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A potential class action suit has been filed against comScore, an online consumer tracking service that sells marketing data to over 1,800 companies. The comScore privacy suit alleges that the company has been collecting confidential user information, such as passwords and credit card numbers; altering firewalls and personal security settings; remotely controlling users’ computers; and stealing files. Are these allegations even remotely true? At this juncture, it’s impossible to tell whether these charges are fabricated, correct, or somewhere in-between, as the complaint only alleges that the two plaintiffs noticed this behavior on their own personal computers....

Thanksgiving has been a battleground for retailers over the last decade, with consumerism encroaching ever-closer to many Americans’ holiday traditions. But maybe we should be paying closer attention to our smartphones than to Black Friday ads. According to studies by IBM, mobile devices accounted for “over half of all online traffic on [Thanksgiving]” on retail sites, The New York Times reports. Jay Henderson, director of IBM Smarter Commerce, called mobile use “a new Thanksgiving tradition....

A lot of changes have been made to the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act over the last few years, making it difficult for many businesses to properly follow the law. In response, the Department of Justice issued a new guide earlier this month, the ADA Update: A Primer for Small Businesses, aiming to clarify those changes and help promote compliance. Under the ADA, small business owners must accommodate both employees and customers in ways that require a consideration of what is and is not reasonable under the circumstances....

Tesla is on a good run of bad luck in the public relations department. In June, whistleblower Martin Tripp alleged that Tesla manufactured batteries with puncture holes and systematically used waste material in vehicles to chase production goals. Tesla responded with a $1 million lawsuit for hacking and stealing trade secrets. Two weeks ago, Elon Musk almost broke the internet over his tweet to re-privitize the company, which resulted in an SEC investigation....

When debt becomes overwhelming, bankruptcy becomes an option. The idea behind bankruptcy is that some of your debt is erased to allow you pay for essential life expenses or repay other debts. The key to that last sentence is “some of your debt is erased.” Not all debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy, and which debts are dischargeable may depend on what type of bankruptcy you’re filing. So how do you know which debts will be dischargeable in bankruptcy, and how do you differentiate between dischargeable and non-dischargeable debt?...

Famous producer and songwriter Phil Spector has been found guilty of second degree murder in the shooting death of 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson who, as noted by CNN, was “found dead, slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector’s home with a gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth.” The decision was reached after about 32 hours of jury deliberations during the course of about nine days. A prior jury had deadlocked 10-2 (favoring conviction) in Spector’s previous trial for second degree murder....

Most ideas presented to a group are inevitably followed by the question, “just what is this going to cost me?” In the area surrounding the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania, where the district is being sued for allegedly spying on their students via webcams on the school laptops, that is the question on some parents’ minds. After one student was allegedly caught via webcam exhibiting “improper behavior,” he brought suit along with his parents....

The National Federation of Independent Business is joining governors and attorneys general in the legal challenge to President Obama’s health care plan. The NFIB argues that it is unconstitutional to force Americans to buy health care simply because they are alive. As discussed in a prior post, the legal challenge to the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law is being spearheaded by Florida Attorney General, Bill McCollum. Small business lobby to go to court on health law (AP) Health Care Reform: Tax Changes for Small Businesses (FindLaw’s Free Enterprise) Four More States Join AGs’ Suit over HealthCare (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life) State of War: Officials Argue over Healthcare Suit (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life) Next Health Care Fight: States AG’s to Challenge Law (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life) What is the Supremacy Clause and Why Should You Care?...

Illegal immigrants typically are loathe to report abuse they suffer because of fear of deportation; but there is a ray of hope for them with the U visa. We wrote about how undocumented immigrants are more likely to suffer from wage theft in our Law and Daily Life post here. The New York Times quotes Susan Bowyer, the managing lawyer for the Oakland office of the International Institute of the Bay Area as saying, “Undocumented immigrants are unbelievably vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and victimization because their fear of detection keeps them from reporting that victimization....

