Coronavirus Spawns Class-Action Lawsuits as Consumers Seek Refunds

TruthInAdvertising.org 14 May 2020

Consumer Interest

The pandemic has also triggered lawsuits over privacy issues with some video conferencing apps, and more.

Remember plans? If you don’t, here’s a refresher: Plans were appointments you were always tempted to cancel — usually at the last minute — but then when you went through with them, you were (mostly) happy you didn’t back out.

The coronavirus has disrupted all aspects of American life. This includes plans Americans made to go to the gym, hop on an airplane, attend concerts and sporting events, and even finish their spring semester at college. Now, consumers are seeking refunds through class-action litigation for the things they had planned — and paid — to do before COVID-19 essentially shut down the country.

Here’s a breakdown of the types of refunds cases, followed by a list of the more than 50 class-action lawsuits related to reimbursement and the coronavirus TINA.org is tracking.

(Note: College students and some gym members are only looking to recoup a portion of their expenses, spring semester tuition and monthly membership fees, respectively.)

Flights

• Alvarez et al v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (April 2020, D. Haw.)

• Daniels et al v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Ga.)

• Dusko et al v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Ga.)

• Herrera et al v. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (May 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Manchur et al v. Spirit Airlines, Inc. (April 2020, D. Mass.)

• Ward et al v. American Airlines, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Tex.)

• Young et al v. Frontier Airlines, Inc. (April 2020, D. Colo.)

Tickets to Live Events

• Ajzenman et al v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball d/b/a Major League Baseball et al (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Hansen et al v. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment Co. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Kopfmann et al v. StubHub, Inc. (May 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• McMillan et al v. StubHub, Inc. et al (April 2020, W.D. Wis.)

• Nesis et al v. Do Lab, Inc. et al (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Tezak et al v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC et al (April 2020, N.D. Ill.)

Colleges and Universities

• Bennett et al v. Columbia University (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Deecher Rensselaer Polytechnic Intitute (May 2020, N.D.N.Y.)

• Diaz et al v. University of Southern California (May 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Dimitryuk et al v. University of Miami (April 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Faber et al v. Cornell University (April 2020, N.D.N.Y.)

• Ford et al v. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (April 2020, N.D.N.Y.)

• Hassan et al v. Fordham University (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Haynie et al v. Cornell University (April 2020, N.D.N.Y.)

• Marbury et al v. Pace University (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Paris et al v. University of Connecticut (May 2020, E.D.N.Y.)

• Patel et al v. University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (April 2020, D. Vt.)

• Ritter et al v. The Regents of the University of California (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Rocchio et al v. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (April 2020, D.N.J.)

• Rosado et al v. Barry University, Inc. (May 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Ryan et al v. Temple University (May 2020, E.D. Penn.)

• Schoening et al v. Seton Hall University (May 2020, D.N.J.)

• Smith et al v. University of Pennsylvania (April 2020, E.D. Penn.)

• Stellato et al v. Hofstra University (May 2020, E.D.N.Y.)

• Student A v. The Board of Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Thomson et al v. The Pennsylvania State University et al (April 2020, M.D. Penn.)

• Yin et al v. Syracuse University (May 2020, N.D.N.Y.)

Membership Fees (gyms/clubs)

• Barnett et al v. Fitness International, LLC d/b/a LA Fitness (March 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Cardillo et al v. Town Sports International, LLC et al (April 2020, D. Mass.)

• Carisi et al v. Events and Adventures California and Adventures Northwest, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Cuenco et al v. ClubCorp USA, Inc. (April 2020, S.D. Cal.)

• Danforth et al v. Town Sports International, LLC et al (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Holloway et al v. Planet Fitness Franchising LLC et al (April 2020, N.D. Ga.)

• Hunt et al v. Pleasanton Fitness, LLC d/b/a Fit Republic (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Jampol et al v. Blink Holdings, Inc. (April 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Labib et al v. 24 Hour Fitness USA, Inc. (March 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Namorato et al v. Town Sports International, LLC et al (March 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Weiler et al v. CorePower Yoga LLC (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

Other

• Hunt et al v. The Vail Corp. d/b/a Vail Resorts Management Company (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Kramer et al v. Alterra Mountain Company and Ikon Pass Inc. (April 2020, D. Colo.)

• McAuliffe et al v. The Vail Corp. d/b/a Vail Resorts Management Company (April 2020, D. Colo.)

• McConnell et al v. Six Flags Entertainment et al (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Rezai-Hariri et al v. Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Ruiz et al v. Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Tirozzi et al v. Lakeland Tour, LLC d/b/a Worldstrides (April 2020, D. Mass.)

But wait, there’s more…

The coronavirus pandemic has also led to class-action lawsuits involving the alleged false advertising of hand sanitizers, as well as cases that deal with privacy issues, securities violations, price gouging, and more. While some plaintiffs are seeking cash refunds, others are requesting declaratory judgments that would define the relationship and rights of parties in legal matters. An overview of additional coronavirus-related class-action lawsuits follows.

