class action
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Uber will pay $100 million to settle lawsuits in two states
Uber announced tonight that it has settled a pair of class-action lawsuits from drivers in California and Massachusetts. The settlement will pay $84 million to the plaintiffs, plus an extra $16 million if the company goes public and its valuation exceeds a set amount. Key for Uber is an agreement that it will continue to classify its drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. According to the company, it will provide more info to drivers about their ratings and how they compare to other drivers, and explain what can get drivers banned in a newly published policy. Finally, it will also form a driver's association in these two states, and meet with the group quarterly to discuss issues.
Facebook must deal with class-action lawsuits over its IPO
If Facebook thinks the legal troubles with its initial public stock offering are over, it has another thing coming. A federal judge has ruled that the social network must face two class-action lawsuits accusing it of masking doubts about its growth before the IPO kicked off in 2012. Both of them claim that Facebook pulled a fast one, tricking investors into buying stock at high prices that ultimately lost them money.
Appeals court sides with ex-NFL players in Madden likeness suit
A federal appeals court struck down Electronic Arts' appeal to dismiss a 2010 lawsuit in which retired NFL players alleged that the publisher used their likenesses without permission in Madden NFL 09. A three-judge panel unanimously declined EA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of First Amendment protections under "incidental use." Madden 09 included over 140 historic NFL teams as well as the stats and positions of thousands of retired athletes to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and EA allegedly altered jersey numbers and removed the players' names to avoid paying licensing fees, according to the August 2010 lawsuit. The judges referred to another recent likeness lawsuit in the opinion, in which former college athletes sued EA in May 2009 over the use of their likenesses in NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football games. EA proposed a $40 million settlement to that lawsuit in September 2013, resulting in those players earning up to $951 for each year their likeness was featured in the games. The publisher added $8 million in expenses related to that lawsuit in May 2014. EA introduced similar First Amendment-based defenses in its appeal for the retired NFL players lawsuit save for one additional argument: That the likenesses were protected under the First Amendment as incidental use. The judges "held that Electronic Arts's use of the former players' likenesses was not incidental because it was central to Electronic Arts's main commercial purpose: to create a realistic virtual simulation of football games involving current and former National Football League teams." The decision upholds a California court's March 2012 dismissal of EA's attempt to prevent the suit from going to court. Among the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit is Sam Keller, a former Arizona State, Nebraska and Oakland Raiders quarterback that filed the original likeness lawsuit related to the publisher's college sports games. [Image: EA]
Activision Blizzard resolves class action lawsuits
When Activision Blizzard bought itself to be freed from Vivendi, there was no shortage of unhappy shareholders, leading to several class action lawsuits filed against the company and other attendant actors in response to the whole process. Those suits have now been resolved and the case is now closed; the parties have settled out of court, with the proposed settlement seeing some of the defendants paying a total of $275 million to Activision Blizzard as well as multiple insurance companies. The Board of Directors wrote in a statement that "the transaction, structured through the efforts and significant personal investment of Bobby Kotick and Brian Kelly, has contributed to the creation of over $3 billion of value for shareholders" and that they are "pleased to be able to put this matter to rest." Adjustments have also been made to said Activision Blizzard board of directors and aspects of the corporate structure, with the company paying all legal fees of the plaintiffs. Since multiple defendants were involved in the suit (including Activision Blizzard itself), it's still unclear exactly who took the hit for this particular lawsuit, but it does mean that the matter has been resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
Sega pins Aliens: Colonial Marines marketing mishaps on Gearbox
After Aliens: Colonial Marines publisher Sega moved to settle a class-action lawsuit to the tune of $1.25 million in August for alleged false advertising for the game, it shifted the blame for the game's marketing issues to Gearbox Software, according to court documents obtained by Game Informer. Internal emails from Gearbox and Sega representatives cite examples of the former revealing information about the game without the consent of the publisher. One such email refers to a New York Comic Con panel in October 2012, in which Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford firmly states that a Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines would launch in February 2013 alongside the other versions of the game. Emails within Sega stated that "no-one on the call was aware" of the Wii U version, and that it's "not been picked up so far." Of course, the game missed its Wii U launch window before Sega confirmed in March 2013 that it was no longer in development.
