Judge Awards Utah Couple $306,750 in Case Against Retailer That Tried to Impose Fine for Critical Online Review
Statement of Scott Michelman, Attorney, Public Citizen
June 26, 2014
Contact: Angela Bradbery (202) 588-7741
Scott Michelman (617) 899-9076
On Wednesday,
Judge Dee Benson of U.S. District Court in Utah awarded Public Citizen
clients John and Jen Palmer $306,750 ($102,250 in compensatory damages
and $204,500 in punitive damages) against the online retailer
KlearGear.com. The company had demanded $3,500 from the Palmers for
writing a critical online review of the company, then ruined John’s
credit when he refused to pay.
As a result of KlearGear.com’s actions, the Palmers lost credit
opportunities; suffered anxiety, fear and humiliation; and spent weeks
without heat in their home for themselves and their 3-year-old son when
their furnace broke and they were unable to obtain a loan to replace it.
Public Citizen sued
KlearGear.com on the Palmers’ behalf in December. When KlearGear.com
failed to respond, the court granted a default judgment declaring that
John did not owe the $3,500 and setting a hearing, held Wednesday,
to determine damages. After an hour-long hearing at which both
plaintiffs testified, the judge announced the award from the bench.
We are gratified by Judge Benson’s ruling, which appropriately
compensates the Palmers for their ordeal and punishes KlearGear.com for
its abuse of the credit reporting system in retaliation for the Palmers’
speech. The court sent a strong message that corporate bullying of
consumers would not be tolerated. The Palmers are relieved that John’s
credit has been restored and they feel vindicated by today’s award.
More information about the case is available here.
Showing posts with label legal system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legal system. Show all posts
Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, August 22, 2013
From The Onion: Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult
This story is hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.
Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult (VIDEO)
The Onion
The court ruled a white teen who stabbed a classmate to death will face the jury as a 300-pound black man.
See video here: Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult
Friday, August 9, 2013
Those who passed the bar exam have failed to create a just legal system; it's time to let other experts practice law
“'This is the 50th anniversary of Gideon,' said Shapiro, referring to the landmark 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright Supreme Court decision requiring states to provide lawyers to criminal defendants who can’t afford one.
'If this continues, there won’t be anyone to hear Gideon’s trumpet,' she said.
"Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in that state, suggested the Gideon approach of publicly paid lawyers should be applied to some civil cases.
"He proposed that other changes, such as greater use of expert non-lawyers, should also be considered."
Deep Cuts To Court Funding Make CA Chief Justice “afraid to see the future”
San Francisco Appeal
August 9, 2013
The chief justices of California, Texas and New York and three federal judges deplored funding cuts and other roadblocks to public access to justice at an American Bar Association meeting in San Francisco Thursday.
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said she had reluctantly supported some increases in court fees as “desperate measures” in the face of deep funding cuts that have resulted in the closure of 40 courthouses and 77 courtrooms statewide.
“When it comes to keeping courts open, if these aren’t desperate measures, I’m afraid to see the future,” she said.
Cantil-Sakauye and the five other judges spoke at a session entitled “Are Courts Dying? The Decline of Open and Public Adjudication” on the first day of the ABA’s annual meeting at Moscone Center West.
About 8,000 lawyers and guests are attending the meeting, which continues through Tuesday.
The judges said public access to courts is impaired not only by funding cuts but also by the high cost of lawyers in civil cases and the so-called “outsourcing” of adjudication.
Examples of outsourcing, they said, are the use of private judges for those who can afford it and the use of mandatory, closed-door arbitration instead of open courts to resolve consumer disputes.
“There are reports that 75 percent of the people in our state can’t afford a lawyer” in civil cases, said Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.
“There are people who have been denied their rights who will just give up,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Norma Shapiro of Philadelphia and retired U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson of Dallas said funding cuts are hurting federal as well as state courts.
They said the current U.S. budget sequestration is resulting in reductions in federal public defenders, limits on auxiliary services such as probation supervision and delays in needed technology upgrades.
“This is the 50th anniversary of Gideon,” said Shapiro, referring to the landmark 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright Supreme Court decision requiring states to provide lawyers to criminal defendants who can’t afford one. “If this continues, there won’t be anyone to hear Gideon’s trumpet,” she said.
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in that state, suggested the Gideon approach of publicly paid lawyers should be applied to some civil cases. He proposed that other changes, such as greater use of expert non-lawyers, should also be considered...
"Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in that state, suggested the Gideon approach of publicly paid lawyers should be applied to some civil cases.
"He proposed that other changes, such as greater use of expert non-lawyers, should also be considered."
Deep Cuts To Court Funding Make CA Chief Justice “afraid to see the future”San Francisco Appeal
August 9, 2013
The chief justices of California, Texas and New York and three federal judges deplored funding cuts and other roadblocks to public access to justice at an American Bar Association meeting in San Francisco Thursday.
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said she had reluctantly supported some increases in court fees as “desperate measures” in the face of deep funding cuts that have resulted in the closure of 40 courthouses and 77 courtrooms statewide.
“When it comes to keeping courts open, if these aren’t desperate measures, I’m afraid to see the future,” she said.
Cantil-Sakauye and the five other judges spoke at a session entitled “Are Courts Dying? The Decline of Open and Public Adjudication” on the first day of the ABA’s annual meeting at Moscone Center West.
About 8,000 lawyers and guests are attending the meeting, which continues through Tuesday.
The judges said public access to courts is impaired not only by funding cuts but also by the high cost of lawyers in civil cases and the so-called “outsourcing” of adjudication.
Examples of outsourcing, they said, are the use of private judges for those who can afford it and the use of mandatory, closed-door arbitration instead of open courts to resolve consumer disputes.
“There are reports that 75 percent of the people in our state can’t afford a lawyer” in civil cases, said Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.
“There are people who have been denied their rights who will just give up,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Norma Shapiro of Philadelphia and retired U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson of Dallas said funding cuts are hurting federal as well as state courts.
They said the current U.S. budget sequestration is resulting in reductions in federal public defenders, limits on auxiliary services such as probation supervision and delays in needed technology upgrades.
“This is the 50th anniversary of Gideon,” said Shapiro, referring to the landmark 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright Supreme Court decision requiring states to provide lawyers to criminal defendants who can’t afford one. “If this continues, there won’t be anyone to hear Gideon’s trumpet,” she said.
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in that state, suggested the Gideon approach of publicly paid lawyers should be applied to some civil cases. He proposed that other changes, such as greater use of expert non-lawyers, should also be considered...
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