I'm No Lawyer-Basher, but...

SCCutler

SCCutler

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.... I find this staggering abuse of the Class Action system. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I were the one receiving the "...up to $7,000,000.00..." in attorneys' fees.

ClassActionSettlementEmail said:
[FONT=&quot]In Re Southwest Airlines Voucher Litigation, No. 11-CV-8176[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Legal Notice[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot]Did you receive a Southwest Airlines drink coupon through the purchase of a Business Select ticket prior to August 1, 2010, and never redeem it?[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
If yes, a legal settlement provides a Replacement Drink Voucher, entitling you to a free drink aboard a Southwest flight, for every such coupon you did not redeem.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
A court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.[/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot]
A settlement has been proposed in a class action lawsuit about drink coupons received by customers of Southwest Airlines in connection with their purchase of Business Select tickets. The settlements will provide Replacement Drink Vouchers to Entitled Class Members.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois will have a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the settlement so that Replacement Drink Vouchers can be distributed. The people in the Class may submit Claim Forms to request Replacement Drink Vouchers, may exclude themselves from the settlement, may object to the settlement, or may ask to speak at the hearing. Get a Detailed Notice by calling toll free the number below, or by visiting the website below.

Who’s included? Southwest’s records indicate that you may be a member of the Settlement Class. The Class includes anyone who received a drink coupon from Southwest prior to August 1, 2010, through the purchase of a Business Select ticket, but did not redeem the drink coupon. The Class does not include those who only obtained drink coupons through the Southwest Rapid Rewards program or as a result of being a member of the Southwest Rapid Rewards program.

Who is sued? Southwest Airlines Co. is the company sued.

What does the settlement provide? The settlement provides one Replacement Drink Voucher for every drink coupon received by a Southwest customer prior to August 1, 2010, through the purchase of a Business Select ticket, but never redeemed, subject to audit by Southwest. The Settlement also provides injunctive relief. The Settlement Agreement, available at www.SouthwestVoucherSettlement.com or by calling 1-888-288-2153, has the details about the proposed settlement.

How do you ask for Replacement drink vouchers? You must submit a Claim Form. You can file a Claim online by clicking this online claim link, or you may call 1-888-288-2153 to request a paper Claim Form be mailed to you. You can mail, fax, e-mail, or submit your Claim Form online. If you mail it, it must be post-marked by September 2, 2013 to the address on the Claim Form. If you submit it any other way, it must be submitted to the Settlement Administrator by midnight on September 2, 2013.

Your other options. If you don’t want Class Relief from this settlement, and you don’t want to be legally bound by it, you must exclude yourself by April 11, 2013 or you won’t be able to sue, or continue to sue, Southwest about the claims in this case. If you ask to be excluded, you can’t get Class Relief from this settlement. If you stay in the settlement, you may object to it by April 11, 2013. The detailed written notice available on the website below explains how to exclude yourself or object. You can also call the number below to hear about how to exclude yourself or object.
The Court will hold a hearing in this case, called In Re Southwest Airlines Voucher Litigation, No. 11-CV-8176, on May 21, 2013 to consider whether to approve the settlement and a request by the lawyers for fees, costs and expenses. You will not pay the lawyers representing the Class; they will be paid by Southwest. Class Counsel will be requesting attorneys’ fees of up to $7,000,000. Southwest will not object to a fee of $1,750,000. If the Settlement is approved, Southwest will be released from all liability for the claims. The Settlement Agreement, located on the website below, explains this fully. You or your own lawyer may ask to appear and speak at the hearing, at your own cost, but you don’t have to. For more information call toll free or visit www.SouthwestVoucherSettlement.com.

SOURCE: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
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Yep....a fine example of the blood-sucking leech class...and a part of the reason I left the practice long ago.
 
Wait a minute....I don't get it. Why do the lawyers think they should get 7 mil for getting a bunch of people replacement drink coupons???
 
A typical class action dollar split. Out of a $4mil settlement, the lawyer gets $2 or 3mil and each of the clients gets $13.50 (or in this case a free drink). I'm sure the lawyers think it's fair.
 
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Fearless Tower said:
Wait a minute....I don't get it. Why do the lawyers think they should get 7 mil for getting a bunch of people replacement drink coupons???
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Because that's the corrupt system we've built and they've come to expect that as "normal".
 
LDJones said:
Because that's the corrupt system we've built and they've come to expect that as "normal".
Click to expand...

Its actually like anything else in this world, its just that the system has a difficult time preventing abuse, Much like the issue over gun control, You can have all the gun control you want and bad actors are still going to do bad things with guns. The 6th amendment is just as important as the 2nd.

So you can use the 6th for positive purposes or silly purposes. Class actions serve a legitimate purpose. Its when abuse happens that there are negative consequences. That is one of the downsides of constitutional republics. There are however many more upsides.
 
