Legal

The disconnect between how executives and consumer privacy advocates view email marketing was never more obvious than during the latest hijinks surrounding Barnes & Noble's acquisition of Borders' customer data, including email addresses. As part of the Borders bankruptcy proceedings, Barnes & Noble paid $13.9 million for Borders' intellectual property, including its 48-million customer database.

Mary Bach of Pennsylvania sued Wal-Mart for charging her two cents more than the price on the tag for a package of sausages. Bach was awarded $180, but her aim wasn't to recoup savings she could have lost between the sofa cushions.

Merchants and their customers will save billions of dollars now that new Federal Reserve regulations cutting debit card swipe fees roughly in half have taken effect, the National Retail Federation said.

Liz Claiborne has won the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit that accused the company of misrepresenting its relationships with Macy's and J.C. Penney. U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said that the investors failed to show that Liz Claiborne intended to mislead them about the relationships.

The Supreme Court of California recently ruled that collecting ZIP codes from customers who paid by credit card may subject merchants to class-action lawsuits. Dozens of such actions have already been filed, including against retailers "yet to be named." Reported settlements paid by some companies have exceeded $25 million. The lesson is clear: All retailers should review their customer information collection practices in light of California law (and other states) to avoid becoming the target of class-action lawyers.

Reebok agreed to refund $25 million to customers who bought its popular EasyTone and RunTone shoes as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which says the company didn't have the science to back its “better way to a better butt” claims.

A bankruptcy judge in New York approved Barnes & Noble’s $13.9 million purchase of Borders’ intellectual property, including its valuable customer list. The approval came after the parties offered a new proposal about how to protect the privacy interests of 48 million former Borders customers, and comes four days after the judge had temporarily halted the sale.

Groupon was hit with a second employee lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay overtime. It's only the latest in a series of major setbacks for the social coupon site, casting its future into doubt.

On Sept. 19, the New York Attorney General announced a settlement with retail chain Michaels Stores over its allegedly deceptive advertising practices. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman claimed that the arts and crafts giant deceived consumers into thinking they were receiving enormous discounts on certain products when, in fact, they were really paying regular store prices.

Chanel has filed a sweeping cyberpiracy and trademark infringement lawsuit in Nevada against 399 websites the company accuses of selling counterfeit items bearing the luxury retailer's name. The suit filed Sept. 20 in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas seeks unspecified damages from unnamed operators of websites that the fashion house alleges operate from China, the Bahamas and other overseas jurisdictions where trademark enforcement is lax.