Kazerouni Law Group APC

"The Federal Trade Commission charged St. Louis-based chiropractor Eric Anthony Nepute and his company Quickwork LLC with violating the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act, by deceptively marketing products containing vitamin D and zinc as scientifically proven to treat or prevent COVID-19. This is the first case the FTC has brought under the new law. In a federal complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf, the Comm...ission is asking the court to exercise a provision of the new law to impose monetary penalties on Nepute and Quickwork, and to grant a preliminary injunction against the defendants. According to the complaint, the defendants marketed the vitamin D and zinc products under the brand name Wellness Warrior, and claimed that they were as, or more, effective than vaccines that are currently available." https://www.ftc.gov//first-action-under-covid-19-consumer-

"Nothing scares a fire weather scientist quite like a year with dehydrated chamise. If it’s dry, then that’s a good indicator that everything is dry. Right now, these are the lowest April 1 fuel moistures we’ve ever had, Clements says. This is supposed to be the time of year when moisture levels are at their highest, thanks to recent autumn and winter rains. But California is withering in a drought. The shocking thing in 2021 is that we don’t have any new growth on chamise... in our sample areas, Clements says. These plants are stunted by the drought. The California landscape appears ready to burn epically this year. It looks bad, to put not too fine a point on it, says UC Los Angeles climate scientist Daniel Swain, especially considering that several wildfires have already broken out in heavily forested parts of Northern California. It shouldn’t be dry enough to support accidental fire ignitions in April in the Santa Cruz Mountains." https://arstechnica.com//the-humble-shrub-thats-predictin/

Partner Jason Ibey decided to demonstrate all the ways to incorrectly wear a mask he's seen over the last couple months...what's the worst one you've seen?

Yet another cable company fined for lying to consumers... "A judge has ordered Charter Communications to pay $19.2 million to Windstream for lying to customers in order to trick them into switching from Windstream to Charter's Spectrum Internet service. Charter also faces a $5,279 penalty for shutting off service to hundreds of Windstream's resale customers. When Windstream filed for bankruptcy in early 2019, Charter began a "literally false and intentionally misleading adve...rtising campaign intended to create the impression, using mailings designed to seem as if they were coming from the Debtors [Windstream], that the Debtors were going out of business," said an order issued Thursday by Judge Robert Drain of US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York." https://arstechnica.com//charter-must-pay-19-million-for-/

Another satisfied client! If you haven't already reviewed our firm, please click here https://podium.co/G6bWnR5 to do so- your review will help other clients find us and use our services!

SCAM ALERT: If you’re a college student, faculty, or staff member, you’re going to want to pay attention to this one. IRS imposters are sending phishing emails to people with .edu email addresses, saying they have information about your tax refund payment. What do they really want? Your personal information. Scammers are sending emails with subject lines like, Tax Refund Payment or Recalculation of your tax refund payment. The email asks you to click a link and submit... a form to claim your refund. What happens if you click the link? The website asks for personal information, including your name, Social Security number (SSN), date of birth, prior year’s annual gross income (AGI), driver’s license number, address, and electronic filing PIN. Scammers can use or sell this information for identity theft. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov//new-irs-imposter-scam-target

Congratulations to KLG's Pamela Prescott for being accepted to the state bar of Minnesota!

After almost two years of litigation and delays due to covid, our firm recovered $1,000,000.00 in a hotly contested premises liability matter wherein our client suffered multiple ankle bone fractures. Mike Kazerouni, Assal Assassi, Abbas Kazerooni, Injury Recovery Group

