Courts are being inundated with apparently trivial lawsuits — from a woman who wants Geico to pay for the sexually-transmitted disease she got in her lover’s car, to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup buyers unhappy with the craftsmanship of their chocolate Halloween pumpkins and ghosts.
A deluge of “tort” cases, some of which attorneys hope to turn into class actions, is targeting businesses, while some lawyers are finding the evidence to back their cases by trolling social media for people complaining about everyday products.
But the sums they generate can be far from trivial — especially for the lawyers who can earn 20% of the damages, often seeking minimum $5 million in compensation in federal cases .
And critics say that 14,376 “tort” cases in 2022 alone — with damages of $3.4 billion paid out between 2020 and 2022 — are both clogging the courts, and costing consumers.
Wayne Winegarden, a tort-reform advocate and senior fellow at pro-free market think tank Pacific Research Institute, said: “They leave less time to adjudicate cases that have merit.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Bats are a Halloween special which are now the focus of a lawsuit — because the product inside appeared not to be as accurate as the packaging, one of a slew of “tort” cases coming to court. James Kelly
“And some companies settle to make frivolous cases go away. They pay a troll-toll and the cost trickles down to consumers.”
But attorneys bringing some of the cases say that they prevent false advertising.
Anthony Russo, who has gone after Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Arby’s told The Post: “Today it might be a $5 fast-food item.
Tort attorney Anthony J. Russo said he is simply holding companies to the standards they advertise their products will meet.
Spencer Sheehan, nicknamed the “vanilla vigilante” for one of his cases said that the courts’ resources are being used properly, not clogged.
“Tomorrow it’s a vehicle or a home. There needs to be truth in advertising.”
Another tort attorney is Spencer Sheehan, a Long Island lawyer nicknamed the “vanilla vigilante” for winning $2.6 million for showing Almond Breeze did not have enough vanilla in its supposedly flavored almond milk — of which he received an estimated $550,000, according to the American Tort Reform Association — and who is at the center of multiple cases, some highlighted here by The Post.
He rejected criticisms of clogging courts and said: “What resources are diverted? What is more critical? The underlying laws upon which these cases are based are intended to protect consumers, enacted by governments at federal and state level.”
Lonely heart: I deserve $75M because Facebook let my exes diss me
Nikko D’Ambrosio, 32, is suing Meta and 27 women for at least $75 million for appearing on a Facebook group called “Are We Dating the Same Guy?”
The private page, followed by thousands of women, says it aims to keep “each other safe from toxic men.”
Nikko D’Ambrosio says he was defamed on the private “are we dating the same guy?” Facebook page and wants at least $75 million from Facebook and women he says lied about him. U.S. District Court / Illinois Northern District
D’Ambrosio claims that the messages posted about him in “are we dating the same guy” dragged his name through the mud, were libel and invaded his privacy. His attorney says other men are interested in suing too.
D’Ambrosio says that these and other messages which he included in his $75 million lawsuit are either untrue or invade his privacy and that both Meta and the women who made them or moderated the private group are liable. U.S. District Court / Illinois Northern District
But D’Ambrosio, 32, of Chicago alleges that posts, including ones which said he was “very clingy very fast” and had ghosted a woman after he slept with her” were lies — and that his profile photo was plastered across the internet without his consent.
He is suing for defamation, invasion of privacy and emotional distress. And his attorney Dan Nikolic told The Post, it could open the floodgates for other men mentioned in the group, who have been contacting him asking about suing too. Meta has not responded to the suit and did not comment.
Burger King’s Whoppers ‘are whoppers’
In his suit against Burger King, Florida-based attorney Anthony Russo used evidence contrasting the advertised version of Whoppers with how them came out in real life. James Kelly
Burger King is being sued in a class action over its $4.19 Whoppers, with lawyers asking: “Where’s the beef?”
Attorney Anthony Russo, says the Whoppers people buy don’t match the ads — and that Burger King should pay out for misleading the hungry.
