Class Actions

Victim of Identy Theft- need advice of sueing

Sandra1979 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:22:30 GMT

I've been the victim of identy theft. Apparantly, one of my old magazines arrived at my old apartment. I moved out in April. I got all the information when the order was placed for an electric fireplace, date it was delivered, delivery confirmation # through UPS. They even gave out their cell phone number and signed for it in my maiden name when delivered. I filed a police report today, and they are going to supeana the records for their phone and confront the current residence. It was ordered and delivered after I moved from that location. I also put out a fraud alert to all the major credit bureaus. So, now I'm waiting to see what other damage they may have done to my name and credit. The police officer is going to try to get a warrant once the records come in. How can I proceed to sue them? What catagory would this fall under? I'm very upset, pregnant with our 4th child and have no idea how to go about this....please please help me out!

Long-term Ambien use and depression/suicide...

Wegogiant — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:44:59 GMT

Sadly, my father committed suicide this past May. He had taken Ambien nightly for about 7 or 8 years prior. At some point the doctor who originally prescribed the drug told him that using it as a sleeping aid on a nightly basis would be okay. I have access to his medical records from the last two years or so and he complained of insomnia, getting 5 hours of sleep or less per night despite the drug, just months before he committed suicide.

In my recent findings it seems it's not uncommon for a person taking Ambien, or other sleep aids, long term to experience a tolerance to the drugs' effect. The insomnia that results from the tolerance would naturally lead to several health problems including depression and-- as a result-- suicide.

Does anybody know of a class-action in place that I might have the opprotunity to join? If not, does this sound like viable means to create a class-action with? Note that this is not a question pertaining to Ambien's blatent cause of sleepwalking or accidental overdose.

Condominium Association

MichaelPhan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:50:38 GMT

Can the members of the board of the Condominium Association vote to prohibit unit owners to vote, speak at the borad meeting, and attend the board meeting because he or she is past due more than 90 days on regular assessment? The Condominium Association is governed by Florida Statues.

Class Action

sekingjustice — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:50:28 GMT

I'm a member of a class action lawsuit. The Judge dismissed my case for statute of limitations due to a vague statement I recieved. The class reps decided to include me and some others that were dismissed at a much lower settlement. I disagree with the Judges decision to dismiss, and I disagree with the lower settlement offer. I am told that I cannot appeal to the Judges decision, that I cannnot appeal the the class reps. and my only choice is to go along or contest settlement that may dismantle class. This seems unfortunate to be my only choices. Is this true? Or do I have any other choices? What are the possible outcomes of these 2 choices?

Desperate to make the right decision without compromising my integrity or throwing away any or all restitution due.

Class action using Detrimental Reliance

racheldecarlos — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:16:53 GMT

Over 200 students at UCSB Ventura Center were promised a 2 year program when they signed on and began studying for a degree. UCSB is now going to close the off site campus before most of the students can finish their degree program. These non-traditional students have no way to finish the program at the main campus, which is at least one hour from the Ventura campus that's being closed. They have families and work 1-2 jobs. They relied on the promise of classes being available close to home and in the evening to finish their degree. Some chose to sacrifice their jobs if the school program could not be accommodated. Some moved closer to Ventura Center to focus on their degree program.

Is quitting a job to earn a degree detrimental reliance if the student believed the promise of completing a degree would afford them the opportunity to find a better job after graduating?

Would these students have a chance of forcing the university to honor the promise of a 2 year program and continue the off campus studies program until all of the enrolled students were able to graduate within the next two years? Without this program, 95% of the students will be forced to abandon their education after years of work to get to this point.

If a class action suit seems reasonable, what type of attorney or legal advice should the students look for? If the students win, is it possible to force the University of California to pay the students' legal fees?

Class Action Lawyer wanted!

jamiemouse — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:02:41 GMT

Aloha,

I see that there are a lot of consumers out there that were also ripped off by ASHWORTH COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY in Norcross, Georgia. I saw their posts on Ripoff Report.com, over 70 people. I want to get a Class Action going against Ashworth! They took almost $4,000 of mine back in 2005, and now I can't get any college to accept the credits to transfer to further my education. At my age of 46, I don't want to start over again for my Associates, and Ashworth stated they were accredited by the Department of Education as well as other agencies, and I am here to tell you, I interviewed with the DOE, and they DO NOT accept/recognize ASHWORTH at all! Please help, any Class Action Lawyers out there.

