies also have problems with inaccurate reporting of public civil judgments. The agencies show the judgments as unpaid, “unsatisfied,” or not released when, in fact, the consumer has paid the full amount owed.
Unpaid judgments are considered derogatory marks on consumer credit reports, and by reporting paid tax liens as unpaid, Experian and TransUnion are putting individuals’ credit scores at risk.
Does Your Consumer Report Contain A Tax Lien or Other Civil Judgement Error?
If your consumer report from Experian, TransUnion or another credit reporting agency reflects a paid tax lien or other civil judgment as unpaid, not satisfied or not released, please fill out the contact form on the right or contact either John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Sep 15, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Equifax Data Breach – FTC Cautions About Scams After the Massive Equifax Data Breach
In a recent FTC blog post, the government agency cautioned individuals about scams after the Equifax data breach which try to trick people into providing their personal information.
The FTC warned about scammers contacting individuals saying, “This is Equifax calling to verify your account information.” If this occurs, according to the FTC, “Don’t tell them anything. They’re not from Equifax. Its’s a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue.”
Besides the above example, the FTC advised:
Other calls might try to trick you into giving your personal information. Here are some tips for recognizing and preventing phone scams and imposter scams:
- Don’t give personal information.Don’t provide any personal or financial information unless you’ve initiated the call and it’s to a phone number you know is correct.
- Don’t trust caller ID.Scammers can spoof their numbers so it looks like they are calling from a particular company, even when they’re not.
- If you get a robocall, hang up.Don’t press 1 to speak to a live operator or any other key to take your number off the list. If you respond by pressing any number, it will probably just lead to more robocalls.
If you’ve already received a call that you think is fake, report it to the FTC. If you gave your personal information to an imposter, it’s time to change any compromised passwords, account numbers or security questions. And if you’re concerned about identity theft, visit IdentityTheft.gov to learn how you can protect yourself.
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
Sep 8, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Employment & Technology Archive
Equifax Data Breach – FTC’s Information for Individuals
On September 8, 2017, the FTC’s “Consumer Information” blog provided details regarding the Equifax data breach.
Equifax Data Breach Facts
The FTC’s blog post reported that
[i]f you have a credit report, there’s a good chance that you’re one of the 143 million American consumers whose sensitive personal information was exposed in a data breach at Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies.
Here are the facts, according to Equifax. The breach lasted from mid-May through July. The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers. They also stole credit card numbers for about 209,000 people and dispute documents with personal identifying information for about 182,000 people. And they grabbed personal information of people in the UK and Canada too.
Equifax Data Breach – Steps One Can Take to Protect Misuse of Information
The FTC provided information about steps individuals can take to protect misuse of personal information. One of the steps recommended visiting Equifax’s website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Individual’s May Unwittingly Waive Their Rights to a Class-Action Lawsuit
According to The Washington Post, although Equifax has established a website to allow individuals to determine if their personal information was exposed, caution should be used, particularly due to the website’s terms of service which potentially restricts one’s legal rights. According to the Washington Post, “. . . in the terms of service is language that bars those who enroll in the Equifax checker program from participating in any class action lawsuits that may arise from the incident.”
Further, The Washington Post reported that
. . . after social media users began complaining about the arbitration clause, Equifax updated its terms of service to give consumers an escape hatch if they do not wish to be bound by its language.
Here’s how the opt-out provision reads:
In order to exclude Yourself from the arbitration provision, You must notify Equifax in writing within 30 days of the date that You first accept this Agreement on the Site (for Products purchased from Equifax on the Site). …
[You] must include Your name, address, and Equifax User ID, as well as a clear statement that You do not wish to resolve disputes with Equifax through arbitration.
This language helps address some of the concerns, but it requires consumers to remember to write to Equifax.
The FTC also advised individuals that they can find out if their information was exposed by
. . . [c]lick[ing] on the “Potential Impact” tab and enter your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number. Your Social Security number is sensitive information, so make sure you’re on a secure computer and an encrypted network connection any time you enter it. The site will tell you if you’ve been affected by this breach.
According to The Washington Post, the fact that Equifax’s data breach website requests one’s last name and the last six digits of one’s Social Security number is “extremely unusual.” According to another story published by The Washington Post:
“This is very unusual — most security systems are hard-wired only to reveal the last four digits of an SSN for identification purposes,” said Satya Gupta, co-founder & chief technology officer at Virsec Systems, a cybersecurity firm. “This strongly implies that the typical four digits may have been compromised, and they need additional, previously ‘secret’ information to positively identify customers. This reinforces the conundrum of these breaches — with more information exposed, how do you now prove a person’s identity?”
What Can Consumers Do If They Believe Their Personal Information Has Been Compromised?
If you believe your personal information may have been exposed or compromised due to the Equifax data breach, please complete the form to the right or contact either John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected]; Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected]; or send an e-mail to [email protected].
The Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, negligence, false claims, deception, data breaches or whose rights to minimum wage and overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws have been violated.