Sega moves for $1.25M Aliens: Colonial Marines settlement
Aliens: Colonial Marines publisher Sega has moved to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against the company regarding alleged false advertising to the tune of $1.25 million, according to court documents filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Should the motion be accepted, plaintiffs Damion Perrine and John Locke would receive $2,500, while $312,500 would be used to cover their attorney fees. Administration fees would total $200,000. That leaves $735,000 to be divvied up among members of the class filing the lawsuit, with each share not exceeding $59.99. Game Informer reports that the number of claimants is estimated to be roughly 135,000 people, which equals roughly $5.44 per payout. While that's not exactly what we'd call "rolling in the dough," the case could nonetheless set an interesting precedent for the way games are advertised. The days of the infamous "bullshot" could - could! - be numbered. If accepted by the court, the motion would protect Sega - but not developer Gearbox - from further litigation. [Image: Sega]
Sony sued over Killzone: Shadow Fall's 1080p promises
A California class-action lawsuit alleges Sony Computer Entertainment America engaged in "deceptive marketing" of Killzone: Shadow Fall for PS4 when it advertised the game running in 1080p. After launch, Digital Foundry found that the multiplayer portion of Shadow Fall runs in upscaled 960 x 1080 resolution, a step below 1080p – and law firm Edelson PC and plaintiff Douglas Ladore see a case there. The suit, on behalf of Ladore and "all others similarly situated," seeks damages of more than $5 million. It also calls for Sony to more accurately advertise Shadow Fall's multiplayer resolution. "Sony admitted that it did not in fact design Killzone to display multiplayer graphics in 1080p, but instead used a technological shortcut that was supposed to provide 'subjectively similar' results," the suit argues. "But Sony never advertised and convinced consumers to buy a technological shortcut."
Court approves settlement over Sony's 2011 PSN breach
The US District Court for the Southern District of California approved a settlement for the class action lawsuit resulting from Sony's 2011 PSN data breach. The settlement may result in Sony doling out as much as $17.75 million, which includes an offer for one free game (PS3 or PSP only), three PS3 themes or credit for three months of PlayStation Plus membership (valid only for new subscribers). The claimant groups are divided based on whether PSN account holders prior to May 15, 2011 took advantage of the "Welcome Back" program following the intrusion. Those that did not accept the PSN Welcome Back offer can claim two of the benefit options among the games, themes and PS Plus membership credit on a first come, first served basis until a $6 million allocation from Sony is reached. For those that did take advantage of the program, they will receive one of the benefits above until a $4 million allocation is reached.
Apple faces California class-action suit over alleged labor violations
Apple is facing yet another class-action lawsuit, this time from a group of employees in the State of California. The suit was filed initially in 2011 by four people who worked in Apple's retail and corporate operations, alleging that the company violated California Labor Code by not providing "timely" meal and rest breaks or final paychecks. On Monday, the suit was certified as a class action, which widens the pool of potential plaintiffs significantly. The case documents (embedded below) show that the accusations range from working for five hours without a break to being released with a 72-hour notice period and getting a final paycheck two days late after the end of that period. No demand has been made for settlement at this time, but it could prove to be costly for Apple. TUAW sister site TechCrunch reached out to Tyler Belong, a lawyer with San Diego-based Hogue & Belong, who noted that "Apple now faces claims of meal period, rest period and final pay violations affecting approximately 20,000 current and former Apple employees." Felczer - Fourth Amended Complaint
Mt. Gox settles class-action lawsuit by turning customer creditors into owners
More good news for those who entrusted Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox with their cryptocurrency. After filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, Mt. Gox found some 200,000 Bitcoins last month, and today it has tentatively settled its class-action lawsuit in the US. In exchange for dropping the case, customers will become part owners in the new Mt. Gox -- a group of investors is set to purchase and revive the failed exchange -- to the tune of 16.5 percent. Additionally, class members get to split up those rediscovered Bitcoins and another $20 million currently being held by Mt. Gox's bankruptcy administrator. The settlement, naturally, is contingent upon both the US court agreeing to the terms and a Japanese bankruptcy court approving the deal for Mt. Gox's sale. And, bear in mind that US beneficiaries of the settlement don't get priority over anyone else, nor do they get the full ownership stake in the new Mt. Gox. The settlement terms would apply to creditors throughout the world, and the benefits of the deal will be shared equally amongst them. Mt. Gox is dead. Long live Mt. Gox. [Image Credit: AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi]
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for March 5, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Report: EA requested college athlete likenesses prior to NCAA lawsuit
