A “claims-made” class action settlement allows the defendant to make a large amount of money “available” to class members, but in order for the members to collect, they must jump through the hoops of correctly filing claims. Because of the low response rate in such settlements, the defendants will end up paying much less than the funds made available. Indeed, of the $8.5 million made available …
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has overturned a lower court’s ruling, allowing a class action lawsuit brought by employees against DuPont to proceed. The suit, Smiley v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company, examines whether paid lunch and break times can offset time spent putting uniforms on and taking them off that is unpaid and required by the employer as well as …
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.
Queensland class action over unpaid wages for Indigenous people ‘setting a national precedent’ Posted September 23, 2016 12:54:51 Lawyers say a class action in Queensland over unpaid wages to Aboriginal people is setting a national precedent, as dozens more come forward in other states to say they were not paid properly. Key points: More than 300 people are suing the Queensland Government in …
A Northern District of California judge refused to preliminarily approve a class settlement of Uber customers who used its “Rideshare Services” in which Uber would have paid class members $28.5 million. The court was concerned about several things. First, the settlement divided the settlement fund among class members on a per capita basis, which resulted in the compensation of some members who …
“Ultimately the Lehtinens, without admitting liability, agreed to pay $750,000, which covers everything we believed they owed their employees going back two full years, plus an additional amount paid as liquidated damages, plus attorney fees,” said Tim Louris, a lawyer representing the employees from Minneapolis firm Miller O’Brien Jensen. A federal judge in Minneapolis approved the payment on …
Fast-casual chain Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) built its business over the course of more than two decades on a simple premise: being better than the fast-food chains it aimed to upend. Its food is locally sourced when possible, grown and raised according to strict standards.
Leah Turner claims she worked hundreds — maybe even thousands — of hours at Chipotle without getting paid. Her manager would tell her to “clock out” but continue working until all of her tasks were done, Turner says. So she would keep going, knowing that the extra hour — or two or even three — was free labor.
An atheist group and a Tennessee sheriff have reached a settlement in a lawsuit over the latter’s Easter-themed message on Facebook this March, the Cleveland [Tenn.] Banner reported on Friday. The plaintiffs will be paid $15,000 in damages and their attorneys will recoup $26,000 in legal fees, paid out by a lawsuit-insurance fund paid into by local taxpayers, the newspaper noted. The …
Michigan pays $378 million in lawsuit judgments, settlements over decadeMichigan paid more than $41 million, while receiving more than $278 million in lawsuit settlement and judgment payments over a year, a new report by the Senate Fiscal Agency shows. Here are seven things about lawsuit payments and settlements made and received by the state, according to the annual Senate Fiscal Agency’s …