Public Justice

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Class Action Against Country’s Largest Payday Lender Reaches $18.75 Million Settlement

Advance America, the country’s largest payday lender, agreed to pay $18.75 million to more than 140,000 North Carolina consumers under a proposed settlement agreement announced by the consumers’ attorneys. The settlement resolves a 2004 class action lawsuit against Advance America that accused it of charging…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Public Justice Wins U.S. Appeals Court Decision Requiring Coal Mine Cleanups

The state of West Virginia will have to clean up toxic acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines under a federal appeals court decision.Public Justice argued that discharges from the abandoned mines should comply with federal water pollution limits. The state had asked the court…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Jury Finds State of California Responsible for Wrongful Death of Francisco Castaneda; Awards $1.73 Million

A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found the State of California liable in the wrongful death of Francisco Castaneda, a prison detainee who died of a metastasized cancer that began as a lesion on his penis that state prison and medical officials had refused…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Tire Maker Seeks to Seal Court Documents Proving Defective Tires Caused Fatal Crash

A brief filed by Public Justice is challenging a tire manufacturer’s attempt to hide documents showing it was at fault in a fatal car accident three years ago in Iowa. The brief follows Public Justice’s motion to intervene in the case of Toe v. Cooper…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Environmental, Community Groups Praise Closure of Oyster Creek Nuke

Environmental and grassroots organizations greeted Governor Christie’s announcement that Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station will close in nine years as a validation of their long fight to bring safety concerns to light.“Getting Exelon to take Oyster Creek offline in nine years is validation that this…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Kentucky Supreme Court Strikes Down Cable and Internet Provider’s Class Action Ban

nderscoring consumers’ rights, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that cable and Internet provider Insight Communications may not require the thousands of customers who endured hours or days of service disruptions in April and May of 2006 to seek relief one by one, a method that…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

EPA Vetoes Proposed Mountaintop Removal Mine in West Virginia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a historic step by vetoing the water pollution permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Spruce No. 1 Mine project in West Virginia, one of the largest mountaintop removal mines ever proposed in Appalachia.With this…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Florida Court of Appeal Rules Payday Lender Can’t Ban Class Action Suits

A Florida Appeals Court shut off the escape hatch for a payday lending company that charged its customers excessive interest rates then tried to avoid liability by banning a class action lawsuit.Public Justice represented a number of Florida consumers who filed a class action against…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

New Mexico Court Gives Go-Ahead for Group of Consumers to Challenge Lenders

A New Mexico Appeals Court in early March gave the go-ahead for a class of consumers to continue its lawsuit against payday lenders charging illegal interest rates.Lead class member Andrea Felts and other New Mexico consumers who obtained loans for less than $2,500 allege that…

May 1, 2012 In Updates

Louisiana Supreme Court Rules Debt Collector Can’t Enforce Arbitration Award

In a 6-1 decision, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that a court can’t enforce an arbitration award against a consumer unless there is proof that the consumer agreed to arbitration.The ruling reverses an earlier trial court decision in FIA v. Weaver.Defendant William Weaver allegedly defaulted…