The NCAA reportedly considered licensing the names and likeness of student athletes to Electronic Arts for its college sports games before the publisher faced its class action suit led by Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller in May 2009. Documents from the ongoing Ed O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit reveal that EA sought to depict the athletes "just as they are shown on TV broadcasts" as of 2007, AL.com reported. "This means putting student-athlete names on rosters and on jerseys in the game, and secondarily using facial likenesses (this could be done in stages)," the NCAA document in question stated. The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) was also involved in the discussion, as documents stating the CLC's position involved in the O'Bannon lawsuit said that "using the rosters in the games, and maybe the names of student-athletes on jerseys in the game would be worthwhile." The documents also reportedly state that the NCAA was aware that EA already based rosters for its college sports games on real-life athletes. While EA and the CLC settled its lawsuit with student athletes to the tune of $40 million last year after canceling its college football game in development for this year, the O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit only just reached a new milestone today: U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered that settlement talks between both parties begin. The NCAA also sued EA and the CLC in November, alleging that EA failed to agree to compensate the NCAA for losses related to legal claims from student athletes after its proposed settlement. [Image: NCAA]
Apple, Google, and other tech companies made a secret pact to keep employee salaries low while making billions
In theory, the tech world is supposed to be a bastion of freedom -- people with the best ideas are recruited by the best people to build the best products. Libertarians often point to Silicon Valley as an example of how the free market can set people free. It only works, however, if people are truly given the freedom to go where their talent takes them. But what would happen if two companies made a deal not to poach the best and brightest from each other? Furthermore, what if that deal suppressed salaries in the tech sector by $3 billion? What should be rhetorical questions are actually hard realities that have come to light with the revelation that Google and Apple, along with other companies, worked in collusion to guarantee they'd leave each other's employees alone. The claims, first revealed by PandoDaily in January, are at the heart of an ongoing class action lawsuit that is scheduled to go to court in May. Today, Josh Harkinson at Mother Jones magazine filed a report with further details of the behind the scenes maneuvers between Apple's Steve Jobs, Google's Eric Schmidt, and Intuit's Bill Campbell to directly work to artificially keep wages low using a wide range of dirty, and possibly illegal, tricks. The story starts in 2005 when Bill Campbell of Intuit brokered a deal between Jobs and Schmidt to agree not to hire anyone from each other's firms. Apple's and Google's respective hiring directors sent out emails to their staff ordering them to add their respective rivals to their no-call lists, in an effort to not compete for employees. Schmidt knew their actions were wrong. Mother Jones reports he emailed another executive to only discuss the no-call lists verbally, so as not to create a paper trail; the kind we're talking about right now. These no-poaching policies were the subject of a 2010 antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice. According to court documents obtained by Mother Jones from the 2010 case, Steve Jobs was a leader in the anti-recruitment movement. It paints a very dark image of the Apple icon, even showing him willing to bully other CEOs into toeing the "party" line. In one instance not yet reported, Jobs allegedly played hardball with a reluctant CEO. In mid-2007, he called Edward Colligan, then president and CEO of Palm, to propose "an arrangement between Palm and Apple by which neither company would hire the other's employees," Colligan testified in a sworn deposition. When he refused, citing the deal's possible illegality, Jobs threatened to sue Palm for patent infringement. "I'm sure you realize the asymmetry in financial resources of our respective companies..." he wrote Colligan in a follow-up email. "My advice is to take a look at your patent portfolio before you make a final decision here." This isn't a case of a few hiring managers making employee retention easier. These are CEOs of some of the most powerful companies in the world -- the policies involved companies like Adobe, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar as well -- actively working to keep the cream from rising to the top if it meant doing so at another company. Beyond keeping one another from offering jobs to highly skilled employees of competitors, senior management discussed salary data to make sure everyone had similar budgets for raises. It's hard to get a raise when every business in town agrees to pay the exact same wage. Where is the free market in quantifying the value of someone's work, when a handful of people with all the power work together to create a glass ceiling for promotion and pay alike? It's a fascinating look at the darker side of the tech world. Head over to Mother Jones for more stories directly from these recently unsealed court documents. Very rarely do you get to look at an honest to god conspiracy among billionaires to suppress the growth of lower level talent in their industry. It reads like a paranoid rant on Facebook, only backed up with incredibly sad fact.
Grand Theft Auto Online class-action lawsuit dismissed
A class-action lawsuit filed against Rockstar Games and Take-Two has been dismissed by a US District Court in California today, Game Politics reports. The plaintiffs in the class-action suit argued that Rockstar and Take-Two failed to deliver the full, promised Grand Theft Auto 5 experience – specifically, the online portion of the game, GTA Online. The suit claimed the state of Grand Theft Auto 5 at launch last September was "unlawful," "unfair" and "fraudulent" on the part of Take-Two and Rockstar. Judge Virginia A. Phillips disagreed, citing there is no language on the Grand Theft Auto 5 packaging guaranteeing the online portion of the game "immediately." GTA Online launched on October 1, weeks after GTA 5 made its $1 billion debut at retail. Since then, Rockstar has iterated on its multiplayer offering by adding race and deathmatch creation tools, along with Rockstar Verified Jobs. Co-op heists will be added to GTA Online later this year.
