The judge called it “fair, adequate and reasonable.” The $15 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Los Angeles-based Herbalife Ltd. got more than adequate traffic, however, as it topped our list of most popular posts of 2015.
1. Settlement Approved in Herbalife Pyramid Scheme — An L.A. federal judge signed off on a former Herbalife Ltd. salesman’s class-action lawsuit against the nutrition company. More than 287,000 people read the story.
2. Rumor of “Dexter” Resurrection on Showtime — When speculation emerged that the serial-killer series starring Michael C. Hall was being considered for revival, 78,000 hopeful fans flooded our report.
4. Deadly Stabbing at Patsy’s Irish Pub — When Shayan Mazroei, 22, was fatally stabbed at a popular Laguna Niguel, the spotlight fell on Craig Tanber, a white supremacist and convicted murderer. Amid national attention, including 38,000 MyNewsLA readers, the alleged hate crime became a cause with a Twitter campaign #Justice4Shayan.
5. Miss Colombia Lawsuit Against Steve Harvey a Hoax — Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo was classier than Celebtricity.com, the site “known for generating huge traffic with fake reports.” The Miss Universe runner-up didn’t really sue pageant host Steve Harvey for $5 million, and 35,000 readers saw the truth here.
6. Orange County Physician Blasts Vaccination Bill — Dr. Bob Sears, a best-selling author, called it “a sad day for California” when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law requiring nearly all schoolchildren to get vaccinated against diseases such as measles and whooping cough. Some 24,300 people read his arguments here.
8. Bumble Bee Foods Denies Guilt in Cooked-Alive Death — The San Diego-based tuna company and others were charged with felony counts in 2012 death of a worker who was trapped inside an industrial oven in Santa Fe Springs. The company later agreed to pay the victim’s family $1.5 million as part of a $6 million settlement. Some 19,200 people read our original story.
9. Teen Boy Stabbed to Death on East L.A. Street — Our late-October story on the fatal attack against a 17-year-old on Whittier Boulevard had nearly 17,000 readers. No arrests have yet been reported.
10. State OKs Signature-Gathering for Measure to End Alimony — In May, a divorced Orange County software consultant was given the green light to seek backing for a voter initiative to end spousal support. But the state says Steve Clark’s drive to make the November 2016 ballot didn’t gather enough signatures. More than 16,700 people read about his quest.