Russo’s case uses “evidence” he gathered from social media of people questioning whether the Whopper and related products, including the Big King, were as advertised. James Kelly
His case, alleging unjust enrichment, cites social media comments which unflatteringly contrast the ads with burgers bought from restaurants and alleges that the burgers in the ads are 35% bigger and contain twice the meat of the real deal.
“What you get is wilted lettuce, a deflated bun and sometimes gray meat. You need to be served what is advertised,” he said.
No value has been put on the class action, but Burger King are defending it. A spokesman said it uses the same patties in photoshoots for ads as in Whoppers served to the public.
The case includes Whopper variations, such as the Spicy Whopper Melt, which Russo alleges did not live up to the hype. People whose social media posts are not used in evidence are not automatically included in his case. James Kelly
‘I got an STD in a Geico-insured car – now I’m suing’
Geico, whose mascot is the Geico Gecco, is embroiled in a lawsuit brought by a woman who wants it to pay for the injuries she suffered when she contracted an STD — which she says she got during sex in a Geico-insured car. handout
When a woman known only as M.O. in Jackson County, Missouri, had sex with her lover M.B. in his 2014 Hyundai Genesis in 2017, he never told her he had the sexually-transmitted HPV, she claims.
A year later she was diagnosed with it — so she asked his car insurer, Geico, to pay $1 million for her injuries and financial losses.
The case has turned into a sprawling legal saga after Geico rejected her claim, partly because sex in a car is not one of its normal uses, and partly because M.B. told its investigators both that he warned the woman about HPV before their unprotected sex, and that they had sex in many other locations.
The woman claims she had sex which resulted in an STD in a 2014 Hyundai Genesis sedan — seen at its launch event — and that because Geico were the insurers, they should pay. Geico say it was not an ordinary use of the car. Getty Images
The case went to arbitration — with the woman getting a $5.3 million award — then state and federal courts as Geico fought to overturn the payout.
And although the woman lost her last appeal, one of Geico’s attorneys said the case remains active.
Eye-watering $5m demand for eyedrops which ran out too soon
After purchasing $12.99 40-day Alcon Laboratories eye drops, Clark Alexandre says they only lasted 20 days: so he wants damages.
In legal papers, his attorney Spencer Sheehan, the “vanilla vigilante” said Alexandre and other buyers “would not have bought the product or they would have paid less for it” if they’d know the drops were for 20 days, and said damages would be at least $5 million.
Sheehan could receive as much as 20% of that, or at least $1 million, if the claim succeeds. Alcon has filed to have the case dismissed.
Gambler: Casino tempted me into losing $350,000
Sam Antar is suing BetMGM, the online arm of casino company MGM Resorts, which owns the Bellagio in Las Vegas, claiming it ignored his gambling problem and instead loaded him up with freebies to get him to gamble more.
The gambler alleges that the free hotel room her got in the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, was part of BetMGM’s pattern of encouraging him to gamble even though it knew he had a problem. ALAN – stock.adobe.com
Antar claims he got a free hotel room at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, and the amounts he put in his online gambling account matched by BetMGM — and then lost $350,000.
He is suing under New Jersey consumer law claiming BetMGM “exploited” his gambling addiction even though the signs were obvious.
MGM has called Antar a “fraudster” in court documents and denied it created or worsened his problem.
Antar’s attorney, Matthew Litt, told The Post, “When Sam said he wanted to stop gambling, that was not respected.”
Reynolds’ ‘Made in the USA’ foil isn’t American enough – so pay us
Attorney Spencer Sheehan says that people buy more Reynolds Wrap foil, and pay more for it, because of its patriotic claim to be “made in U.S.A.” But he says the bauxite it comes from is foreign, so the claim is untrue.
The label on Reynolds Wrap brags “foil made in U.S.A.”
But “vanilla vigilante” Sheehan, on behalf of consumers who include Veronica Shirley, who lives in Chicago and buys her $4.99 wrap at Walmart, is calling that fake advertising — because “virtually none” of the raw materials are domestically sourced.
