Class Action

• Consumer Fraud
  Consumer fraud occurs when a consumer buys a product that does not perform as advertised, or purchases services that are not the same as they were represented to be. Laws exist to protect consumers from false or deceptive advertising (including false or untrue statements, or failure to disclose necessary information) and from unfair or hidden charges. Examples of ways consumers are defrauded include overcharged or undisclosed bank fees or other charges, false statements in advertising, or misleading or omitted information about the true nature of the product or service being sold. Our law firm has had great success in prosecuting consumer fraud cases, including cases for unfair late charges, and a case against an insurance company for illegally charging broker fees to consumers.

• Defective Products
  California law provides consumers with powerful remedies when products do not work, are unreasonably dangerous, or do not live up to what a company has said about them. We have had substantial success prosecuting, trying and resolving lawsuits on behalf of classes involving a wide range of defective products. In particular, we have represented homeowners against manufacturers of products such as shingles and windows that have failed to perform as promised and warranted. Within the last year we have tried several cases on behalf of the general public for consumers who were subjected to illegal charges by insurance companies and others.

• Employment
  Under California law and federal law, employers have certain obligations regarding payment of wages and providing benefits to employees. The law also forbids employers from discriminating against employees or job applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, or disability. We have filed lawsuits on behalf of classes who were not paid proper wages, including failure to pay vested vacation time to terminated employees, and misclassifying employees as "managers," as a way to prevent them from receiving benefits and overtime.