AdamZ said:
Its actually like anything else in this world, its just that the system has a difficult time preventing abuse, Much like the issue over gun control, You can have all the gun control you want and bad actors are still going to do bad things with guns. The 6th amendment is just as important as the 2nd.

So you can use the 6th for positive purposes or silly purposes. Class actions serve a legitimate purpose. Its when abuse happens that there are negative consequences. That is one of the downsides of constitutional republics. There are however many more upsides.
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What am I missing that makes this a 6th amendment issue? Perhaps, the lawyers right to a swift and speedy path to riches?
 
So it's the airlines fault that a person didn't redeem their drink voucher?:mad2::mad2::mad2:
 
LDJones said:
Because that's the corrupt system we've built and they've come to expect that as "normal".
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The system the trial lawyers built. "We" have tried repeatedly to fix it. The only answer is to get the trial lawyers and their lackeys out of power first.
 
JB1842 said:
So it's the airlines fault that a person didn't redeem their drink voucher?:mad2::mad2::mad2:
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That isn't exactly the deal.....you have to go to their website and sort through all the legal BS to see the basis of the suit: For any Business ticket purchased prior to 1 Aug 2010, Southwest insisted that you had to use those drink vouchers on the specific day you were scheduled to travel, unlike the other drink vouchers. In other words, if you didn't use the drink vouchers on that specific flight, they were no good to use on future travel. Apparently they changed their rule after Aug 2010 so that you could save them up.

Their policy was reminiscient of Navy beer days after extended underway periods.
 
There's a knock on your door one evening. A policeman says you are under arrest because a little girl down the street (who you have never even seen) has reported that you touched her inappropriately. You are ordered to accompany the police to jail where you are charged, booked, and thrown onto a cell.

Do you really want one of those awful attorneys now?
 
Fearless Tower said:
That isn't exactly the deal.....you have to go to their website and sort through all the legal BS to see the basis of the suit: For any Business ticket purchased prior to 1 Aug 2010, Southwest insisted that you had to use those drink vouchers on the specific day you were scheduled to travel, unlike the other drink vouchers. In other words, if you didn't use the drink vouchers on that specific flight, they were no good to use on future travel. Apparently they changed their rule after Aug 2010 so that you could save them up.

Their policy was reminiscient of Navy beer days after extended underway periods.
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Gotcha. Still a retarded lawsuit, though.
 
JohnWF said:
There's a knock on your door one evening. A policeman says you are under arrest because a little girl down the street (who you have never even seen) has reported that you touched her inappropriately. You are ordered to accompany the police to jail where you are charged, booked, and thrown onto a cell.

Do you really want one of those awful attorneys now?
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No, but I'd take a good CD attorney.
 
JohnWF said:
There's a knock on your door one evening. A policeman says you are under arrest because a little girl down the street (who you have never even seen) has reported that you touched her inappropriately. You are ordered to accompany the police to jail where you are charged, booked, and thrown onto a cell.

Do you really want one of those awful attorneys now?
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That attorney, no. They specialize in these types of lawsuits. I would want a criminal law attorney who specialize in criminal cases.
 
JohnWF said:
There's a knock on your door one evening. A policeman says you are under arrest because a little girl down the street (who you have never even seen) has reported that you touched her inappropriately. You are ordered to accompany the police to jail where you are charged, booked, and thrown onto a cell.

Do you really want one of those awful attorneys now?
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That goes both ways.

Your arguement is the same as people screaming about nukes when talking guns.

90 percent of the requirement to defend, is due to attorneys on the plaintiff side.

Nice attempt at employment justification.
 
JohnWF said:
There's a knock on your door one evening. A policeman says you are under arrest because a little girl down the street (who you have never even seen) has reported that you touched her inappropriately. You are ordered to accompany the police to jail where you are charged, booked, and thrown onto a cell.

Do you really want one of those awful attorneys now?
Click to expand...
Apples and organges.

I sure as hell would not want one of those class action types representing me.
 
On average, democracies have lasted 200 years. We're due.

Just sayin'.
 
How about just adopting the English system where the loser pays the legal and court fees? Otherwise, law firms like this can keep rolling the dice for the cost of filing. Pretty simple fix.
 
LDJones said:
Because that's the corrupt system we've built and they've come to expect that as "normal".
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Any system conceived by lawyers, managed by lawyers, the rules made up by lawyers, enforced by lawyers and membership is restricted to lawyers, is going to be inherently dishonest. Just look at congress and the courts.
 
Alexb2000 said:
How about just adopting the English system where the loser pays the legal and court fees? Otherwise, law firms like this can keep rolling the dice for the cost of filing. Pretty simple fix.
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:yes:
That's why it'll never happen.
 
Alexb2000 said:
What am I missing that makes this a 6th amendment issue? Perhaps, the lawyers right to a swift and speedy path to riches?
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No I was just trying to state that access to courts and counsel ( as in the 6th in criminal cases) is equally important as any other right. I really meant to write both 6th and 14th but my fingers disengaged from my mind.
 
