"Small-claims flash mob" - Car owner takes legal fight away from lawyers
latimes.com
latimes.com
As I read this piece, however, I was most struck not so much by how the small claims remedy is particularly effective (in reality, this is a highly variable forum at best) but rather by what a joke the typical class action settlement can be. While that vehicle has occasionally proven effective in high profile cases, for the run-of-the-mill class action case you can often get a plaintiff's firm that is pretty much gaming the system to get a fee windfall for itself even as it puts a relatively low priority on the remedy it gets for the class of victims supposedly being represented. That is why remedies rarely take the form of significant cash payouts to members of the represented class and why the first instinct you have whenever you get one of those class notices is to simply throw it away rather than bothering to read all the fine print that might lead to your getting a $10 recovery or some such thing.
It is interesting to see how enhanced connectivity in our modern era is threatening to disrupt the cozy sorts of settlements so achieved through this vehicle. Probably the biggest losers will be the plaintiffs' class-action lawyers themselves, who might wind up having their back-room settlements more easily rejected and be left actually having to work hard to get a real recovery for the victims in lieu of taking a quick and inadequate deal that benefits primarily the lawyers.
Getting rid of it would have consequences that aren't straight forward to predict. On one hand, it would definitely hurt certain plaintiff's lawyers who depend on these blockbuster class actions. On the other hand, it would be good for plaintiff's lawyers generally, because there would be a lot more suits without the consolidation process of a class action. And it would be good for defense lawyers, since there would be more suits to defend against.
As for the impact on consumers, the vast majority would just choose not to litigate for the small sums involved. I'm not going to litigate over a fault $1,000 laptop, but I'd be happy to get a $100 settlement over it, even though it's at a huge discount over maybe what my claim might've been.
In these cases, it is likely that many of thsoe wronged by the companies actions would be and perhaps are more concerned with seeing the defendant deterred from repeating their improper action then they are in individual compensation.
Still, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Doesn't that also apply to the defendant? If the plaintiff can use this procedure, Honda can too. What stops Honda from appealing all of these decisions and getting the vast majority of them thrown out?
On the flip side, it's death by a thousand cuts. Even just 500 customers causing a stink with little court cases all over the place are a reporter's wet dream. It's an army of self-made David's taking on Goliath. Throw in that - in many cases - they may have a local David and there will be a swarm of "local man fights monster mega corp" stories all over.
And as a few of the cases get settled, it becomes ammunition for the next cases. And that works both ways.
The settlement size was pitiful and they chose to "donate" any unclaimed funds to the schools, but they could only be used to buy Microsoft products. Technically, they could be used for whole computers (but not peripherals), but I know enough about their OEM agreements to know that they get paid per computer shipped, no matter what OS is on it, so they were just funneling any unclaimed money back to themselves and forcing the schools to deal with red tape in the process.
I wanted to object, but the lawyers I talked to said it was a waste of time and going at it pro se doubly so. With the Comes documents not yet online, the only thing I could have proven legally was that I was a member of the class. In the end, they just approved the settlement. I think I got a voucher or something as compensation for that one.
It's also interesting to see how the idea of justice and representation has morphed into farming.
Compare this with low cost arbitration: Internationally recognized, final, binding and a lot of procedural freedom.
Disclosure: I am launching judge.me, a binding internet arbitration service that charges $299 fixed price and offers awards that are recognized and enforced by court systems in 146 countries.
You want the ability to appeal.
PS. It's cool that you are launching this, and if people want it more power to them and you, but the ability to appeal is important.
I agree that public policy matters need the right to appeal.
In such a case, the company has more at stake than you do. It's more likely that it's not worth your while to get a lawyer to fight the appeal.
Edit: for the downvoters: it is a genuine question.
What monetary damages can you prove you suffered?
However, they still don't have the time to process your claim for damages awarded for loss of time due to junk email. Sorry, but I can't sue for the actual junk mail I get that actually causes physical expenses like garbage disposal/recycling plus time. However a judge is going to be royally pissed if I'm suing for the disposal costs of junk mail (probably a maximum of $5 a year at the dump)
Also, requiring this kind of EULA would be bad publicity for companies since it would emphasize to potential buyers that the seller is afraid of being sued for defective products. Companies that don't require such an agreement would be at a competitive advantage since they'd project an image of higher quality and more respect for the customer.
I would see such a EULA as a negative warranty, the manufacturer betting against itself. I would walk.
At the moment it's pretty difficult to conceive of signing an EULA for those new shoes or a washing machine.
I am launching judge.me in a few days, offering $299 email arbitration service that is legally binding in 146 countries.
Ad hoc arbitration (i.e. not using institutional rules) often specify the arbitrator(s).
How could a second-hand buyer claim to have suffered an unexpected loss? Could not Honda (assuming they would bother responding to the small claims action) easily show that the fault was well known and second-hand buyers should have known they were getting a 30-mpg hybrid? Or was this something that only appeared after a number of years?
What if you sue a company and every employee is an attorney?
EDIT: I see many other claims that could go through the small claims, one thing that does come to mind however, is it possible to go through small claims when you buy online and you don't get what you want? (Avenger controller for example)
As for other forms of civil court... I'm curious to hear the justification for your claim.
Not if they're contested.... and not if the state is not a "no fault" state. I went through divorce in NYS; let me tell you, it is hell. No house, no kids, and still the process went on for 18 months.