Class actions play a vital role in our legal system. These lawsuits are often the only vehicle for injured plaintiffs to receive compensation when a defendant’s wrongs are widely disbursed and it would be impractical for a single individual to sue. Yet the process of settling these suits is subject to perverse incentives on the part of the lawyers representing the injured parties.
A federal class action claims Comcast has bilked cable TV customers out of $1 billion a year since 2014 by charging phony fees for broadcast and sports channels. Plaintiffs from seven states — California, Washington, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, Florida and Ohio — sued the cable giant on Monday, alleging consumer fraud, unfair competition, unjust enrichment and breach of …
Volkswagen AG, in another step to move past its costly diesel emissions cheating scandal, has agreed to pay $175 million to US lawyers suing the German automaker on behalf of the owners of 475,000 polluting vehicles, two people briefed on the agreement said on …
The Florida Department of Corrections and former prison health-care provider Corizon have agreed to pay about $2.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the state agency and the company denied hernia operations to inmates to save money. Under the settlement, Corizon agreed to pay $1.7 million to current and former inmates. The Department of Corrections agreed to pay $150,000 …
A federal judge has signed off on a plan to award more than $4.8 million to attorneys who led a decade-long legal action against Sears and Whirlpool over allegedly defective washing machines the retailer sold. On Sept. 13, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary M. Rowland approved the attorney fees, as the latest step in the execution of a settlement deal intended to end the litigation, launched in 2006 on …
Class action lawsuits against municipalities are becoming more common, particularly those over water and sewer billing. Litigation attorney Soni Mithani, a Principal at Miller Canfield in Ann Arbor, took time to educate officials about these types of suits at the Michigan Municipal …
Andrew MacAskill| LONDON LONDON Some 46 million people in Britain could potentially benefit from a legal case brought against Mastercard (MA.N) demanding 14 billion pounds ($19 billion) in damages for allegedly charging excessive fees, according to court documents filed in London. The case brought by a former chief financial services ombudsman alleges the payments company charged unlawfully …
British customers of MasterCard are going after the financial services corporation over charging illegally high fees on store transactions for more than a decade. The class action lawsuit, filed last week at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal by law firm Quinn Emanuel, wanted MasterCard to pay £14 billion ($18.6 …
Class Benefits include the $45 Million Settlement Fund, which will be used to make payments to Class members and for the cost of administration of the Settlement, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, and Class Representative fees. Payments will be made to Class members who file valid claims and will be calculated as follows: The final value of each claim may be adjusted up or down pro rata …
The University of Pennsylvania is one of several universities being sued by employees amid allegations that the schools’ retirement plans come with excessive fees. In addition to the University of Pennsylvania, complaints were filed on behalf of employees of Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University. Before the latest round of complaints, lawsuits were …