Class Action Lawsuits: Millions for Lawyers, Nothing for Consumers, Ruin for Businesses

The New American ^ | March 26, 2015 | Gregory A. Hession, J.D.

[detective]

Manufacturers of consumer goods in the United States have a lot to fear from the government, and becoming the target of a class action lawsuit is right up there in the first tier of those concerns. An astounding 52 percent of major corporations are engaged in class action litigation right now. Federal judges have complete discretion about whether to certify a class action lawsuit, and then whether to approve large attorney fee requests. Once certified as a federal class action, an otherwise small lawsuit turns into a massive cash drain for the target company and a money machine for the lawyers.

The real goal of many of these lawsuits is to extract a large attorney fee for the law firm bringing the case. The class of alleged consumer victims — their clients — is often a secondary concern, and is usually left with relatively little financial benefit, sometimes merely a few cents.

[KSCITYBOY]

I recently received notification I could join one and get money from a rental car company because they had in error “listed the local governments airport fee (tax)separately on the invoice as opposed to burying it in their charge. Not sure how I was harmed. It is a SCAM industry which is another way for attorneys to siphon off their cut

[blueunicorn6]

Friends, can you spare $10, $20 or $6,000,000 and send it to The Foundation To Send Lawyers To Plumber School? Can you find it in your heart to help save a good American kid from a life of avarice and bickering?
Perhaps you could donate a set amount of money for each flush of your toilet. That way, when you flush, another lawyer will go to a better place.

[entropy12]

That is true. However repubs are now majority in congress. If GOP wins WH in 2016, I hope they will have the courage for meaningful tort reform.

[ColdSteelTalon]

The way the corrupt system is setup. Tort reform will go in only one direction, it will limit people's rights to sue large corporations for what they do wrong. I am not a fan of class action lawsuits, but the law should be changed so that those harmed retain their rights to sue class action or not.

Tort reform may not even be constitutional because it limits peoples rights to petition the government for a redress of a grievance.

And yes companies that do things that they know harm people should be held liable for their wrongdoing and if it puts them out of business so be it.