Kazerouni Law Group, APC Receives Class Certification Against Utah Debt Collector Our client received a letter from Cascade collections attempting to collect a debt. Our case alleges that the letter from Cascade was confusing, deceptive, and violated the Federal Debt Collections Practices Act in several ways. Cascade Collections deceived the debtor about the ways they could dispute the debt, making it seem like they had fewer options of disputing the debt than federal law pr...ovides. This part was not successful so don't include it. The letter was confusing in that it gave two different time periods in which to respond to the letter (30 days from the date of the letter and 30 days from the receipt of the letter) The letter also claimed that amount due may or may not include interest and fees, which made it impossible for our client to know the true amount of the debt, another clear violation of the FDCPA. Violations of the FDCPA entitled plaintiffs to statutory damages up to $1,000 per violation of their rights. On March 31st, we received partial class certification for a class action representing not only our original plaintiff, but 188 others who received similar letters from Cascade Collections. I would just say the class was certified naming plaintiff as the class representative and Kazerouni Law Group as class counsel. The class is comprised of 188 people who received similar letters. The judge denied one of our theories of certification, but ultimately certified the class. We look forward to representing our client, and others similarly harmed, going forward in litigation.

Incredibly proud to find out that Kazerouni Law Group, APC, obtained 3 of the highest 100 Personal Injury settlements in California last year according to TopVerdict. Led off by our 17th ranked $3,250,000 settlement, these cases were the result of a full team effort, but special congratulations goes to Mike Kazerouni and Assal Assassi!! https://topverdict.com//top-100-personal-injury-settlements

"A small independent bookstore filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon last week, alleging that the e-commerce giant colluded with the five major book publishers to fix wholesale prices and block other sellers from competing on price or product availability. The suit seeks to compensate independent booksellers for Amazon’s and publishers’ practices and put an injunction on the alleged anticompetitive practices. The named plaintiff is Bookends and Beginnings, a physical and online bookstore located in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago. Amazon, which got its start selling books during the dot-com boom, has dominated the retail book market in recent years, selling an estimated 90 percent of all e-books and over 40 percent of physical books." https://arstechnica.com//amazon-colluded-with-publishers-/

SCAM ALERT: The Department of Justice has received reports that fraudsters are creating fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine surveys for consumers to fill out with the promise of a prize or cash at the conclusion of the survey. In reality, the surveys are used to steal money from consumers and unlawfully capture consumers’ personal information. Consumers receive the surveys via email and text message, and are told that, as a gift for filling out the survey, they can choose from variou...s free prizes, such as an iPad Pro. The messages claim that the consumers need only pay shipping and handling fees to receive their prize. Victims provide their credit card information and are charged for shipping and handling fees, but never receive the promised prize. Victims also are exposing their personally identifiable information (PII) to scammers, thereby increasing the probability of identity theft. Unless from a known and verified source, consumers should never click on links in text messages or emails claiming to be a vaccine survey. https://www.justice.gov//justice-department-warns-about-fa

Abbas Kazerounian has been named interim co-lead class counsel in a class action suit against the operators of Legoland, after they refused to refund our client and others thousands of dollars in hotel reservations and tickets after California's Stay-At-Home order in May of last year. Kazerouni Law Group is proud to represent this class, and will work tirelessly to ensure justice is done!

Misleading federal regulators who were investigating not one but two plane crashes turns out to be a bad idea. On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that Boeing has been charged with a conspiracy to defraud a government agency that was evaluating the company's 737 Max airplane. As a result of "misleading statements, half-truths, and omissions communicated by Boeing employees" to the Federal Aviation Authority's Aircraft Evaluation Group, Boeing has agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion as part of a deferred prosecution agreementthat includes a criminal penalty of $243 million, $500 million to compensate the heirs of 346 crash victims, and $1.77 billion in compensation to Boeing's airline customers. https://arstechnica.com//boeing-charged-with-fraud-over-7/

A California-based mobile advertising company has settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that it failed to provide in-game rewards users were promised for completing advertising offers. As part of the proposed settlement, Tapjoy, Inc., is prohibited from misleading users about the rewards they can earn and must monitor its third-party advertiser partners to ensure they do what is necessary to enable Tapjoy to deliver promised rewards to consumers. Tapjoy operates an adv...ertising platform that works within mobile games by promising in-game virtual currencysuch as gold bars or diamondsto users who complete activities including purchasing a product, signing up for a free-trial offer, providing personal information (for example, an email address), or taking a survey. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Tapjoy, which earns commissions from third-party advertisers, deceived consumers by failing in many instances to provide the reward it promised even after consumers completed the activities. https://www.ftc.gov//ftc-requires-mobile-advertising-compa

