Have any of you folks taken part in a class action lawsuit? Or received a letter notifying you about a class action lawsuit for which you could receive a share of a settlement if you send in a claim form?
I recently got one about a lawsuit against a car dealer who was illegally charging a fee during car purchases. We did buy a car from the dealer years ago and they did charge us this fee. Now apparently the dealer, and several others, are being sued and there is a proposed settlement where we would get a small portion of the money back.
My worry is that if we want to be a part of the lawsuit there is some sort of catch that will bind me into owing an attorney more than I would get back.
Any experiences out there you folks would like to share?
Only experience I had, was once we received a class action check from a settlement with Ebay about fees. I think it was a check for $1.50. I told the wife to throw it away. She didn’t and she found it 3 months later. deposited it, and the bank charged me $25 for depositing a voided check. It expired after 60 days.
Have any of you folks taken part in a class action lawsuit? Or received a letter notifying you about a class action lawsuit for which you could receive a share of a settlement if you send in a claim form?
I recently got one about a lawsuit against a car dealer who was illegally charging a fee during car purchases. We did buy a car from the dealer years ago and they did charge us this fee. Now apparently the dealer, and several others, are being sued and there is a proposed settlement where we would get a small portion of the money back.
My worry is that if we want to be a part of the lawsuit there is some sort of catch that will bind me into owing an attorney more than I would get back.
Any experiences out there you folks would like to share?
j
My experience has been if you join the class action, you wont owe any legal fees, but you wont get squat. I doubt you get the equivalent to the fee. You will also forfeit your right to sue individually, which you obviously didn’t care about to begin with. Take the pocket full of coins and move on.
I’ve been involved with a few for work and one or two personally. Generally, just file the claim paperwork and wait on a couple of dollars to arrive some point in the distant future.
My daughter collected about $100 in wages owed from Outback as part of their settlement.
At work I collected a little under a million bucks from a price fixing class action suit. Really strange seeing a check arrive in my name with that big of a number on it, signing it, and handing it over to the accounting department.
What we are both trying to say is, the juice ain’t worth the squeeze.
Having said that, I do know of a real class action lawsuit that did net a family member thousands of dollars. It had to do with a piece of medical equipment used in surgery. She had one put in long before they new they would fail, and after everyone had failures, an attorney group sued the manufacturer. She got about $50k I believe, and the husband got about $15k for loss of consortium.
Most class actions are really good at making a law firm a $h!t ton of money. It’s a gamble on their part and they have to invest a good bit of money and man hours up front. In the end, if a judge creates a class and the company settles, the lawyers rake in the dough.
Attorny fees are usually included in the settlement agreement. Who cares if you only get a buck fifty, it’s free. I got a laptop out of a class action against a computer manufacturer. It’s pretty painless for the plaintiffs …
The size of the settlement, the number of people who sign on and the number of hours invested by litigation will determine your pay out. Large settlement with few claims equal big rewards. Lawyers win the biggest. That’s why they do it. Other than loosing the ability to pursue the matter independently, you should loose nothing. My Mom and Aunt were both prescribed a new prescription drug in the early nineties. Drug had major side effects. Class action filled. Mom signed on. Aunt decided it was a waste of time. Mom got 35K. Aunt got really jealous…
Have any of you folks taken part in a class action lawsuit? Or received a letter notifying you about a class action lawsuit for which you could receive a share of a settlement if you send in a claim form?
I recently got one about a lawsuit against a car dealer who was illegally charging a fee during car purchases. We did buy a car from the dealer years ago and they did charge us this fee. Now apparently the dealer, and several others, are being sued and there is a proposed settlement where we would get a small portion of the money back.
My worry is that if we want to be a part of the lawsuit there is some sort of catch that will bind me into owing an attorney more than I would get back.
Any experiences out there you folks would like to share?
I reckon I will send it in, might get $30 or so. And use the cash to get a bit of ammo, or a dinner date with the meanwifeboss, or a few fishing lures, or a tank of gas (in her car of course)…