Sincerely,

jamiemouse

Seeking lawyer to bring suit against a PA county bar associa

mwarshal — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:39:51 GMT

I am seeking an attorney who is interested in helping me to bring a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania county bar association. This bar association has been using its monopolistic pricing power to systematically overcharge consumers and banks for advertising foreclosures in the county legal register. There are literally thousands of potential claimants, each of whom has been overcharged by about $500.00. I am willing to be the lead plaintiff. If you are interested, please reply to this post and I will provide you with more detailed information.

Question regarding class action 'opt-in' notification

kobjet — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:02:16 GMT

Is there a requirement for the 'opt-in' notification on class action lawsuits? I have received an email notification telling me that I can 'opt-in' to a class action lawsuit, which seems pretty strange. I have asked other people and they have not received the notice, which arrived several weeks ago for me and has a deadline coming up. It has me wondering, however, whether there is a requirement in terms of sending a certified letter to ensure everyone receives the 'opt-in' notice? Otherwise, how is it policed? Thank you in advance.

2002 Nissan Altima Engine Damage post Recall

Jim Chapman — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:52:02 GMT

I have a significant problem. My son purchased a 2002 Nissan Altima with 98,000 miles from a Nissan Dealer off e-Bay in February 2009. Even though the car was sold to us "AS-IS", the dealer was sure to tell us what a great car it was and the only reason they were selling it on e-Bay was because they could not obtain financing for a 2002 vehicle with so many miles. Okay, I accept that. We test drove the car and it was in superior condition. The performance was excellent in every way and we bought the car for $5,250 cash (my son is 17 and had been saving for this car since he was 12).

We drove the car home and immediately changed the oil. The honeymoon was over after two weeks when my son took his car into the local mechanic to rotate tires. A routine check of the oil showed it was 2 quarts low. Naturally, we thought the quick-lube place screwed up and we simply topped it off with more oil. After two more weeks, we checked the oil again... it was another 2 quarts low. There was no visual evidence of burning (smoke) and the car passed through NJ emissions inspection without incident... So what the heck??!!??

Our mechanic told us that this problem could be significant, but that there was no way to tell unless the unit was put through an expensive wet-dry compression test. Anyway, we just kept putting oil in the car and assumed that would be the standard (I did it with my Rambler for years)... But the problem got worse. Smoke was beginning to billow from the exhaust. The day before the engine blew out, I took the car to a local Nissan dealer to run a full computer diagnostic evaluation... That's when I got the news that both the engine and catalytic converter needed replacement. Even though the CAT was replaced/serviced under recall from Nissan a few years ago. The cost to me would be over $7,000.00

Here is the problem (and a simple Google of 2002 Altima Engine Problems will turn up hundreds, if not thousands of similar stories). Nissan issued a recall for a faulty sensor within the Altima's catalytic converter. Our Altima was taken by the previous owner in for service under recall shortly after it was issued. This sensor allowed for damage to the catalytic converter, which in turn damaged the piston rings in the engines causing excessive oil burning and ultimately complete engine failure. In cases where Nissan "reprogrammed" the sensor, nothing was done to address the CAT damage and what it was doing to the engine. In other cases, they replaced the CAT, but the engines were already burining oil and headed for doom. The damaged engines, in turn, damaged the new CAT... This is the situation I find myself in now after putting only 4,000 miles on the car since February. Bad CAT, shot engine and Nissan Consumer Affairs telling me "Sorry, it's out of warranty and there is nothing we can do"... The recall should have been for both CAT and engine replacement, but who in their right mind would assume Nissan to do this for tens of thousands of cars. All they did was put a quick patch on a festering wound and waited to address individual complaints as they arose, which is infinately cheaper than doing the right thing in the first place.

My sons dream was crushed and Nissan says "tough luck, kid". The car sits dead in our driveway providing a daily reminder of what scum car manufacturers like Nissan can be.

Is there a case here?

Thanks for your help!

Jim

New Home Septic System Problems

how8750 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:12:07 GMT

Do I have a law suit?

My new home built in 2007, in a subdivision, has the following issues: flooding of sewage will be forever in the walls and foundation of this dwelling. Also, some of my neibors are facing the same issues.