The highest state court in Massachusetts has rejected Uber's efforts to force a blind man's discrimination claims to be settled in arbitration. In the process, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court raised the bar for technology companies trying to impose one-sided terms of service on users without providing clear notice that they were doing so. https://arstechnica.com//court-says-uber-cant-hold-users-/

In some ways, the hundreds of California laws scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 are unlike any others written in the state’s modern history. Many were drafted and deliberated in record time, after the pandemic forced the cancellation of weeks of legislative hearings in Sacramento. Hundreds of other bills introduced in the Legislature in the first three months of 2020 were abandoned because of the truncated schedule. https://www.latimes.com//new-2021-california-laws-covid-/

If you have federal student loans, read this : https://www.consumer.ftc.gov//if-you-have-federal-student-

"T-Mobile has agreed to pay a $200 million fine to resolve an investigation into subsidiary Sprint, which was caught taking millions of dollars in government subsidies for "serving" 885,000 low-income Americans who weren't using Sprint service." https://arstechnica.com//t-mobile-pays-200-million-fine-o/

When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking water standard. Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and it’s clear that wildfires aren’t the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk. https://arstechnica.com//plastic-pipes-are-polluting-drin/

"WASHINGTON, D.C. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today issued a final rule to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices by debt collectors when collecting consumer debt. The rule focuses on debt collection communications and gives consumers more control over how often and through what means debt collectors can communicate with them regarding their debts. The rule also clarifies how the protections of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which was passed in 1977, apply to newer communication technologies, such as email and text messages." https://www.consumerfinance.gov//consumer-financial-prote/

Great podcast with Mike Kazerouni talking about the importance of consumer rights laws in bankruptcy litigation!

"Despite 45-mph gusts launching embers into the suburban sprawl, where cars sat bumper to bumper trying to flee the oncoming flames, not a single home was lost or seriously damaged. In the end, thanks to a semi-formal agreement among the region’s biggest fire departments and the first-ever use of the world’s biggest, fastest water-dropping helicopter at night, crews were able to stand their ground, keeping the flames largely north of Portola Parkway, a major road that divides the subdivisions of Irvine from the backcountry. In some ways, we got a little bit lucky, said Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy." https://www.latimes.com//luck-was-on-the-side-of-orange-co

Happy Friday from Kazerouni Law Group! At Kazerouni Law Group, every one of our employees is dedicated to one mission: serving our clients by helping them seek justice. The process of seeking that justice is truly a team effort, and we're able to provide great results for our clients only because of our great team. Over the next few months, we'll be highlighting one of our team members every Friday, right here. Today's employee we're spotlighting is Mona Amini, Esq, an associ...ate attorney now based out of our Las Vegas and Orange County offices. Mona Amini grew up in Orange County, California. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Riverside where she received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. After that, she attended Whittier Law School and received her J.D. with a concentration in Business Law. She joined KAZLG in 2014, and is fluent in Farsi and proficient in Spanish. Mona litigates a broad spectrum of consumer rights issues, and takes the lead on our data breach cases. Question: In what ways do you think the practice of law will be changed by COVID? Mona: We as attorneys have all had to become more comfortable with using cloud-based tech and videoconferencing like Zoom while we work remotely. I think even when we return to normal, this period may end up helping to pull the industry into the 21st century and change the way we interact with our clients in positive ways. Q: Favorite part of the job? Mona: It's cliche, but helping clients. Everyone probably says this- but for me, it really is the most satisfying thing when a client tells you how happy and relieved they are that you could help them. Q: What's something you've been doing to keep busy during quarantine? Mona: Cooking and baking. I've moved on from banana bread and I'm getting into some more advanced stuff (pumpkin bread!). And, like everyone else, watching lots of movies and shows on Netflix. Q: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of the year, what would it be? Mona: Sushi....I've missed it so much during COVID, and delivery just isn't the same.