Patriotic customers, he alleges, are being misled because the bauxite from which the aluminum is derived, is not from the U.S. He is demanding at least $5 million in damages for fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
Asked what the harm is, Sheehan told The Post, “People buy a product or service based on what it says on the label.”
The case has already been in court for a year, with Reynolds trying to have it dismissed.
$5 million demand for sunscreen with more than just zinc oxide
Amy Schneider of Los Angeles and Erika Opgenorth of Baldwinsville, New York, claim they purchased $30 EltaMD Transparent Zinc Oxide sunscreen because they believed zinc oxide was the main ingredient.
Attorney Ben Heikali claims the two women he represents bought the lotion because it contained zinc oxide, and would not have if they had know about its other ingredients. He highlighted the claim in court documents.
Now their attorney Ben Heikali is suing EltaMD’s makers Colgate-Palmolive and its partner CP Skin Health Group accusing them of false advertising and unfair competition because Transparent Zinc Oxide contains other chemicals which, he says, the women thought they were avoiding.
Heikali is seeking at least $5 million in damages in the case. Colgate Palmolive have denied the claims and it is now headed for compulsory mediation to try to avoid a trial.
$5M limone biscotti claim could take the cake
Nonni’s packaging promised their $3.68, 6.88 oz box of limone biscotti contained lemon zest oil.
But in another of vanilla vigilante Sheehan’s cases, filed on behalf of Lisa Bardsley, he is demanding damages of at least $5 million because the actual ingredients do not list lemon zest oil — just “natural flavors.
Nonni’s, a biscotti maker, is being sued because one of the ingredients it claims are in its lemon biscotti — lemon zest oil — is not actually there, according to the plaintiffs. Spencer Sheehan
According to Sheehan, this ingredient list shows why Nonni’s makers should fork out damages: It does not include lemon zest oil.
Nonni’s, owned by a private-equity firm, attempted unsuccessfully to have the case dismissed and now face a continuing battle against the unjust enrichment allegations.
‘This catfood isn’t purr-fectly natural, I’d like damages’
The makers of cat food Purina are being sued because, according to attorney Joshua Arisohn on behalf of pet owners Adrienne Pietre and Brenda Natoli, it claims its brands are “natural”— but they actually contain synthetic ingredients.
The two pet-owners suing Purina Nestle say that the “natural” label, which they highlighted in court documents, had made them buy but that when they learned its other ingredients, they felt ripped off. Purina rejects the claims. Victoria Zhou
Natoli alleges that she bought their ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon #1 Ingredient Dry Cat Food for $14 believing it was a “natural product” but found it contained glycerin, zinc sulfate and copper sulfate as some of the not-so-natural ingredients.
The suit is asking for at least $5 million in damages and a revised label from Nestle Purina, the manufacturers, who have asked for it to be dismissed, saying the claim has no merit.
Reese’s haunted by Halloween specials which ‘aren’t ghostly enough’
This is how Hershey’s brand Reese’s sold its special Halloween ghost candy, boasting it was peanut butter “enrobed” in white creme, and showing eyes and a mouth carved out. James Kelly
Hershey’s $8.49 bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were supposed to be shaped like pumpkins, ghosts, bats and footballs — but according to Florida attorney Anthony Russo, they were just blobs of chocolate.
Insufficiently scared customer Cynthia Kelly is suing through Russo in a class action, demanding at least $5 million in damages under Florida law, saying the label showed each piece of candy with “carved out” features, but the reality did not deliver.
Plaintiffs claim that this was the reality of the Reese’s white ghost, lacking all definition as a specter. James Kelly
Reese’s pumpkins are also advertised with defined features in their seasonal pacakging. James Kelly
But when the packages were opened, say the people suing Hershey, the Reese’s pumpkins were just shaped chocolate — without the features advertised. James Kelly
Russo turned to the internet for evidence with the complaint quoting a YouTube who claimed, “We were lied to” and another who described themselves as “flabbergasted” over the discrepancy between what was allegedly promised and what was delivered — although they won’t share the payout unless they join the suit, and win.
Hersey has still to respond to the case and has previously said it does not comment on pending litigation.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
