Consumer Protection

Champions for transparency and
consumer rights.

We protect consumers across the United States from corporate malfeasance, including false and misleading advertising, product defects, warranty violations, personal data theft, fraudulent billing, and other types of unfair or deceptive business practices. 

Overview

We represent consumers and small businesses in state and federal consumer class actions in industries including automotive and trucking, consumer products, data protection software, financial services, insurance, social media, telecommunications, and others.  

Experience and tenacity are what set us apart. We are trial tested and regularly chosen for court-appointed class leadership roles. We have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and established legal precedent along the way.  

We take on formidable opponents and have a long track record of success which includes victories over entities like Equifax, Anthem, Caterpillar, Lumber Liquidators, Vizio, Facebook, Apple, Providian Financial Corporation, Symantec, HCA, and others. 

The scope of our practice includes particular areas of focus:  

DATA BREACH & CYBERSECURITY LITIGATION

We represent those whose personal, sometimes sensitive, information has been compromised as the result of negligent cybersecurity practices. 

We have played a leadership role in nearly every major data breach class action litigated to date. We are highly regarded by co-counsel and the judiciary alike for our collaborative efforts in pre-litigation investigations and work with data privacy and economic experts. And we are deft in handling complex discovery for large-scale data breach class actions, ensuring efficiencies of scale. 

PRODUCT LIABILITY

We represent consumers and small businesses in state and federal product defect, manufacturing defect, and breach of warranty class actions. Our experience extends to numerous industries including: 

  • Automotive, Trucking & Recreational Vehicles 
  • Airbags & Safety Systems 
  • Exhaust & Emissions Systems 
  • Engines 
  • Transmissions 
  • Home Improvement Products 
  • Technology Devices & Software 
  • Medical Devices 
  • Pharmaceuticals 
  • Machinery & Tools 
  • Children’s Products 
FALSE ADVERTISING & UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES

We take on deceptive behavior, representing consumers and small businesses in cases involving false advertising, deceptive marketing, and unfair business practices. This includes: 

  • Bait-and-switch and “negative option marketing” schemes 
  • Failure to disclose 
  • False advertising and mislabeling claims, including claims regulated by the USDA, FDA, and EPA 
  • Hidden, inflated or excessive fees 
  • Algorithmic inflation/ Inflated metrics 
  • Social media bots and deceptive online marketing 

We have the resources to investigate and file, often novel consumer class actions, sometimes in advance of Federal Trade Commission or state attorney general investigations. We deftly handle complex discovery, ensuring streamlined, efficiencies of scale, in large class actions. Given our national footprint, we have access to, and experience with, many of the top industry and economic experts across the United States. 

We have taken on industry giants including Facebook, Apple, Symantec, Lumber Liquidators, and many others in the financial, insurance, telecom, software, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors. 

Our primary objective is to bring a full measure of justice to consumers and small businesses through the courts, while holding corporate wrongdoers responsible. 

HEALTHCARE FRAUD CLASS ACTIONS

We represent healthcare participants in a range of healthcare fraud-related class actions against hospitals, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and other healthcare providers, as well as insurance companies, pharmacies, and third-party administrators involving: 

  • Billing Schemes, including Excessive, Hidden, or Inflated Fees 
  • Diagnostic Testing Facility Fraud 
  • Co-Pay & Insurance Premium Increases 
  • Delay or Denial of Care (class only) 
  • Deceptive Marketing, including “Off-label” Marketing of Non-FDA Approved Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices 
  • False Advertising & Non-Disclosure Claims 
  • False Medical Claims & Records Management Fraud 
  • Hospice & Homecare Fraud 
  • Hospital & Health System Fraud 
  • Insurance Fraud 
  • Medicaid & Medicare-related Fraud 
  • Nursing Home & Skilled Nursing Fraud 
  • Pharmacy Schemes 
  • Telehealth Fraud 

Use the CONTACT US BOX BELOW, if you believe you have a legal claim. 

We also welcome co-counsel opportunities with other consumer protection law firms, nationwide. 

Current Cases

Maugain, et al. v. FCA US LLC

Maugain, et al. v. FCA US LLC (D. Del.): Cohen Milstein represents owners of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, or RAM-branded vehicles across the United States in a consumer protection class action alleging that Fiat Chrysler America (FCA) sold defective Pentastar 3.6 liter V6 engines in 2014 or newer Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, or RAM-branded vehicles violating implied breach of warranty and unjust enrichment statutes under federal and state laws of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Baus, et al. v. Ford Motor Company

Baus, et al. v. Ford Motor Company (E.D. Mich.): Cohen Milstein represents plaintiffs who purchased or leased vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company in a consolidated breach of warranty and deceptive and fraudulent business practices class action against Ford Motor Company. Plaintiffs bring their claims under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act and the consumer fraud statutes of their respective states, related to Ford’s manufacture and sale of defective Ford F-150 pickup trucks, Model Years 2018-2020 equipped with 5.0L engines.

Brooks, et al. v. Thomson Reuters

Brooks, et al. v. Thomson Reuters (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein is representing a class of putative plaintiffs who claim that Thomson Reuters’s CLEAR platform not only surreptitiously collects vast quantities of Californians’ personal data but then sells this information to third parties, including commercial and government entities.

Past Cases

Khoday et al v. Symantec Corp. et al.

Khoday et al. v. Symantec Corp. et al. (D. Minn.): Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a nationwide class action involving the marketing to consumers of a re-download service in conjunction with the sale of Norton software. In April 2016, the case settled in a $60 million all-cash deal a month before it was to go to trial – one of the most significant consumer settlements in years. Douglas McNamara was involved in all aspects of the case, from managing the litigation to overseeing a staff of contract attorneys to settlement discussions.

Ohio Department of Medicaid et al. v. Centene Corporation et al.

Ohio Department of Medicaid v. Centene, Corp. (Franklin C.P., Ohio): Led by Christina Saler, Cohen Milstein served as Special Counsel to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in this litigation. On June 14, 2021, the Ohio Attorney General announced a $88.3 million settlement with Centene Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries for their alleged role in not only breaching contractual and fiduciary obligations to the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), but also defrauding ODM out of millions of dollars through an elaborate scheme with pharmacy benefit subcontractors to maximize company profits at the expense of the ODM and millions of Ohioans who rely on Medicaid.

Martin, et al. v. Trott Law, et al.

On September 28, 2018, the Honorable David M. Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern division, granted final approval to a class action settlement consisting of $7.5 million in cash and injunctive relief.  The case alleged that Defendants had violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act  (FDCPA) and […]