Class(less) Action Suits

When not performing I've made my living since 1984 as an investor. If you have ever traded stock, you probably know that there is a subset of the legal profession which specializes in suing companies for poor stock performance if they think they can make any money at it. Generally, in order to participate in any class-action "settlement" of these cases, you must prove that you bought the stock between dates A and B and agree to be part of the "class" and not sue the company separately. The settlement amount usually is not enough to merit the trouble of filling out the paperwork. Only the lawyers make money.

Today I got a postcard which I believe tops anything I have ever received before. It states -

"If you are a current or former T-Mobile customer who never sent a text message, but received, were charged for, and paid for text messages, while not on a rate plan or value bundle plan that included text messages, during the period October 1, 2003 to September 4, 2009, you may be a member of the settlement class."

I have no idea how many possible claimants that might be, but unless you've kept a lot of billing statements you probably can't prove your claim. But it doesn't matter, because the card goes on to say -

"If you are a class memberyou have several options: you may remain a member of the class (in which case you will give up the right to seek damages and receive no monetary relief), object to the terms of the settlement, or request exclusion from the settlement class. The parties estimate that that the average potential recovery for a class member who won at trial would range from approximately $0.17 to $1.17."

So if you decide to sue T-Moble yourself and manage to win you might collect a buck, but if you remain a member of the class you get nothing. Counsel for the Settlement Class is Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and they will get all of the settlement. And, of course, they only brough this suit to help the poor little person who was overcharged by T-Mobile.

WE NEEED TORT REFORM!