Nike Inc. and Apple Inc. have agreed to settle a class-action
lawsuit brought by consumers regarding the efficacy of the Nike+ FuelBand, and
will offer partial refunds to people who bought the fitness-tracking device.
The
lawsuit had alleged the companies misled consumers about the accuracy of the
device, which is worn like a wristwatch and retails for about $149. Consumers
who purchased the fitness tracker between Jan. 19, 2012, and June 17, 2015, are
eligible for a partial refund of either $15 or a $25 Nike gift card, according
to a website for the settlement, NikeFuelBandSettlement.com.
Lawyer
Emails Put Visa, MasterCard Settlement at Risk
The discovery of a trove of emails between two opposing lawyers
who are also close friends is threatening to scuttle a $6 billion class-action
antitrust settlement between Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and millions of merchants.
Lawyers
representing roughly 100 big merchants, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Home Depot Inc., and 7-Eleven Inc., are expected on
Tuesday to formally notify the card networks that they will seek to unravel the
three-year-old pact, according to people familiar with the plans.
Those
lawyers are expected to take the same steps in a similar case involving a
pending $79 million settlement involving American Express Co. and roughly the same group of
merchants, these people said.
The twist in the case follows a remarkable series of events that
began when Keila Ravelo, who represented MasterCard in the
antitrust case when she was a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP,
resigned from the firm in November. Shortly thereafter, she and her husband, Melvin Feliz, were charged by the U.S. attorney’s
office in New Jersey with conspiracy to commit wire fraud by setting up two
dummy companies to fraudulently obtain more than $5 million from Willkie Farr,
law firm Hunton & Williams LLP—where Ms. Ravelo also had worked—and
MasterCard, according to authorities and court filings.
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