CONSUMER PROTECTION CLASS ACTIONS

State and Federal laws provide consumers with broad protection from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, as well as, false or misleading advertising. Shabel & DeNittis has taken leading roles in bringing and successfully prosecuting cases on behalf of consumers against coin sale companies, weight loss products and supplement companies, cellular telephone companies and Internet-based advertising and marketing companies nationwide. Among the consumer protection cases Shabel & DeNittis has spearheaded are the following cases:

$9,000,000 - DeMarco v. National Collector's Mint, 229 F.R.D. 73 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).

The settlement, on behalf of a class of 176,000 people, provided purchasers the opportunity to receive a full refund (equaling almost $9,000,000) who bought the Freedom Tower Silver Dollar from National Collector's Mint, Inc. (NCM) between September 1, 2004 and May 31, 2005. The class complaint alleged that NCM misrepresented the authenticity of the Freedom Tower Silver Dollars it sold to consumers. The class also claimed that NCM violated the Hobby Protection Act 15 U.S.C. § 2101(b) and should have marked the Freedom Tower Silver Dollars they sold with the word "COPY". The case was a matter of first impression in the United Stated District Court for Southern District of New York, and is now a published opinion in the Federal Reporters. September 2005.

$5,500,000 - Pandel V. Tristar Inc. et. al

A $5,500,000 valued settlement with defendant Tristar Inc. for a class of over 1 million purchasers, of the widely advertised electronic stimulated exercise belts called the Fast Abs. The members of the class alleged that the marketers of Fast Abs falsely advertised that users would get "six pack" or "washboard" abs without exercise. August 2003.

$5,500,000 - Arnold & Tiefert V. Ambassadors International, et. al - Civil Action No. 01 2020(JEI)

A $5,500,000 valued settlement, (combination, of cash funds and vouchers) for a class of 10,000 students who were allegedly induced through misrepresentations to participate in an international sports tournament that was promoted through a travel agency. June 2002.