Hand sanitizers

Consumers have filed lawsuits challenging advertising claims that hand sanitizers prevent illnesses, diseases and infections, including the coronavirus. Plaintiffs claim that companies do not have adequate scientific evidence to support such claims. Some of the complaints also allege that companies do not have FDA approval for these claims. Brands named in the complaints include Purell, Germ-X and Up & Up, a Target brand.

• Aleisa et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. d/b/a Purell (January 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• David et al v. Vi-Jon, Inc. d/b/a Germ-X (March 2020, S.D. Cal.)

• DiBartolo et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. (March 2020, E.D.N.Y.)

• Gonzalez et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. (February 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Jurkiewicz et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. d/b/a Purell (February 2020, N.D. Ohio)

• Marinovich et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. (January 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Miller et al v. Gojo Industries, Inc. d/b/a Purell (March 2020, N.D. Ohio)

• Sibley et al v. Vi-Jon, Inc. (February 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Taslakian et al v. Target Corp. et al (March 2020, C.D. Cal.)

Privacy issues

Millions of people practicing social distancing are using video conferencing and social networking apps to communicate with family, friends and colleagues. At least two apps providing such services are currently facing class-action litigation over privacy concerns.

The complaints allege that the Zoom and Houseparty apps share data collected from users without their consent.

• Brams et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. et al (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Cullen et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (March 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Drieu et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. et al (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Henry et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Hurvitz et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. et al (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Jimenez et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Johnston et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Kirpekar et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (May 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Kondrat et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Lawton et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Ohlweiler et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (April 2020, C.D. Cal.)

• Sweeney et al v. Life on Air, Inc. and Epic Games, Inc. (April 2020, S.D. Cal.)

• Taylor et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (March 2020, N.D. Cal.)

Securities violations

Under federal securities law, it is unlawful to make false statements, omit material facts, or use fraud and deceit in the sale of securities such as stocks and bonds. Investors have filed class-action lawsuits alleging that companies violated securities laws by making false claims related to the coronavirus pandemic. One complaint against Inovio Pharmaceuticals alleges that the CEO of the Pennsylvania biotechnology company falsely claimed that it had developed a vaccine for COVID-19 (see our ad alert here). Two class-action lawsuits allege that Norwegian Cruise Lines misrepresented in SEC filings the impact that the pandemic would have on its business. Plaintiffs also allege that Zoom falsely represented to investors that it protects the personal identifiable information it collects from users.

• Atachbarian et al v. Norwegian Cruise Lines et al (March 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Brams et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. et al (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Douglas et al v. Norwegian Cruise Lines et al (March 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Drieu et al v. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. et al (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• McDermid et al v. Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. et al (March 2020, E.D. Penn.)

Price gouging

Retailers and others in the supply chain have been hit with price gouging lawsuits during the coronavirus pandemic. Price gouging occurs when retailers charge unreasonably high prices for necessities due to a spike in demand caused by an emergency or disaster, such as a pandemic. One price gouging complaint filed against multiple retailers – including Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods – claims that the price of eggs “nearly tripled between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the end of March.” Another price gouging complaint alleges that Amazon’s prices for certain goods – including face masks, pain relievers, cold remedies, black beans, flour and disinfectants – drastically increased after California officials declared COVID-19 a public health emergency.

• Armas et al v. Amazon.com, Inc. (March 2020, Florida State Court – Miami-Dade County)

• Fraser et al v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. et al (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• McQueen et al v. Amazon.com, Inc. (April 2020, N.D. Cal.)

• Mercado et al v. eBay Inc. (May 2020, N.D. Cal.)

Small businesses suing insurance companies

Small businesses ranging from restaurants to furniture stores to dental offices, which were ordered to close or reduce business under stay-at-home mandates, have filed lawsuits seeking declaratory judgments that business losses and expenses resulting from COVID-19 are covered by their insurance policy.

• Biltrite Furniture, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (April 2020, E.D. Wis.)

• Café Plaza de Mesilla Inc. v. Continental Casualty Co. (April 2020, D.N.M.)

• Food for Thought Caterers Corp. v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. et al (May 2020, S.D.N.Y.)

• Fox, DDS et al v. Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America (April 2020, W.D. Wash.)

• GV KB Store LLC d/b/a Stefano Versace Gelato (May 2020, S.D. Fla.)

• Lee, DDS et al v. Sentinel Insurance Company (May 2020, W.D. Wash.)

• Nguyen et al v. Travelers Casualty Insurance Company of America (April 2020, W.D. Wash.)

• Sun Cuisine, LLC d/b/a Zest Restaurant and Market v. Certain Underwriters At Lloyd’s London (May 2020, S.D. Fla.)

Find more of our coverage on the coronavirus here.

Courtesy: TruthInAdvertising.org

Comments

User

gcmbinty.37

6 years ago

As one of the leading consumer activist of India seeking variety of refunds in a class suit against Union of India, I am further advising my advocates to work on the new field of protecting consumer interests caused by COVID-19. My request to alert consumers to provide their informed inputs to me on email id [email protected], on the issues of reimbursements of expenses incurred on services including plans Indians made to go to the gym, hop on an airplane, attend concerts and sporting events, and even finish their semester at college. Now, consumers will be seeking refunds through class-action litigation for the things they had planned â€” and paid â€” to do before COVID-19 essentially shut down the country.