Daily Update for October 31, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
EA and NCAA's appeal rejected in likeness lawsuit
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal by EA and NCAA that college athletes' likenesses were protected by the First Amendment with regard to the development of EA's college football and basketball games. Just yesterday, EA motioned to dismiss a third amended complaint that added six current NCAA student athletes to certify the class in the lawsuit. The majority opinion held by the court stated that "EA's use of the likenesses of college athletes like Samuel Keller in its video games is not, as a matter of law, protected by the First Amendment." This began with former Nebraska quarterback Samuel Keller filing a class-action lawsuit against EA in May 2009. The suit has since been combined with that of former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, according to Bloomberg. NCAA opted to not renew its contract with EA for development of the NCAA Football series earlier this month. EA stated that it will move forward in developing college football games with licensing provided by the Collegiate Licensing Company for the next three years on a non-exclusive basis.
EA motions to dismiss NCAA lawsuit before it becomes class action
EA asked a judge to dismiss the latest complaint in a lawsuit brought on by college athletes alleging EA, the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company used players' names and likenesses in games without proper compensation. EA motioned to dismiss the plaintiffs' third amended complaint, which added six current NCAA athletes with the goal of certifying it as a class action lawsuit. EA argued that the plaintiffs' new complaint pleaded "no facts to support their theory that EA participated in an antitrust conspiracy with the NCAA and CLC." This wasn't a new strategy – EA and the CLC previously argued they were following NCAA rules and were therefore not involved in an antitrust conspiracy, and EA repeated this defense in the motion for dismissal. This was the second lawsuit against EA from the law firm Hagens Berman. The first case alleged EA violated antitrust laws by entering into exclusive deals with the AFL, NFL and NCAA. EA settled in this case in 2012 for $27 million and the loss of its exclusive licensing deal with the NCAA. This month, the NCAA announced it would no longer work with EA, exclusively or otherwise. Steve Berman of Hagens Berman said he viewed the dead deal between EA and the NCAA as a direct result of the pressure of litigation. The court will rule on the class status of the current lawsuit, and respond to EA's motion to dismiss, by September 5.
Apple Store employees file lawsuit, claim company not paying for security searches
Apple's anti-theft procedure for its employees is the topic of a class action lawsuit filed by two former Apple employees, according to a report in AppleInsider. The lawsuit was filed last week by Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Like many retailers, Apple has a security checkout procedure that requires employees to submit to a personal package and bag search whenever they clock out for a break or leave at the end of the shift. The search can take up to 15 minutes, which is time not compensated by Apple. According to the complaint, "[one plaintiff] worked approximately 50 minutes to 1.5 hours of uncompensated overtime. By conservative calculations, this equated over the course of one year to an aggregate amount of approximately $1,400 in uncompensated hours." The lawsuit seeks to end this practice and provide compensation to employees who were subjected to these searches. The complaint is a class action lawsuit that extends to "[a]ll Apple Hourly Employees who worked in an Apple, Inc. retail store in the United States, who are or were employed within the three years preceding the the filing of this action by the Defendant, and who were: (a) not compensated for off-the-clock time spent waiting in security screening lines and undergoing personal package and bag searches before being allowed to leave the premises; and/or (b) were not fully compensated for this time worked over forty hours per week at overtime rates."
Daily Update for April 23, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
PSN class action settled in Canada, users can claim benefits
While payouts are still pending the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Sony has settled in a class action lawsuit over the PSN hack and outage in 2011. If you were affected by the outage (i.e. if you had a PSN, Qriocity, or SOE account in 2011, and you're in Canada) you can fill out a claim form here.If you stopped using your PSN account after the hack, you can ask for the contents of your wallet to be reimbursed. If you kept your PSN account and participated in the "Welcome Back" promotion, you can choose an additional game from a list consisting mostly of the "Welcome Back" games, or you can choose three dynamic PSN themes, or half off three months of PlayStation Plus. Qriocity accounts are entitled to one additional free month. SOE accounts can request repayment of wallet balances for no-longer-used accounts, or $4.50 in "Station Cash."There is a separate claim form for PSN users who suffered losses from identity theft as part of the hack.
