Class Action Lawsuits – Watch Out

Class action lawsuits can be very, very good things.  They can make companies accountable in ways that they would never be held to any other way.  They can obtain decent compensation to those in the class action that they would never be able to obtain on their own, primarily because they would not have the wherewithal to bring legal action on their own.  They can, if done properly, institute change, legal or public, that would not happen otherwise; thus they can stop companies from continuing to do bad, bad things – up to and including illegal things.

That being said, watch out before you get involved in a class action lawsuit, particularly those being solicited by TV, radio, or newspapers.  These dudes are fishing for numbers.  They want to get as many claimants as they can, even it they are not really very viable.  They want numbers.

On the surface that sounds good, doesn’t it.  The more the merrier; right?  Not necessarily.  They are bringing a whole bunch of people against the big bad company.  Now they generally do deserve to be sued; do not get me wrong.  Sometimes it is something the company knowingly did wrong, sometimes it is inadvertent.  Regardless, the company is liable.  The soliciting law firm (or firms) are looking to settle for big bucks.  But not necessarily big bucks for you.  Keep that in mind.  They get a percentage of everyone’s bucks so they can make a whole heck of a lot of money, even if you get squat or a squat and a half.  These firms are not necessarily watching out for your interests and not necessarily trying to make you whole.  They are looking at the big picture which is how much they will scrape off the top of the total settlement.  Just be wary.