I just got 2 notices in the past couple of days that I "won" a class action lawsuit, one was against Nissan for some part on my truck and the other was facebook for using something from my profile in an advertisement.
 
bartmc said:
I just got 2 notices in the past couple of days that I "won" a class action lawsuit, one was against Nissan for some part on my truck and the other was facebook for using something from my profile in an advertisement.
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And let me guess. You've "won" < $20 while the lawyers collected millions.
 
This reminds me of a phenomenon that I've noticed. It seems that everytime the stock market goes down, within two weeks I get inundated with notices from lawyers trying to get me to make claims against the companies that went down.

Sheesh!! That's the risk of getting in the market to begin with.
 
Now, if Southwest Airlines simply gave people the drinks they promised them, none of this would have happened. I've been in the situation of explaining to a client that they failed to properly limit the offer - and they need to continue to honor the offer. They don't like it but the marketing people rarely have the lawyers look at the stuff before it goes out . . .

Southwest is paying this - along with their insurers. They NEVER would have agreed to it if they had a valid defense. . ..
 
Alexb2000 said:
How about just adopting the English system where the loser pays the legal and court fees? Otherwise, law firms like this can keep rolling the dice for the cost of filing. Pretty simple fix.
Click to expand...

Speaking as a lawyer - I do not want to waste my time suing people who will never pay me a dime. There needs to be a case - I may take a case on a contingency fee but will not take lots and lots of them if only 1 of 10 pay off . . . I have better things to do with my time . . .
 
comanchepilot said:
Now, if Southwest Airlines simply gave people the drinks they promised them, none of this would have happened. I've been in the situation of explaining to a client that they failed to properly limit the offer - and they need to continue to honor the offer. They don't like it but the marketing people rarely have the lawyers look at the stuff before it goes out . . .

Southwest is paying this - along with their insurers. They NEVER would have agreed to it if they had a valid defense. . ..
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Absolute
BS.gif


This is yet another reason I left the US is out of control lawyers raping anything and everything over making a buck. Every time these bottom dwellers go after individuals and corporations on a mining expedition we all pay through higher insurance rates as well as companies no longer wanting to provide services because of the fear of being sued.

This part of the world (Asia) you never see TV, print ads or billboards of some sleazy bottom dweller offering to sue for any reason you can imagine. The legal profession over here is an honorable profession with real professionals who will not tolerate the kind of slime the bar associations in the US put out.
 
comanchepilot said:
Speaking as a lawyer - I do not want to waste my time suing people who will never pay me a dime. There needs to be a case - I may take a case on a contingency fee but will not take lots and lots of them if only 1 of 10 pay off . . . I have better things to do with my time . . .
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But there are many in your profession that are the bottom feeders that will file lawsuit after lawsuit in hopes of making a buck. Your bar associations will not weed these slime out. Judges will not throw out frivolous lawsuits. There are people in the US that literally make a living just in filing lawsuits with sleazy lawyers more than willing to be their accomplice.

This is the problem as long as your profession has the fox guarding the hen house. As attorneys you should demand your bar associations do a better job in policing the membership.
 
Anymouse said:
This reminds me of a phenomenon that I've noticed. It seems that everytime the stock market goes down, within two weeks I get inundated with notices from lawyers trying to get me to make claims against the companies that went down.

Sheesh!! That's the risk of getting in the market to begin with.
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:nono: No, no....not in Utopia. Wins are YOURS to keep, losses are to be SHARED or covered by someone else. Everybody's a winner all the time.
 
RotorAndWing said:
Absolute
BS.gif


This is yet another reason I left the US is out of control lawyers raping anything and everything over making a buck. Every time these bottom dwellers go after individuals and corporations on a mining expedition we all pay through higher insurance rates as well as companies no longer wanting to provide services because of the fear of being sued.

This part of the world (Asia) you never see TV, print ads or billboards of some sleazy bottom dweller offering to sue for any reason you can imagine. The legal profession over here is an honorable profession with real professionals who will not tolerate the kind of slime the bar associations in the US put out.
Click to expand...

I say again, Southwest would not have paid $7 million dollars if the people who complained did not have a legitimate point. Why they did not honor the stupid drink coupons in the first place which they printed which had no expiration date is beyond me . . . the cost of the liquor would have been a fraction of the $7mil . . .

I'm not saying I disagree about many lawyers but if more corporations would treat people with more respect and intelligence they'd get sued a lot less . . .
 
comanchepilot said:
I say again, Southwest would not have paid $7 million dollars if the people who complained did not have a legitimate point. Why they did not honor the stupid drink coupons in the first place which they printed which had no expiration date is beyond me . . . the cost of the liquor would have been a fraction of the $7mil . . .

I'm not saying I disagree about many lawyers but if more corporations would treat people with more respect and intelligence they'd get sued a lot less . . .
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And I'm sure there are people that are irrevocably harmed over not getting a drink..........oh please spare me.:rolleyes2:
 
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