Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

On behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice is suing Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, LLC, Legacy Cremation Services, LLC, d/b/a Heritage Cremation Provider, and their owner, Anthony Joseph Damiano, for misrepresenting their location and prices, illegally threatening and failing to return cremated remains to consumers, and failing to provide disclosures required by the Funeral Rule. The FTC is asking the court to stop violations of the FTC Act and the Funeral Rule and impose civil penalties on the defendants. In April 2023, the FTC announced that the defendants will pay civil penalties and abide by strict requirements on how they communicate with customers to resolve the lawsuit filed on behalf of the FTC by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Superior Products International II, Inc., and its principal Joseph Pritchett, alleging they make false or unsubstantiated R-value and energy savings claims about their architectural coatings products. In July 2020, the FTC sued four companies that sell paint products used to coat buildings and homes, alleging that they deceived consumers about their products’ insulation and energy-savings capabilities. In complaints filed in federal court, the FTC charged that the companies falsely overstated the R-value ratings of the coatings, making deceptive statements about heat flow and insulating power.  The FTC announced a summary judgment against the defendants in November 2022.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a complaint charging Broadcom with illegally monopolizing markets for semiconductor components used to deliver television and broadband internet services through exclusive dealing and related conduct. The complaint alleges that Broadcom illegally maintained its power in the three monopolized markets by entering long-term agreements with both OEMs and service providers that prevented these customers from purchasing chips from Broadcom’s competitors. The complaint also alleges that Broadcom leveraged its power in the three monopolized chip markets to extract from customers exclusivity and loyalty commitments for the supply of chips in the five related markets. Under the consent order, Broadcom must stop requiring its customers to source components from Broadcom on an exclusive or near exclusive basis.

The DOJ, at the FTC’s request, filed suit in federal district court charging that satellite television provider Dish Network, directly and through its authorized dealers, called numerous consumers whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry. The United States also charged Dish Network, previously known as EchoStar, with violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by assisting and supporting its authorized dealers in telemarketing Dish Network services via “robocalls” that deliver prerecorded telemarketing messages when consumers answer their phones.  

The marketers of a dietary supplement called Synovia agreed to settle FTC charges by halting the deceptive tactics they allegedly used to mislead consumers into thinking Synovia could treat arthritis and alleviate joint pain. In December 2020, the Commission announced it was returning almost $775,000 to consumers who both the deceptively marketed product.

In October 2018, the FTC announced that online student loan refinancer SoFi Lending Corp. (SoFi) agreed to stop misrepresenting how much money student loan borrowers have saved, or will save, by refinancing their loans with the company. The Commission approved the final consent in February 2019. In its administrative complaint, announced concurrently with the proposed settlement, the FTC alleged that since April 2016 SoFi made prominent false statements about loan refinancing savings in television, print, and Internet advertisements.