I was charged $510.00 last week by a plumbing company (original installers) to have my septic system drained. I was charged $1000.00 by my insurance company for my deductable to have my entire floors removed due to flooding of sewage. My family is extremely stressed out for being put through this entire ordeal. My son had nightmares about sewage coming out of the toilets. My wife and I are both strained in our marriage due to this ordeal. We are having trouble sleeping. We have been living outside the home due to inconvenient sewage flooding into the home. We both (my wife and I) have walked in the sewage before we knew what it was. My children cannot play in their own yards. We cannot have guest over to our house because we are too ashamed. The builder knew that they were violating county codes when they built the house. The septic system initially was 500 gallons for a 4 bedroom house when the sewage initially backed up into our toilets. Now it’s 1000 gallons and a pump was added and it still backs up. The septic tank was initially located in the front yard and now my front yard was ruined by the sewage that poured out through the ground. My back yard is higher than the base of my house due to the digging it up and relocating the septic to the back of the house. When it rains, water runs toward the house, a pool settles behind the house and on the sides of the house. There is no drainage for the water. The grass is dead in that location. The ground is mushy. My dream home has become a complete disaster!

Corporate revenge against a class action member

Crime_victim — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:11:05 GMT

I am under contract not to ask that they be charged and that I cannot be a complainant against them. I am also barred from the publicly regulated services they offer.

Consumers paid this company for an entire year of services up front under binding contract in 1996. The company several months into that year decided to demand more money for which there were no provisions to do so. The company stated pay us more or we will take away the services you have paid for and keep them till you agree to pay. A class action was launched called bait and switch, fraud, more then half the states joined in as well and the class action was settled for over ten million. I received part of that settlement as a class member.

The company used encryption to be sure those who paid got the services they paid for. When they did take the paid for services away for which the class action resulted, they used the encryption to take services from consumers.

Consumers were permitted to use encrypted devices as the only method to get the services they paid for. The DMCA had not been passed at this point. Some consumers used encryption to stop the takng of there services and protect what they paid for. MY states constitution permits reasonabke methods to protect my property. Blacks law states that a person may employ reasonable methods as self defense of property and cannot be sued civilly for having done so.

After the class action the company waited for years to pass before they filed suit against those class members for having tried to stop the taking of services they purchased and had a right to. They claimed that the consumer had no right to use encryption in an attempt to stop the bait and switch and fraud against them.

The company proceeded much like a SLAPP suit and had every intention of crushing the former class member through excellerated litigation costs. While I wanted a trial, they were to be sure litigation costs would be so high that I would be wiped out long before any trial. It was only at a trial in which I could expose the entire story as the only way they would settle is if I paid them which would have allowed them to have profited from the origonal bait and switch. Almost out of money I had to agree to anything they wanted short of allowing them to profit from the origonal crime of Bait and Switch and fraud.

We settled but I can not ask that they be charged and I cannot be a complainant against them. This is the part which troubles me. It is wrong to tie a crime victim to a contract where by a crime victim cannot ask that the perpetrator be charged. In the court complaint, they stated I had not paid for service when I had and said nothing of the class action settlement where the matter had been settled years earlier in another court. Then I learned and could also prove they submitted falsified records as true and accurate to the court. I came by internal corporate documents which prove the documents submitted to the court were a fraud just like the origonal fraud. There is also an issue where I have written court records evidence they paid public officials to assist them in obtaining these fraudulant documents submitted to another court.

I found also that the company is so cash rich that it would be almost impossible for an attorny to oppose them as they chance loosing there practice. I turned many times to every level of our justice system as my attorney only handled the civil portion of my defense. The justice system refused at every level to even look at my evidence.They just take the position that I had unlimited funds to defend myself, That someone entering an agreement to remain silent on crimes is OK. That obstructing the rights of a crime victim is OK. BY the way, the evidence I have is not slim. I am a retired Police Officer with 4 years of college and know how to gather evidence and have testified many times..

Most upsetting is the presidence this sets in that a person can be a victim of a crime and while the attorney general steps in to the class action, they do nothing later when the class member gets screwed in a counter suit they cannot defend. I think the state needs to be sued. The state has an interest to seeing that the consumer is never obstructed from lawful reporting. The public has the same interest. Being retired and finding that our justice system will not even talk to me about these crimes is hard for me to fathom.

