Category Archives: litigation

CARB Fines Walmart for Selling Harmful Hair Spray

VOCs react in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, an extremely harmful component of smog. Walmart pulled all cans immediately from California store shelves and was cooperative with the investigation. The affected cans were from the “Equate” brand line and included the Firm, Mega Firm, and Extra Firm Hold Hair Spray.   Continue reading

Posted in environment, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Legacy – FAA Adopts Stricter Unruly Passenger Policy

Typically, the FAA addressed unruly-passenger incidents using a variety of methods ranging from warnings and counseling to civil penalties. Effective immediately, however, the FAA will not address these cases with warnings or counseling. The agency will pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members. This policy will be in effect through March 30, 2021. Why it should stop then was unexplained. Continue reading

Posted in aviation, fools 'n frauds, litigation, safety | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Boeing to Pay More Than $2.5 Billion for 737 Max Fraud

The Justice Departments reputation and adherence to the law is subject to considerable debate under the pardoner in Chief – soon to be ex-president Trump and the former Attorney General (resume laundering by resigning 23 Dec 2020) and Republican lawyer William P. Barr. He is also known here as no-holds Barr for his relentless interference in Justice Department principles and law enforcement procedures to protect Trump, aka the Man Who would be King. Boeing, debatably, profited from such interference when the Trump Administration refused to ground the 737 Max despite growing incidents and fatalities. Continue reading

Posted in aviation, fools 'n frauds, litigation, news analysis, safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CARB Settles AltAir Paramount Abuses of Low Carbon Fuel

The LCFS requires quarterly and annual reports to be submitted completely and accurately. CARB alleged that AltAir for the 2017 Reporting Period, and sold, supplied, offered for sale, and transported fuel into the State of California, but failed to report and submitted a report containing inaccuracies, misreported, or entered false quarterly and annual report information, which led to a failure to eliminate annual deficits. These are violations of the LCFS regulation. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, environment, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

VW Beetle Ensnared in Takata Airbag Recall

VW maintains that the Takata SDI-D driver frontal airbag inflators installed in the recalled vehicles currently do not pose an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety to drivers of affected vehicles. “Based on its prior conversations with NHTSA, Volkswagen understands that the Agency is concerned that after additional time, the airbag inflator may not perform properly in the event of a crash,” VW said. Continue reading

Posted in customer satisfaction, litigation, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Commerce – S. Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam Tire Dumping

Using Census Bureau trade numbers, AutoInformed figures this involves 85,330,506 tires with a value of more than $3.5 billion. The case will drag on well into this year. Continue reading

Posted in economy, litigation, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Cuts Deal with UAW Union on Reform, Corruption and Fraud

In a partial UAW victory, the civil lawsuit was not filed pursuant to the federal anti-racketeering RICO law because the investigation by the United States did not uncover any involvement by organized crime or the mafia in the operations of the UAW. Instead, the civil complaint sets forth in detail a series of corrupt and fraudulent acts by former officers and board members of the UAW, as well as executives of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. GM’s RICO lawsuit against FCA is ongoing. Continue reading

Posted in customer satisfaction, fools 'n frauds, labor issues, litigation, news analysis, people | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NHTSA Imposes Engine Recalls, Penalties at Hyundai, Kia

These consent orders do not affect separate, ongoing investigations by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation regarding allegations of non-crash fires in certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles, some of which are equipped with Theta II engines. Continue reading

Posted in litigation, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

NHTSA Nixes GM Petition for Exclusion of Millions of Big Trucks and SUVs from Takata Airbag Recalls

The biggest recall* in US history just got bigger as NHTSA has ordered GM to replace Takata airbag inflators used in its full-size trucks and SUVs. In dispute were millions GM vehicles. Continue reading

Posted in litigation, news analysis, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

California AG, CARB File Motion To Shield LA Area Communities From Port of Los Angeles China Shipping Terminal Air Pollution

In 2008, the Port of Los Angeles certified an EIR that imposed feasible air quality mitigation measures to reduce the China Shipping Terminal’s anticipated adverse air quality impacts, including those on nearby communities. However, six of those measures were never implemented, exposing communities to harmful air quality impacts that should have been reduced by the mitigation measures included in the 2008 EIR. Continue reading

Posted in environment, fools 'n frauds, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

October – Smart Mobility Cyber Incidents. 7 Deadly Threats

Upstream’s AutoThreat Intelligence analyzes and circulate cyber-threat intelligence specific to the automotive sector. Here’s the latest list of the most interesting incidents – the 7 Deadly sins so to speak of the Cyber Word.  Continue reading

Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, electronics, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commerce – Countervailing Duties on Vietnamese Cars,Tires

Among the subsidies preliminarily countervailed is Vietnam’s undervalued currency. This is the first time that Commerce has ever made an affirmative CVD determination regarding a foreign currency with a unitary exchange rate. Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of passenger tires from Vietnam based on these preliminary rates above. Continue reading

Posted in litigation, milestones, news analysis | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

FCA Fined $9.5 Million for Diesel Emissions Abuses

FCA’s statements did not sufficiently disclose the limited scope of its internal audit, which focused only on finding a specific type of defeat device, or that the audit was not a comprehensive review of FCA’s compliance with U.S. emissions regulations. Continue reading

Posted in electronics, engineering, environment, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SEC Settles Charges Against Clean Water Project Founder

The complaint alleges that only $650,000 of the $7.2 million raised made it to the project’s bank account. According to the complaint, Sembritzky spent the rest of the money on such personal items as a $2 million condominium for his then-wife, luxury cars, jewelry, and credit card debt. Continue reading

Posted in environment, fools 'n frauds, litigation, marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BorgWarner Cops SEC Plea for Materially Misstating Financial Statements Concerning Asbestos Litigation

According to the SEC’s order, BorgWarner did not conduct any substantive quantitative analysis to estimate these asbestos claims, despite possessing nearly 40 years of historical raw claims data. BorgWarner also admitted that its internal controls over financial reporting were ineffective. Continue reading

Posted in environment, financial results, litigation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment