Pending Consumer Class Action Cases
On October 14, 2004, Girard Gibbs filed a class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Washington on behalf of all Best Buy customers who were signed up for trial subscriptions to Microsoft's MSN internet service, never logged onto or used MSN, but were charged regular monthly fees by Microsoft after the trial period ended.
Girard Gibbs filed this class action lawsuit against BMW of North America in December 2004 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that the “seat occupation detection system” in some 2004-2005 BMW 5-Series automobiles is defective, in that it deactivates the front-passenger airbags even when the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult who exceeds the minimum weight activation threshold.
In April 2006, Girard Gibbs filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who opened H&R Block Express Individual Retirement Accounts (also called Express IRAs). This lawsuit alleges that H&R Block’s claims that the Express IRA offers “great rates” and “a better way to save” were incomplete and misleading, since most consumers who open Express IRAs lose money because the low interest rate earned does not exceed the cost of opening and maintaining the account.
MCI - Improper Billing Class Action
In July 2005, Girard Gibbs filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on behalf of telephone customers nationwide who were unlawfully billed by MCI, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCIP) for monthly service charges even though they were not MCI customers. The complaint alleges that MCI assesses the monthly fees directly or through consumers' local phone bills. It asserts claims against MCI for violations of the federal Communications Act and for unjust enrichment.
In March 2004, Girard Gibbs filed a class action lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California against Intel Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased or leased a Pentium 4 microprocessor or a computer containing a Pentium 4 microprocessor with clock speeds ranging from 1.3 to 1.8 gigahertz.
Memberworks / Vertrue Class Action
In June 2006, Girard Gibbs filed an amended class action complaint in United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against Vertrue, Inc. (formerly known as MemberWorks) on behalf of all consumers in the U.S. whose bank debit cards were charged for one of Vertrue’s membership programs, and on behalf of all Tennessee residents whose credit cards were charged for a Vertrue membership program.
In May 2006, Girard Gibbs filed an amended class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of all persons in the U.S. who were charged on their bank, home mortgage, or debit accounts for any Trilegiant membership, and on behalf of all California residents who were charged on their credit cards for Trilegiant memberships.
Hyundai Tiburon - Defective Clutch & Flywheel Class Action
On April 27, 2006, Girard Gibbs filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging that the factory-installed flywheel and clutch in the 2003 Hyundai Tiburon prematurely fails. The complaint also alleges that Hyundai is aware of the defective nature of the flywheel system and yet as a practice and policy, refuses to replace it under warranty and blames the failure on customer misuse.
Girard Gibbs is co-lead counsel in a federal Multi-District Litigation class action and numerous state class action lawsuits filed on behalf of owners of General Motors vehicles, which were factory-filled with "Dex-Cool" coolant.
GM / Chevrolet Silverado Piston Slap Investigation
Girard Gibbs LLP filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of all California owners and lessees of 1999-2003 model year Chevrolet Silverados equipped with 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 or 8.1 liter engines. This class action lawsuit alleges that General Motors Corporation (“GM”) has a secret adjustment program that provides a free General Motors Protection Plan (“GMPP”) to some, but not all, owners and lessees of these Silverado models who complain about an engine knock condition.