The hazards of online social networking have been well-documented of late, particularly in regard to the potential workplace consequences of putting some less-than-flattering pics. But a story today may have highlighted yet another perhaps unexpected danger, that of police, parole officers, and/or judges checking out photos you post online. For 20-year-old Erika Scoliere of Ohio, some online pics of her may have showed particularly poor judgment on her part. You see, Scoliere was actually out on bail pending trial on DUI-related charges, and not just any DUI charges either, Erika Scoliere is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI....

You are what you eat – but if you’re a victim of food poisoning, what should you do? You may be hungry for justice to be served via a lawsuit, but hold on. About 76 million cases of foodborne illness are reported each year; most are mild and cause only a day or two of sickness. But about 325,000 cases a year require hospital treatment, and about 5,000 cases result in death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....

The sun-soaked summer wedding season is upon us. As bridal businesses know too well, with summer weddings, come lawsuits. For a business owner who wants to avoid donning the other kind of wedding suit, it’s crucial to have clients say “I do” to clear and thorough wedding contracts. If you’re working a summer wedding, here are a few ways not to get sued: Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Google+. Related Resources:...

Businesses enter into contracts on a daily business. Small business owners may wonder just what electronic signatures are. Are these valid signatures? The short answer is that yes, most electronic signatures are valid if done properly. And electronic signatures are growing increasingly more important, considering the vast number of contracts that are now digitized. The federal government recognized the growing number of electronic documents and passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) in 2000....

Two New York parents are suing a summer camp for $41.7 million after their daughter contracted Lyme disease at the camp. The parents are accusing the YMCA’s Camp Mohawk in Connecticut of failing to monitor and protect their daughter, who now suffers from neurological problems as well as sleep disorders and chronic pain. The federal lawsuit alleges camp staffers repeatedly misdiagnosed her and failed to follow their own safety precautions, The Associated Press reports....

The Arizona shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords was a tragic and emotional event, which is why, despite being trained to handle disasters, local firefighter Mark Ekstrum refused to go to the Safeway parking lot. Mark Ekstrum communicated this to his Captain, but in a poorly-worded manner. The report, according to CNN, states that Ekstrum said he did not want to participate in the “political bantering” and that he was going to go home sick....

Can you base your decision to fire an employee on his beard? American Patriot Security, a California-based security company, did just that. Now, they are being sued. Washington State resident Abdulkadir Omar, 22, started working at the security company in 2009. Omar says that at the time he was hired nobody said that he had to shave his beard, reports the Seattle Times. Omar, a Muslim, keeps his beard for religious reasons....

No private party can ban you from owning a gun. However, if you rent your home, your landlord might be able to prevent you and other tenants from bringing, or keeping, a gun in your own home. Also, know that you can be evicted for possessing a gun if your rental or lease agreement prohibits it. While the Second Amendment does protect the rights of gun owners, it only protects those rights from governmental intrusion, just like the First Amendment and free speech....

With what we now know about how germs are spread, one might think that if someone gets them sick, they’ll be able to sue the person who got them sick. While, generally, you can sue anyone for anything, particularly when you’ve been clearly wronged by another’s negligence, doing so is not always a good idea. Typically, cases involving the transmission of illnesses are plagued with some rather high hurdles. At the outset, not only will a victim be required to prove that the defendant actually got them sick, but also that it was intentional or negligent....

In what has become a several hundred thousand dollar lesson, the Brockton School District in Massachusetts has learned a revision of its sexual harassment policy, especially as applied to children younger than 7, is necessary. In 2006, a first grade boy touched the girl sitting in front of him inside the waistband of her pants during their class’s library session. It was an inappropriate act and the girl told the teacher....

An appeals court in Canada has upheld a jury award of $17 million for injuries suffered in a car accident, which is being billed as the largest personal injury award in Canadian history. After a 2007 civil trial, a jury awarded $17 million to Robert Marcoccia, who was 20 years old at the time his Honda Civic ran a red light and was struck by a leased delivery truck making a left turn in front of him, the Toronto Star reports....