Posted by Robert Santos.

Usually when people go on vacation, they come home with a souvenir of some sort such as a hat or refrigerator magnet. Lauren Guerra will be going home with a little more than a silly souvenir–in fact she will be going home with 3.5 million dollars. This will be a trip to remember for Guerra but not in the way one would want. Although Guerra will be going home a very rich woman, the damage that has been done is something that all the money in the world couldn’t fix.

On October 27, 2013, Lauren Guerra was one of the many passengers on the Star Line Tours of Hollywood bus giving a tour to passengers of Hollywood. These buses are popular and very well known for they give tours of the famous locations in California, and are known for the unique design of not having a roof but a open deck level for tourists to have a better view of sites and take better pictures. Unfortunately this would be Guerra’s biggest regret, for while aboard one of these buses, a tree branch flew into her face leaving her permanently disfigured. She immediately sued the company after hearing of another death on the same type of bus under the same company. In July 2014, and has been in a back and forth battle since then.

The court battle was vigorous and both sides seemed to have fair arguments. Mark Cunningham who is the attorney for the Starline Bus Company argued that Guerra was at fault because she was standing while the bus was in motion and also was drinking prior to being on the bus. Brian Kabateck, who is Guerra’s attorney, responded by admitting his client did indeed have a drink or two before entering the bus. But there was no way anyone could of avoided this injury, sober or not. Guerra’s attorney argued Star Line could have done more to prevent the situation such as having a worker on the second level of the bus, and also having individuals scout to see what type of environment the bus routes consisted of before actually allowing the buses on them. After a day-long discussion among jurors, the court finally awarded Guerra a settlement of 3.5 million dollars.

Something says that whether you weigh the negatives or the positives, Guerra will never forget this vacation.

Robert is a philosophy major at Seton Hall University, Class of 2016.

Posted by Robert Santos.

Usually when people go on vacation, they come home with a souvenir of some sort such as a hat or refrigerator magnet. Lauren Guerra will be going home with a little more than a silly souvenir–in fact she will be going home with 3.5 million dollars. This will be a trip to remember for Guerra but not in the way one would want. Although Guerra will be going home a very rich woman, the damage that has been done is something that all the money in the world couldn’t fix.

On October 27, 2013, Lauren Guerra was one of the many passengers on the Star Line Tours of Hollywood bus giving a tour to passengers of Hollywood. These buses are popular and very well known for they give tours of the famous locations in California, and are known for the unique design of not having a roof but a open deck level for tourists to have a better view of sites and take better pictures. Unfortunately this would be Guerra’s biggest regret, for while aboard one of these buses, a tree branch flew into her face leaving her permanently disfigured. She immediately sued the company after hearing of another death on the same type of bus under the same company. In July 2014, and has been in a back and forth battle since then.

The court battle was vigorous and both sides seemed to have fair arguments. Mark Cunningham who is the attorney for the Starline Bus Company argued that Guerra was at fault because she was standing while the bus was in motion and also was drinking prior to being on the bus. Brian Kabateck, who is Guerra’s attorney, responded by admitting his client did indeed have a drink or two before entering the bus. But there was no way anyone could of avoided this injury, sober or not. Guerra’s attorney argued Star Line could have done more to prevent the situation such as having a worker on the second level of the bus, and also having individuals scout to see what type of environment the bus routes consisted of before actually allowing the buses on them. After a day-long discussion among jurors, the court finally awarded Guerra a settlement of 3.5 million dollars.

Something says that whether you weigh the negatives or the positives, Guerra will never forget this vacation.

Robert is a philosophy major at Seton Hall University, Class of 2016.

Posted by Brandon Glover.

Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, claimed that Volkswagen violated consumer protection law through a cheating emission scheme. Beshear is seeking civil penalties and restitution for the owners of the 3500-plus owners of Volkswagen registered in Kentucky. Regulators state that the “software . . . was designed to cheat on required emissions tests.” The suit was filed in Franklin County Circuit Court in Frankfort with belief that Volkswagen, “must be held accountable for false promotion of its vehicles.”

Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for Volkswagen, stated the company does not normally comment on legal matters. Despite this, she said that the company is “working with federal environment regulators and others to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

Beshear, on behalf of the state of Kentucky, is not the only state to file a lawsuit. Texas, New Mexico, New Jersey and West Virginia, have all filed lawsuits as well against Volkswagen. In addition to the aforementioned lawsuits, Volkswagen also faces hundreds of suits from actual vehicle owners. Prior to taking these suits into account, “the company potentially faces more than $20 billion in fines from states and federal regulators.”

Volkswagen confessed that it used illegal software in its “Clean Diesel” engines in September. The software helped vehicles pass emission tests, while emitting nitrogen oxide that proved to be harmful into the atmosphere when operated.

Brandon is an economics major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Brandon Glover.

The U.S. District Court in Riverside will be the venue of the case between tech giant Apple Inc., and the U.S. Federal Government. The FBI has requested Apple’s help in bypassing the iPhone encryption security of one of the shooters in the San Bernardino incident. The judge who presided over the initial case, ruled in favor of Apple, stating “prosecutors were stretching an old law ‘to produce impermissibly absurd results.’”

Prosecutors argued that the phone belonging to Farook most likely contained evidence from the attack on December 2, 2015; where he and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, murdered 14 people. The two were later shot and killed in a police shootout. The FBI believes the couple was inspired by the Islamic State, and that the unlocking could reveal details about the attack as well as potential collaborators.

The Federal Government has argued that Apple could easily create a software that could bypass the security of the phone, retain its information, and then destroy it shortly thereafter. However, Apple has responded to that claim, stating “that creating software is a form of speech and being forced to do so violates its First Amendment.”

The federal government is currently appealing the ruling, which will most likely reach the Supreme Court.

Brandon is an economics major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Vicki Elter.

The US Justice Department sued to stop Tribune Publishing Co. from buying the Orange County Register and a Southern California newspaper, which were both bankrupt. The department explained that this sale would end competition for both readers and advertisers in this area.

Last year, the Tribune Publishing Co. purchased the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union. With this past sale, and this potential sale of these two other newspapers, the Tribune would have control over the top four largest daily newspapers in Southern California, and would therefore, have a monopoly. The newspaper industry has already faced great struggles due to digital innovations with the internet, and so this purchase would only make things worse.

This deal would create a loss of numerous jobs, and additionally, the Tribune could raise subscription prices as well as advertising rates. Instead of having multiple editors and news companies to benefit the communities, there would only be one editor for a huge area of Southern California. Therefore, this purchase would contribute to a bias in the news.

Vicki is an accounting and management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Brandon Glover.

On February 23^rd, Marc Moschetta filed a lawsuit against big-name company Wal-Mart for, “deceptive business practices.” A jury trial is being sought on the basis of “material misrepresentations.”

Moschetta purchased “Great Value’s ‘100% Grated Parmesan Cheese,’” but it was later found out that it contained 7 to 10% cellulose, which is a filler that stems from wood chips. Issues such as this one are not completely unfamiliar to the legal system. In 2012, a Pennsylvania cheese vendor was investigated for the use of cellulose in their products. The vendor was also accused of mixing in various types of cheeses in their products, while simultaneously testing positive for Listeria.

Bloomberg News has highlighted cellulose findings in various cheese products. Companies such as Whole Foods, Jewel-Osco, and Kraft Heinz as well have been guilty of such findings. Attorney Jason Sultzer, states “[that] the case isn’t about consumers getting sick. Regardless of the price of the product ($2.98), people are still buying the product based on the label.” Sultzer tries to gain public sympathy to the cause by alluding to parents giving it to their kids with their food.

Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove told CNBC, “we know earning customer trust starts with high standards for the products we carry. We take this matter seriously. We will review the allegations once we have received the complaint and will respond appropriately with the court.”

Brandon is an economics major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Vicki Elter.

Experts in security and legal matters claim that if Apple has to create a software tool to help agents hack into an iPhone, many people will likely misuse it. In order to use Apple’s information in court, there will need to be numerous tests and work done by forensic experts. This will create more opportunities for leaks. Although the Justice Department explained that it just wants a tool that can just be used on the San Bernardino phone, hackers and other companies could potentially have access to the Apple’s methods.

There are over 200 other cases that are interested in using Apple’s tool to unlock iPhones. Additionally, other arguments against Apple releasing this tool explain that it could encourage hackers to conduct a reverse engineering. Although the software for the tool would be destroyed after its work is done, government employees could make Apple create it again.

