Wednesday, September 24, 2008Last Update: 5:54:04 PM

     The St. James Hotel enforces its own Jim Crow laws and bars black employees from white restrooms and white drinking fountains, four workers claim in Philadelphia Federal Court.
     
     Sam Zell cheated employees of pay and benefits at 48 California locations, a class action claims in Los Angeles Superior Court. Defendants include Lifestyle Properties, Manufactured Home Communities, Privileged Access, Thousand Trails, and Resort Parks International.
     
     Class-action complaints alleging Labor Code violations have been filed against these defendants: Tawa Supermarket, in Los Angeles Superior Court; GR 8 Lakes Corp., in Fort Pierce, Fla., Federal Court; TNT Farms, in Miami Federal Court; the City of Oakland Park, in Fort Lauderdale Federal Court; J&J Produce/CC Packers, and United Roofing Enterprises, in West Palm Beach Federal Court; Judge Inc., and Larry Pearson Air Conditioning & Heating, in Tampa Federal Court; Dick Williams Inc., and The Diamond District, in Fort Myers, Fla., Federal Court; and Matador Argentinean Steakhouse, in Miami-Dade County Court.

     Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance cheats policyholders of medical expenses after auto wrecks, a class action claims in Oklahoma City Federal Court.
     
     United Automobile Insurance cheats Spanish-speaking customers, a class action claims in Salt Lake County Court.
     
     Dyncorp International insists Lloyd's (of) London must defend and indemnify it for five class actions charging Dyncorp with poisoning people and land by spraying herbicides, allegedly on drug crops, in Ecuador and Florida, in New Castle, Del., Superior Court.

     Blockbuster cheats customers by failing to redeem gift cards when the value sinks below $10, a class action claims in Los Angeles Superior Court.
     
     Park West Gallery faces another class action accusing it of cheating Carnival Cruise Line passengers on sales of "fine art," in Los Angeles Federal Court.

     The John Scott Academy, of Columbus, and its "headmaster" John Overbeck defrauded a family of $7,000 by claiming the school was accredited by Ohio, according to a complaint in Butler County Court.

     A couple claim they were poisoned by black grouper that Whole Foods Market Group misrepresented as having been tested for ciguatoxin, and having been caught in Florida, in Palm Beach County Court.

     California demands more than $1 million in fines from Topchoice, Classic Productions and Crystal Ewing, all of Las Vegas, for an alleged 4-year-long sweepstakes scam, in Santa Cruz County Court.

     Woodside Homes of California built 25 defective houses in the Chantemar Estates/Villas development in Temecula, homebuyers say in Riverside Superior Court.

     Synchronoss Technologies shareholders say the company failed to disclose that AT&T would not use its technology for the Apple 3G iPhone, and when the truth came out, share price plummeted by 43% in a day, in Trenton Federal Court.
     
     China Shenghuo Pharmaceutical Holdings inflated its share price through false and misleading statements and SEC filings, shareholders say in Manhattan Federal Court.
     
     Directors of Cbeyond inflated share price through false and misleading statements, shareholders claim in Fulton County Court, Atlanta.

     Columbus Media claims that after it bought the trademarks and assets of TouchMedia through foreclosure, the old company sent out bait-and-switch letters to steal back its former clients. Also sued in Franklin County Court, Ohio, are Michael Fitts, Synergy Media Group, TouchMedia, and Synergy OMNI Media, all of Colorado.

     Gilbert, Ariz., police officers used excessive force by Tasering a man four times while he was handcuffed, Joey Mothershed claims in Phoenix Federal Court.

     Blackground Records and Barry and Jomo Hankerson owe it $49,234 for renting recording studios, Paramount Recording Studios claims in Los Angeles Superior Court.
     
     Ashley Hartman, a model, claims Creative Recreation, Something Kreative, Geoffrey James Clark and Tyler Shields defrauded and harmed her by using a photo of her in a sexually suggestive manner in ads, in Los Angeles Superior Court.

     San Francis Imports claims NG Figurine Wholesale and WG Trading Corp. violate copyright on "Holy Cards," in Los Angeles Federal Court.