Class Action Law

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP Files Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against CenturyLink, Inc.

June 6, 2013 by Haeggquist & Eck

On June 5, 2013, Zeldes Haeggquist & Eck, LLP filed a securities class action lawsuit against CenturyLink, Inc.

CenturyLink is the third-largest telecommunications services provider in the United States. On February 13, 2013, the Company announced weaker than expected financial results. The Company also announced a new capital allocation initiative, under which the Company authorized the repurchase of up to $2.0 billion of the Company’s outstanding common stock. At the same time, the Company announced a plan to reduce the Company’s quarterly cash dividend rate from $0.725 to $0.54 per share.

On this news, the price of CenturyLink stock dropped from $41.69 on February 13, 2013, to close at $32.27 on February 14, 2013. We are investigating whether statements made by CenturyLink to the investing public in connection with the above were materially false and misleading at the time they were made.

If you are a CenturyLink shareholder who purchased CenturyLink common stock between August 8, 2012, and February 14, 2013, you may have claims under the securities laws. If you wish to discuss this investigation or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Amber L. Eck at (619) 342-8000, or by email. There is no cost to you.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

New Investigation of Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTUS)

April 5, 2013 by Haeggquist & Eck

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP has commenced an investigation into Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. (“Ventrus”), to determine whether it has violated securities laws by issuing false and misleading statements to its shareholders.

Ventrus is a specialty pharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of prescription drugs for gastrointestinal disorders. On June 25, 2012, Ventrus announced the results of its Phase 3 placebo-controlled trial of its experimental drug iferanserin, also known as VEN 309. The trial results showed that VEN 309 failed to demonstrate an improvement in therapy in patients with hemorrhoidal disease, and Ventrus announced that had no immediate plans to continue the development of VEN 309.

Upon this announcement, the price of Ventrus stock declined from as high as $12.26 per share on June 22, 2012, to as low as $4.27 on June 29, 2012, and continued to decline to as low as $2.06 per share on November 13, 2012.

Our investigation focuses on whether statements made by Ventrus to the investing public regarding the effectiveness and commercial prospects for VEN 309 were materially false and misleading at the time they were made.

If you are a Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. shareholder who purchased Ventrus common stock between December 17, 2010, and June 22, 2012, you may have claims under the securities laws. If you wish to discuss this investigation or have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Amber L. Eck at (619) 342-8000.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Foreign National Employees Settle Wage and Hour and Breach of Contract Claims For $30 Million

March 11, 2013 by Haeggquist & Eck

A recent $30 million settlement is likely to encourage future class action lawsuits by foreign national workers. In Vedachalam v. Tata America International Corp., et al., a class of foreign national workers sued their employer, Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd., a Mumbai-based staffing company, for breach of contract and wage and hour violations. The plaintiffs alleged that Tata illegally retained the proceeds from their U.S. income tax returns, paid less than the salaries promised in their employment contracts, and required them to forfeit unused vacation days.

In April 2012, six years after the case was initially filed, the District Court for the Northern District of California certified a nationwide a class action of about 12,000 workers to pursue breach of contract claims, and a sub-class of about 6,000 California workers to pursue state wage and hour violations.

In October, after nearly seven years of litigation, the parties engaged in two days of mediation and continued to negotiate the terms of the settlement for two months. In the end, the parties agreed to settle for $30 million. If the settlement is approved by the Court, class members will net an average of $1,600 each.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

New York Daily News Reports That Trump University Received D-Minus Rating From the BBB

August 9, 2012 by Haeggquist & Eck

The New York Daily News on Monday reported on the Trump University class-action lawsuit filed by Zeldes & Haeggquist LLP, as well as investigations by state attorneys general and complaints to the Better Business bureau involving Trump University. According to the article by Doug Feiden, Trump University and Trump Institute have been deluged by complaints from more than 150 students in at least 22 states claiming they’ve been cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars. These students include dozens of retirees, veterans, laid-off workers and seniors living on fixed incomes.

Trump University received a D-minus rating from the Better Business Bureau in January, which is under review after Trump University objected. Trump Institute got an F in early 2009. After the New York Department of Education demanded Trump University stop calling itself a “university,” it changed its name to the “Trump Entrepreneur Initiative LLC” on Tuesday.

Zeldes & Haeggquist client and former New York teacher Patricia Murphy, who spent $15,000 on Trump seminars is quoted in the Daily News article stating: ”I took out most of my life’s savings … maxed out my credit cards and badly damaged my credit rating. What do I have to show for it? Big bills, interest payments, finance charges – an awful lot of stress.”

According to the investigation by the New York Daily News, attorneys general in six states and several Business Bureaus have received numerous complaints, and some are initiating investigations:

– In January, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott launched a probe of Trump University’s “possibly deceptive” advertising and business practices after getting two dozen complaints.

– Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office is “reviewing” 20 complaints from people who paid up to $35,000 for various “Trump Elite” packages promising “priceless information” that never came.

– Better Business Bureaus have tracked at least 70 allegations of deceptive practices from Brooklyn to Honolulu. Those include complaints by students that they were pressured to max out credit cards.

