Jim Burton thought he was dying after lifting a box in his garage last and feeling a large jolt in his back. When his health insurer, Anthem, refused to pay for his E.R. visit of $1,722, citing that care was not needed right away, Jim learned that Anthem denied thousands of claims last year under… Read more »
Posts Tagged: litigation
Mesh Lawsuits
This New York Times article exposes a growing industry that makes money by coaxing women into having surgery — sometimes unnecessarily — so that they are more lucrative plaintiffs in lawsuits against medical device manufacturers. Questions: 1. What is the role of lawyers in this industry? 2. What is the role of marketers in this… Read more »
Big Bad Pharma
According to the New York Times, Trump administration officials are seeking ways to lower drug costs but target pharmaceutical companies that refuse to provide samples of their products to generic drug companies, making it impossible to create inexpensive generic copies of a brand-name medicine. Questions: 1. Argue both sides of this issue as a good… Read more »
DMX’s attorney cannot persuade the judge to go light on the tax fraud
Rapper DMX’s attorney played the rapper’s song “Slippin’” during his sentencing on Wednesday to help the musician express his struggles, but it was not enough to convince a judge to let the rapper off the hook. Instead DMX got 1 year in prison for tax fraud. Questions: 1. According to court records, how long did… Read more »
The Top Frauds of 2017
Monica Vaca, the Associate Director of the Division of Consumer Response and Operations at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just released the results from last year regarding the top frauds of 2017. Topping the list of reported frauds are the imposter scams, with nearly 350,000 reported. Questions: 1. How many people fell for someone pretending… Read more »
Big Time Food Stamp Fraud
Sheriff Mike Williams of Jacksonville, Florida, announced Tuesday the results of a multi-agency, undercover investigation into the exchange of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for cash and, in at least one case, cocaine. Questions: 1. From 2012 to 2017, how many food stamp transactions were fraudulent in Jacksonville and what was the dollar amount?… Read more »
Facebook Woes
According to Bloomberg, Facebook Inc. is heading toward its worst month since May 2013 after an analyst report warned of a temporary pullback in advertising and the FTC confirmed it’s investigating the social network’s privacy practices. Questions: How much market value for Facebook stock has been erased in the last 10 days? What is the… Read more »
It’s just for my stockholders
Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical executive notorious for increasing the price of Daraprim by 5,000 percent, along with mounting sneering defenses of his actions and even issuing a bounty for one of Hillary Clinton’s hairs, was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud. Questions: What had prosecutors sought for a sentence? What had… Read more »
Stepping over a line: Legitimate collection or legal harassment on student loans?
The agency charged with monitoring such student loan bankruptcy declarations is facing concerns that its tactics have grown ruthless. Bankruptcy experts say that the group is wasting judicial resources because it brings legal challenges to those few who are desperate enough to seek bankruptcy relief. Questions: 1. What is the name of this agency? Which… Read more »
Protect what?
Under Mick Mulvaney, the CFPB, which once was the agency dedicated to preventing banks and credit-card companies from scamming ordinary Americans, now becomes an agency dedicated to protecting potential financial scammers from legal penalties. Questions: 1. Since Mulvaney took over, what has the Bureau done for payday lenders? 2. Since Mulvaney took over, what has… Read more »