Apple explains that the software would need a huge amount of testing before it is used. To finish the testing, Apple would need to send it to outside experts, which would increase the chance of the tool being stolen. Additionally, defense experts would demand scrutiny of the tool.

Vicki is an accounting and management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2019.

Posted by Justin Cohen.

Martin Shkreli a pharmaceutical CEO raised the price of an AIDS drug that saves people’s lives. In December of 2015, the prices of the drug, called Daraprim, was raised by five thousand percent, one bottle originally being $13.50 to $750.

The ethical problem in this situation was by making the drug so expensive that only a select few could afford it, hurts the people the company is allegedly trying to help. The company made this drug not only to make a profit, but also to help patients with AIDS. Shkreli states “Because the drug was unprofitable at the former price, so any company selling it would be losing money. And at this price it’s a reasonable profit. Not excessive at all” –Shkreli.

This drug has been selling for sixty-two years. I think the new price of this drug is very excessive. The company has been living off the past profit for years. The price could have been raised, but 5,000 percent is very excessive.

Companies making drugs to help save lives should be more worried about the people they are serving than making the most profit they can. This brings up the ethical questions, was making money more important to Shkreli than saving lives? What did he think was going to happen to the patients who now could not afford the drug? Why did Shkreli put himself before thousands of other people? Lastly, what are the ethical obligations of a company to aid the public vs. making a profit?

Justin is a sports management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Justin Cohen.

For years now, daily fantasy sports has been slowly growing but recently, it has been huge. Over the last two years, if you have watched a single sporting event, I cannot imagine you not seeing one of their ads. “Fanduel packs the thrill of a whole season into just one week” (Fanduel). They are everywhere.

According to Wired, DraftKings or Fanduel aired an ad on television every 90 seconds. “You only need to remind people of something that often if your target market is sports loving goldfish” (John Oliver). Daily fantasy sports combines everything guys love, sports and money. Although the multi-billion dollar industry is made up of thousands of companies, the two main sites, DraftKings and Fanduel are the main ones making significant profit. They were recently under investigation for being unfair and there were reports of people within the sites going in and changing their entries so they would be able to win every time.

Just the other day however, attorney general Schneiderman stated, “As I’ve said from the start, my job is to enforce the law, and starting today, DraftKings and FanDuel will abide by it.” So now, in New York and some other areas, people will not be able to play daily fantasy sports. Is this fair? Isn’t there more important things that he should be worrying about? These are questions I ask myself. Although fantasy sports used to be a game where you played with your coworkers and eventually lost to Janice in accounting, I like the path fantasy sports is headed with more interaction and more overall fun than just regular old fantasy sports.

I believe fantasy sport sites should be legal, but if it goes down that path, they need to declare themselves as a gambling site. In all interviews and ads regarding what the site is, they state it is an entertainment site, not a gambling site, which is why the general can make it illegal in New York. For the future, I can see this going two ways. In one scenario, I can see daily fantasy sports making a comeback, and becoming legal again. In the other scenario, the more likely scenario in my opinion, I can see it becoming illegal everywhere, which I am not looking forward to.

Justin is a sports management major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.

Posted by Kyle Beck.

A company who makes sleep apnea masks has “agreed to pay $34.8 million to settle claims” that say the company paid kickbacks to suppliers that sold its products. Philips Resprionics, Inc. offered free customer support through its medSage call center, while the company’s competitors had to pay for a call center. This act made it more likely that a company would buy from Philips Resprionics Inc, and because the masks can be covered by Medicare or Medicaid programs; this is considered a kickback. Benjamin Mizer of the Justice Department said, “Kickbacks ‘in any form to induce patient referrals threatens public confidence in the health care system.”

Suppliers who bought masks from Phillips Resprionics, Inc. saved “$11.88 per year for each patient that used a Respironics mask. A supplier that had 10,000 patient customers would save $118,800 annually.” The money received from the lawsuit will be divided between 3 groups. The whistleblower Dr. Gibran Ameer will receive $5.4 million, the federal government will receive$28.7 million, and state Medicaid programs will receive $660,000.

This is a good step towards fairness, because it makes sure that no one is taking advantage for people who have medical problems.

Kyle is an economics major in the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2018.