“The complaint alleges, and the facts will show that the purpose of each seminar is not to teach students about real estate investing, but to convince them to buy additional Trump seminars,” said Amber Eck, a partner in the San Diego-based law firm Zeldes & Haeggquist LLP.

Here is a link to the New York Daily News article – http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/05/31/2010-05-31_trump_u_flunks_students_complaints_pile_up_from_those_who_paid_up_to_30g_say_the.html

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Boost Mobile: Lose Your Prepaid Phone Minutes?

March 13, 2012 by Haeggquist & Eck

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP is investigating a potential class action lawsuit against Boost Mobile, one of Sprint’s pre-paid brands. Boost Mobile sells wireless phones and services without long-term contracts. To pay for Boost Mobile’s prepaid services, customers periodically add money to their Boost Mobile accounts. However, consumers claim Boost Mobile withdraws any money a customer doesn’t use within 90 days.

If you’ve loaded money into your Boost Mobile account and Boost has withdrawn the money after 90 days, you may have been a victim of consumer fraud. If you wish to discuss or participate in this potential class action, or if you have any questions concerning your rights or interests, please contact Helen Zeldes of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP at (619) 342-8000 or via e-mail at investigations@zhlaw.com. There is no cost to you.

To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or call (619) 342-8000 today!

Haeggquist & Eck, LLP Files Consumer Fraud Class Action Against Trump University

April 30, 2010 by Haeggquist & Eck

April 30, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

San Diego, April 30, 2010 – Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, LLP on April 30, 2010, filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Trump University, on behalf of consumers who purchased Trump University real estate investing seminars.

Trump University markets itself as a University driven by the mission to “train, educate and mentor entrepreneurs on achieving financial independence through real estate investing.” It is anything but. Indeed, in January 2010, the Better Business Bureau gave Trump University a D-minus rating, and the New York Department of Education recently demanded that Trump University remove “University” from its title, insisting that the “use of the word ‘university’ by your corporation is misleading and violates New York Education Law and the Rules of the Board of Regents.”

The class-action lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that Trump University made materially misleading misstatements in its advertising and in its real estate seminars, in violation of federal and state law. According to the Complaint, Plaintiff and class members who attended Trump University’s real estate investing classes were promised a “complete real estate education,” a “one-year apprenticeship,” a one-on-one mentorship, practical and fail-safe real estate techniques, a “power team” consisting of real estate agents, lenders, personal finance managers, property managers and contractors, and were assured that although the seminars cost as much as $35,000, they would make the money back in their first real estate deal, and could make up to tens of thousands of dollars per month or more. Plaintiff and class members did not receive what they bargained for.

The Complaint alleges that instead of receiving a “complete real estate education,” each seminar was merely an “infomercial” to up-sell the student to purchase an additional Trump Seminar. The “one-year apprenticeship” consumers were promised was actually just a 3-day seminar; the one-on-one year-long mentorship consisted of a 2-1/2 day excursion to view properties, and “mentors” recommended real estate deals in which they stood to financially benefit, and then quickly disappeared and failed to return calls.

“One of the most disturbing practices Trump University engaged in during these seminars was to tell students to raise their credit card limit ‘4 times’ during the break, presumably to make real estate purchases,” said Plaintiff’s attorney, Amber Eck of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP. “In fact, after students had raised their credit card limits, Trump University representatives told the students to use their newly increased credit limit — not to purchase real estate – but to purchase the next Trump “Gold” seminar – for $35,000.”

“It’s really disappointing in this economy to see the lengths that Trump will go to play on the fears of seniors – cajoling, ‘How many of you lost a lot of your 401k investment in the market? How many of you are retired? How many of you want to leave a legacy or property to your kids?” said Helen Zeldes of Haeggquist & Eck, LLP. “Praying on people’s fears to sell them empty promises is not just wrong, it’s illegal.”

May 25, 2011 – CNN, “Is Trump University a Scam?“
May 7, 2011 – Forbes, “Trump University’s Unhappy Students.”
May 6, 2011 – The Huffington Post, “Trump’s ‘University’ Accused of Scamming Customers.”
May 5, 2011 – San Francisco Chronicle, “Trump’s Real Estate Courses Didn’t Deliver, Lawsuit Says.”
April 26, 2011 – The Trump University lawsuit was featured on NPR’s “These Days” with Alison St. John and KPBS Legal Analyst Dan Eaton.
April 19, 2011 – NBC Nightly News airs a story on Donald Trump, mentioning Trump University.
On October 12, 2010, the Southern District of California issued an Order upholding our first amended class action complaint against Trump University as to nearly all claims, including claims for breach of contract, false advertising, violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (finding Plaintiffs stated a claim that Trump University’s conduct was unlawful, unfair and… fraudulent) and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), with leave to amend as to the other claims. A Second Amended Complaint was filed on December 16, 2010.

If you wish to discuss or participate in this action or have any questions concerning your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Amber Eck at (619) 342-8000 or click here.

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We Stand For JUSTICE,

that means we…

Stay

CONNECTED

Call Us Now For Your Free, No-Obligation Case Evaluation

Call Us Now For Your Free,
No-Obligation Case Evaluation