The agreement to not ask that they be charged keeps me from asking to this day that they be charged. Victim whitnness laws are clear as well but here again, This company is so rich, I cannot fight them even to protect my rights. Truley, the cash rich company can enter into contract with the consumer and force the consumer to do anything they want absent the government. They got off scott free because I cannot be a complainant and barred from asking they be charged.

Neighbors Dog got onto my property.

rkutella — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:33:05 GMT

The neighbors dog got into my backyard and picked a fight with my dog. The dogs faught and his dog got injured. We took the dogs to the vet to get care. His dog ended up having to be put down. Now the neighbor wants to sue me for vet fees. Am I liable?

T-Mobile wireless phone Co.

Hicksie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:43:58 GMT

T-Mobile is disconnecting my phone service on 08/18/2009 due to my phone bouncing off AT&T towers too much. I have my contract and it says nothing about that, this is something new they have started and I think the old customes should be exempt....Is anyone else affected. I have asked the lawyers about this....I paid my bill ontime and feel I have been mistreated.

Questionable Actions by Special Master

WarrenT — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:24:27 GMT

I am a claimant in a class action lawsuit that is coming to a conclusion. Through the process, I and several other claimants have questioned both the law firm handling the case as well as the Special Master as to why certain things were or were not occuring. All responses were extremely vague. It is now appearing likely that most of the funds set aside for compensating the victims has been used to pay expenses that are questionable at best such as bookcases for the Special Master, time spent when in fact no time was spent, 1 $2000 round trip airline ticket for a "expert" to fly from NYC to Miami to be part of the investigation, etc. etc.

Initially $100M was set aside of which $35M was used to pay other claimants outside the class action; the attorneys and Special Master and other legal expenses further reducted the amount remaining for the claimants to between $35M-$40M. It appears that much of this is no longer available to be disbursed leaving very little to the victims.

I and one other claimant in particular have questioned the law firm supposedly representing us as well as the Special Master and it appears that the consequences of doing so have negatively impacted the recommended awards with the Special Master having gone so far as disqualifying the other claimant now saying she is no longer entitled to damages.

What sort of recourse does one have to have this entire matter investigated? It seems the entire process has been conducted in secrecy and when questioned, we are told that all records are sealed including the names of the other claimants.

How can you find out if a claim has been made?

staciemcnett20 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:58:30 GMT

My MIL had a class action suit from *** co. that upon her death would be settled for a set amount to be divided up between her children. She has been gone for 2 years and one of the siblings has "come" into $. My husband cannot confront that sibling due to the wife. There was a will that described her wishes and another sibling that was named executor, not the one with the $. However, the will seems to have "disappeared". Is there a way to find out if the lawsuit was claimed and by whom? We don't care about the $, we'll never see any of it anyway. But the strain in the relationship is what we'd like to fix.

Class Actions Lawsuit w/prescribed medicine forming blood ..

xxsassxx31 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:02:50 GMT

My girlfriend was prescribed Ocella birth control (generic of Yazmin) and she ended up developing 4-blood clots. I know it warns that "it is a side effect"....but does that cover them w/everything or is there a way in going out to see if something is possible with a class action lawsuit and if so where? I just wanted to inquiry about this as my gf had to go through so much with this. Thanks again..

Insurance Commission doesn't know about Unum

Rickaroo777 — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:49:28 GMT

Unbelieveable!

I called my State Insurance Commissioner regarding the Class Action Lawsuit filed against Unum Providenet and they were like...

"what? A lawsuit? Against Unum? Sorry, don't know nothing about it."

Are you kidding me! My State, Wisconsin, is involved in this class action lawsuit, and yet the people who filed it in the insurance commission office don't know a thing about it.

What kind of society am I living in? Somebody pinch me so I know I'm not in the twilight zone.

ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Class Action C??

nattyg26 — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:32:16 GMT

So last year I entered my daughter in a photo contest being held with Parents Magazine (online) a few weeks later I recieved a letter in the mail stating that her photo was chosen to be published in "America's Cutest Baby's 2008". The company stated they would copyright her photo in the name of the parent entering the photo, and if a copy of the book would like to be purchased it would be $78.95. I decided since parents magazine was a ligitimate and "trustworthy company/ magazine" I would go ahead and purchase a copy of the book (altho I find out now that Parents magazine was not who sent that letter to me). I tried contacting the company SEVERAL times with the contact information that was provided to me by Parents magazine which included telephone #'s and email addresse's and No one answers me. I started researching the company online and come to find out they have done this to 100's if not 1,000's of people. My question is can a Class Action C be filed against this company? maybe $78.95 may not seem like much to some people but it's more of the principle and the fact that they are and will continue to do this to many more people is absolutely disgusting. There is nothing worse than fooling people and taking there hard earned $ to make yourself wealthy and laugh at them while you do so. Someone please let me know what can be done in this matter I'm more than sure MANY people would appreciate to see this so called "company" out of business and unable to do this to more people.

Hiring Civil Litigation Attorney in my state or other state

MarketingMayor — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:01:49 GMT

If I am persuing civil litigation with a company outside of my current state or country, would there be any benefits to hiring my attorney within that state/country or would hiring an attorney within my own state suffice?

State Lottery Deception via False Advertising

Jimmmy D. — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:23:25 GMT

Over the course of the past 4 years, I have spent at least $100,000 on scratch-off games. Of course I was angry for speding so much. But once the anger passed, I realized that the state that sells these scratch-off games was guilty of deception via false advertising. The state lied to entice me to spend more and more money, which I did.

If I were to sue, would this be a class action suit since millions of these scratch-off games were, and continue to be sold, to millions of people every year? A preliminary search revealed no historic legal record of anyone before me ever taking the same course of action for the specific reason I am presenting. Therefore, a win, here, would be a landmark decision and establish a precedent which would allow millions of others to seek damages.

Finally, if I take legal action on this specific, valid premise, is it possible that the state will want to settle out of court and pay to shut me up to avoid paying damages to millions of others, in addition to me?

class action

kashish — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:56:25 GMT

The procedure for filing a class action is to file suit with one or several named plaintiffs on behalf of a proposed class. The proposed class must consist of a group of individuals or business entities that have suffered a common injury or injuries. Typically these cases result from an action on the part of a business or a particular product defect or policy that applied to all proposed class members in a uniform manner. After the complaint is filed, the plaintiff must file a motion to have the class certified. In some cases class certification may require additional discovery in order to determine if the proposed class meets the standard for class certification.

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lawyer directory

Can i file a suit against these giants?

BulldogsRock — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:39:13 GMT

I am breeder of English Bulldogs. Recently we had a litter of pups (2 puppies) where both ended up dying. The 1st was at 2 weeks old, the 2nd at 5 weeks old. The death of the 5 week old seemed mysterious, so we ordered autopsies done.. The result was that the kydney failure and liver problems of the puppies were a result (and this is from the vet's and scientists who did the complete autopsy) but the result of its condition which led to both puppies passing, was a direct result of the food in which the pregnant mom ate during its pregnancy. With that being said, i am looking for a bit of advice on persueing this matter and taking these giants to court to be held accountable. Our puppies sell for $2500 each, and both were spoken for already. Not only are we out the price of both puppies, but also the C-Section costs, vet bills, and autopsy costs.

We have since had a second litter, but we are worried that this condition might be present in these puppies as well, and seeing as we garuantee our pups for 1 year for health, it leaves us in a very worrysome state over this. As the mom for these puppies was fed the same food as the first.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. And if anyone knows of a great lawyer, who would NOT be affraid to take on a corperate giant, i would much appreciate it.

Labor problem

michael e. houchin — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:49:40 GMT

I work for major logistics company that was hired as a contractor to take over the deliveries and loading of the daily newspapers. For the last nine years we have steadily lost more and more work. To make a long story short they are giving our work away to non-union people. The contract between my employer (the logistics company) and the newspaper states in black and white that they are supposed to take care of all the work. But they are working together to get rid of us for cheaper and younger labor. Is this illeagal ??????? I would have to think that there are some kinds of laws to protect workers....I thought we got rid of slavery a long time ago. They want us to now go to work for a new company and again take another pay cut. I found out in thier contract that they have recieved more money each year, while we have been taking pay cuts each year. Please help...

Can I bring a class action suit?

shanika1m1 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:25:30 GMT

Can I bring a class action suit against signature days? I purchased a gift card for my husband for christmas 2007 as many others did and they went bankrupt 2 months later.They had to know they were going bankrupt I feel they were trying to get as much liquid cash as they could before closing.