Alameda County

Those deep discounts on handbags, housewares and other goods offered up by online discount superstore Overstock.com may not be such a steal after all. On Thursday, the Sonoma County District Attorney announced the retailer was liable for false advertising and unlawful business practices. The major issue at stake was Overstock's apparent overstatement of customer savings. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Wynne S. Carvill hit the web retailer with $6,828,000 in civil penalties. Overstock may also have to ante up for the costs of the suit.  

Costco Wholesale Corp. has agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 29 district attorneys in California that alleged the retailer failed to properly store and dispose of hazardous materials at dozens of outlets in the state. According to the lawsuit, over a five-year period Costco employees didn't label or sort hazardous materials that had sat unsold on shelves or that customers had returned for long periods of time. This included such items as oven cleaner, bleach, pool chlorine and nicotine patches.