"It's hard to overstate how much of an outlier Tesla is compared with other companies working on self-driving technology. Waymo had a roughly Tesla-caliber self-driving system in 2015 or so. Since then they've done five years of additional testing, mostly with professional safety drivers, before they launched an extremely limited driverless service this year. Maybe Waymo has been too cautious and Tesla's experiment will turn out fine. But I think most people aren't appreciating how big a risk Tesla is takingnot only with its own customers' lives but also with those of others on the roadways." https://arstechnica.com//tesla-is-now-beta-testing-self-d/

Our newest podcast episode is now live! Abbas Kazerounian is joined by attorney Adam Rose to discuss an issue that has taken on a new urgency these days- tenants rights. An estimated 30-40 million people in America are at risk of eviction in the next few months, and knowing their rights as a tenant is crucial. https://youtu.be/D_llPY3CnSs

The Silverado and BlueRidge Fires have dominated the horizon of Orange County since Monday morning. Over 70,000 of our neighbors are still under mandatory evacuation, and the fight is still not done. Thanks to the incredible heroism and hard work of our firefighters, right almost all of those 70,000 will all have a home to return to- despite burning a combined 30,000 acres, no structures have been lost due to the Silverado Fire, and only one structure in the neighboring Blue...Ridge Fire. This success has came at heavy cost, however- two young firefighters with the Orange County Fire Authority were critically injured on Monday, suffering severe burns across most of their bodies. Their road to recovery will be a long, and expensive one. OC Firefighters Local 3631 has organized a GoFundMe in support of the two injured firefighters to cover additional costs related to burn care and family support during this difficult time. If you can, we encourage you to join us in donating and sharing. https://www.gofundme.com/f/orange-county-ca-firefighters

Incredibly proud of KLG attorney Yana Hart's new article about recent developments in privacy law in this month's Gavel magazine.

Good morning- an update on the #SilveradoFire: 11,200 acres burned 14 Helicopters now being deployed More than 750 firefighters deployed ... 5% contained 10-15 mph winds w/ ridge top gusts reaching 35 mph. Thanks to our incredible firefighters NO structures have yet been damaged by this fire (1 home in Yorba Linda was destroyed in the #BlueRidgeFire) but we're still not close to turning a corner on this fire. Southern California Edison has confirmed our suspicion that this fire may have been ignited by a utility line- in a legally mandated report to the California Public Utility Commission, they reported that "We have no indication of any circuit activity prior to the report time of the fire, nor downed overhead primary conductors in the origin area. However, it appears that a lashing wire that was attached to an underbuilt telecommunication line may have contact SCE’s overhead primary conductor which may have resulted in the ignition of the fire. The investigation is ongoing." You can see from the graphic below how close their transmission lines are to the ignition point. Kazerouni Law Group is starting to gather resources & supplies needed for donation to local shelters- if you know of any shelter or displaced families with specific needs, please let us know- we are all in this together!

Orange County- If you are looking for accommodations tonight due to a mandatory evacuation order, here are hotels offering discounted rates to displaced people: Please share! https://visitanaheim.org/wildfire-help-oc

At approximately 12:15 pm this afternoon two Orange County Fire Authority members were critically injured fighting the #SilveradoFire. Aged 26 and 31, both are covered in second and third degree burns and are currently intubated. As the Silverado Fire threatened thousands of homes in our neighborhoods, these two brave professionals, along with thousands of their fellow first responders, put themselves in harms way to defend us. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers

To our friends and family in Orange County- please heed any evacuation order issued by your local law enforcement- the winds are really driving this fire and it doesn't look like our brave firefighters have gotten a hold on it yet https://www.nbclosangeles.com//brush-fire-orange-/2449550/

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a new website, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, where consumers can easily report fraud and all other consumer issues directly to the FTC. At ReportFraud.ftc.gov, consumers will find a streamlined and user-friendly way to submit reports to the FTC about scams, frauds, and bad business practices. The FTC has long encouraged consumers to report these issues to the FTC when they encounter themwhether or not they lost money to the fraud. https://www.ftc.gov//ftc-announces-new-fraud-reporting-pla