 Z801 point 77Premium
join:2009-08-31
Amerika | This is why EVERYTHING is expensive From cell phones and cars to healthcare and food...these ambulance chasing lawyers are LEECHES on society. We've all seen the Sokolove type commercials and they are disgusting. I once saw a local ambulance chasing personal injury lawyer commercial where they said call us, we will tell you if you have been damaged. WTF? Not the degree of damage, whether or not you had been damaged. If you don't know, you don't deserve a penny.
Now I know there are obviously legitimate circumstances where someone has been wronged and there are good lawyers who don't practice this ambulance chasing nonsense. That said we still need a loser pays system where these lawyers after they lose have to pay damages above the lawyer fees. And for frivolous suits they should have to pay massive punitive damages to their victims for abuse of process. Currently litigation is so expensive that companies would rather settle and pay out a few million than spend even more fighting endlessly in court. And in the case of fraud (like workers comp fraud where the lawyers are in with the doctors), everyone goes to jail for 10 years and loses their licenses first offense.
Also people should have to opt IN to a class (for a class action) and not opt OUT and the class solicitation should be paid at the plaintiff's expense. Additionally there should be a cap on lawyer fees for class actions. Every time the only ones who benefit from a class action are the lawyers. Everyone else just gets stupid coupons and higher subscription fees (to pay for the coupons).
But with the politicians being owned by the trial lawyers union (or being former trial lawyers themselves), none of the necessary legal reform will never happen.
/rant |
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 morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | I agree with you in theory; unfortunately, there aren't any equivalent threats against corporations that have any effect. Even though lawyers are leeches on society, they serve as vital role in the checks and balances of corporations. Without them, corporations would be even more outrageous than they are now.
And yes, consumers may only get a coupon or a $2 credit on their statement while the lawyers get $10 million in legal fees, BUT that serves as a deterrent to corporations that even consider mis-behaving. Corporations must be held accountable for their actions or inactions. That means class action law suits, if they misbehave.
Class action suits are consumers only real power against massive corporate screw-jobs. The only thing that corporations care about is money, and the possibility of losing money is the only thing they respond to. |
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Z801 point 77Premium
join:2009-08-31
Amerika
2 edits | You can have "checks and balances" without the leech ambulance chasers. The people that are legitimately harmed get their day in court but these bloodsucking leeches who sue an auto mechanic because they don't have a Prop 65 sign posted or put some number on the wrong line of an invoice serve no check or balance. There is a difference between a reputable personal injury lawyer seeing damages for someone getting maimed and bloodsuckers like Sokolove and the Trevor Law Group »www.cfif.org/htdocs/legal_issues···oup.html Businesses in California have been threated by leeches like this for putting O.A.C. in an ad instead of "on approved credit" with the leeches saying they will take $5K to settle. »www.cfif.org/htdocs/legislative_···_c_l.htm And in California these lawyers didn't actually have to prove anyone was damaged by this O.A.C. thing. Is that justice? Is that a check and balance on an evil business intentionally harming customers for profit? Hardly.
These guys are all simple thug extortionists. There is a place for lawyers and a different walled and barred place for thugs in suits. |
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morboComplete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000 | said by Z80:You can have "checks and balances" without the leech ambulance chasers. what do you propose then? some alternate legal system? you seem to argue against class action suits and assume ever one that is harmed will take AT&T to court over a tiny issue, when what will almost always happen is that people will suck it up and eat the cost/inconvenience despite being legitimately wronged. class action suits are great for these millions of little cuts by corporations against their customers. it gives customers power that they do not have otherwise. |
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Z801 point 77Premium
join:2009-08-31
Amerika
4 edits | Yes, an alternative legal system where the loser pays and that the class opts in stating on the class action form they get mailed that under penalty of purjury they were damaged as stated in the action, instead of having to actively opt out and mail the letter back if they weren't damaged.
I would be in the "MMS class" but have no interest in suing AT&T and have not be damaged in any way, shape or form. But unless I affirmatively opt out of this class, some blood sucking lawyer gets money from AT&T's customers (since that is where AT&T gets their money) for damage that was never inflicted on me. If I just ignore the letter, AT&T pays out. That's not justice, that is greed, pure and simple.
There are times where corporations actually screw people over, but way too often corporations are victims of extortion thanks to some leech lawyers. If the leeches had to pay out big when they lose an action, they wouldn't engage in this fleecing behavior. If 'the class' and to affirm that they were damaged, a significant number of these B.S. cases would go away. No one's rights are 'taken away' except the lawyers 'right to get rich' for doing nothing other than gaming the system. |
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