Class Action
I just finished filling out the proof of claim form for another class action suit that I am apparently a party to. It’s against Washington Mutual, a company that once held the mortgage on my house in Monterey. According to the suit, WaMu charged borrowers a whole slew of fees that they shouldn’t have. WaMu’s representatives (or actually the FDIC, which apparently is the legal receiver of the now defunct Washington Mutual) have vehemently denied the allegations but have agreed tentatively to a $13 million settlement.
Reading all the fine print, it seems that once the primary plaintiffs and the lawyers get paid, a few dollars will be distributed among the members of the class action (people like me). I suspect my settlement will be small-maybe $20 or $30 at best. Yet, at the same time, I’m not in a position to say “hey, I can afford to leave a Hamilton on the table unclaimed.” No, not at all.
It struck me, however, how frequently I’ve been an unknowing party in a class action suit. Thinking back over the last decade, I have probably been a member of a half dozen of more class action suits. They have been the result of lawsuits against credit card companies that charged me illegal fees and interest; employers who failed to pay me for the overtime hours I worked, electronics manufacturers that sold me defective stuff and then charged me to fix it, and, most recently, an insurance company that somehow forgot to repay their clients’ deductible once they settled the claim with the other party.
With the exception of the employer, most my payouts have been small-at best a couple hundred dollars. Yet, still it is nice to know that our legal system provides a way for the average consumer (like me) to strike back against slippery financial firms, shoddy manufacturers, and dishonest employers.
Well, except, 10 days ago the U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision Wal-Mart v. Dukes made it more difficult for consumers and other little people to find lawyers who might be willing to embark on class-action suits. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Reading all the fine print, it seems that once the primary plaintiffs and the lawyers get paid, a few dollars will be distributed among the members of the class action (people like me). I suspect my settlement will be small-maybe $20 or $30 at best. Yet, at the same time, I’m not in a position to say “hey, I can afford to leave a Hamilton on the table unclaimed.” No, not at all.
It struck me, however, how frequently I’ve been an unknowing party in a class action suit. Thinking back over the last decade, I have probably been a member of a half dozen of more class action suits. They have been the result of lawsuits against credit card companies that charged me illegal fees and interest; employers who failed to pay me for the overtime hours I worked, electronics manufacturers that sold me defective stuff and then charged me to fix it, and, most recently, an insurance company that somehow forgot to repay their clients’ deductible once they settled the claim with the other party.
With the exception of the employer, most my payouts have been small-at best a couple hundred dollars. Yet, still it is nice to know that our legal system provides a way for the average consumer (like me) to strike back against slippery financial firms, shoddy manufacturers, and dishonest employers.
Well, except, 10 days ago the U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision Wal-Mart v. Dukes made it more difficult for consumers and other little people to find lawyers who might be willing to embark on class-action suits. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.