I'm not a great fan of Class Action Lawsuits. While the concept sounds like a worthy cause (if the matter has genuine merits) my gripe is that the biggest winners are the lawyers with relatively small amounts ever reaching the "aggrieved parties".
In the last few days I've received notices that I'm eligible to participate in three different Class Action Lawsuits. The Companies being sued are Lacoste, Expedia and Crate and Barrel.
The Lacoste Lawsuit alleges that Lacoste violated California law by requesting and recording personal identification information from customers in their California stores who paid for purchases with a credit card. Defendant denies that it has done anything wrong and denies that any class member has been injured or suffered damages. However, in the interests of settling this matter without further litigation, customers included in the action will receive a 20% off a single item at any Lacoste Boutique.
My calculation is that this settlement is worth about $16 per customer based on the average price of a Lacoste shirt ($80). The attorneys is this "settlement" will receive fees and costs in the total sum of $50,000 and the plaintiff who commenced the action will receive an "incentive" of $2000 (Two thousand dollars).
While I'm all in favor of consumer privacy, these law suits don't really do anything to protect the parties they claim to represent. Rather, they generate substantial income for the attorneys who handle the actions.
Have you been a recipient of an "award" in any class action lawsuit ... and if so, did you think the award was fair and reasonable?