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Car Forum / Honda Cars / November 2006Tranny Class Action - I'm objecting
Hello, I received a notice today that there is a class action lawsuit in progress over transmission failures. The class action lawsuit would result in an extension of the warranty. In the fine print, it also mentions that the lawyers are looking for $290,000, in addition to 9% of $90,300,000. I'm objecting. While I don't like it when companies won't fess up to their design flaws, I just don't agree with that type of payment to people on the sidelines. The lawyers have lost nothing, they are looking to profit from our loss. I'm a creative person, and I've always got ideas for companies. I don't have the ability to really capitalize on all of the ideas, and I don't want many of them. So I've tried to offer these to companies like Apple Computer, and Sony of America. They are super quick to deny the ideas due to fear of lawsuits. I've had no problems suggesting product improvements to companies over in China, they are happy to have the suggestions. Why is this? Fear of lawsuits. It's ruining business in America. I'm saying screw these lawyers. If I'm dissatisfied with my car, I'll take care of the issue by not rewarding the vendor by not buying another car from them. Not helping strangers collect a sum greater than 128 years of my yearly earnings from a vendor they may have never done business with. > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm objecting. While I don't like it when companies won't fess up to > their design flaws, Honda has not only fessed up but has extended the transmission warranties at least twice. I just don't agree with that type of payment to > people on the sidelines. The lawyers have lost nothing, they are > looking to profit from our loss. Of course. That's what drives the whole class action machine, despite the pious "save the common man" rhetoric of the trial bar. > I'm saying screw these lawyers. If I'm dissatisfied with my car, > I'll > take care of the issue by not rewarding the vendor by not buying > another car from them. Not helping strangers collect a sum greater > than 128 years of my yearly earnings from a vendor they may have never > done business with. Fixing tort now is probably nearly impossible. It would require not only regulatory and legislative changes, but an attitudinal shift that would rival plate tectonics. I think the matter is lost forever.  SignatureTeGGeR® The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > In the fine print, it also mentions that the lawyers are looking for > $290,000, in addition to 9% of $90,300,000. That's cheap. Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. > I'm objecting. While I don't like it when companies won't fess up to > their design flaws, I just don't agree with that type of payment to [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > suggestions. Why is this? Fear of lawsuits. It's ruining business in > America. Welcome to corporate America where the 90 day bottom line is the driving force. To hell with long term planning.. > I'm saying screw these lawyers. If I'm dissatisfied with my car, I'll > take care of the issue by not rewarding the vendor by not buying > another car from them. Not helping strangers collect a sum greater than > 128 years of my yearly earnings from a vendor they may have never done > business with. So, you would settle for no settlement??? I don't have a love affair with lawyers but recognize that they sometimes can provide a service that exceeds that of a door stop... JT > That's cheap. > Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. I think the $90 million to extend the warranty out 9 months is BS. How much does Honda get a tranny for? $2K if that? Labor fees? How many are they going to replace in 9 months? Assume it costs $5K to replace the tranny (which is probably over 1/3rd the cost to make the car). Do you think 18,000 transmissions will fail in that 9 months? The support infrastructure for their warranty program is already there. > So, you would settle for no settlement??? I don't have a love affair > with lawyers but recognize that they sometimes can provide a service > that exceeds that of a door stop... I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. Hard to know what is fair for the attorneys but I can tell you that Honda will probably send 20 or more $500 per hour attorneys to fight the lawsuit so you can bet the plaintiff firm will be spending a ton of money. I base that estimate on material I was recently reading on the amount corporate plaintiffs were spending on attorneys for lawsuits. They sent 20 to a simple motion hearing. 5 to a deposition. One of the 5 was reading a book at the corporation's expense. I guess he was there just in case his very specific expertise was needed. The author of the article was himself an attorney and thought the amount of money corporations were spending was ridiculous. So if they are spending so much, the plaintiffs have to be willing to spend similar amounts. >> That's cheap. >> Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. >Hard to know what is fair for the attorneys but I can tell you that Honda >will probably send 20 or more $500 per hour attorneys to fight the lawsuit [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >ridiculous. So if they are spending so much, the plaintiffs have to be >willing to spend similar amounts. Really, this whole tort reform issue is BS. 90% of dollars spent in litigation involve one company suing another, but you never hear these companies screaming for the government to curtail their ability to sue. That is because there is a potential upside for them in that they might be the plaintiff next time and they want their rights protected. There is no upside in litigation with the public so the companies lobby the government and PR the public get laws passed to effectively shut that down. Who cares about your rights. The OP said the attorneys are getting 10%+/- of the money. That is equivalent to a private lawyer getting $200 or $300 to sue Honda on your behalf if your transmission blows up. Good luck finding someone to do it at that price, even on a flat, cash up front, no guaranty basis. It usually isn't practical to sue Honda on your own if your transmission blows up. The only way for the common man to prevail against a huge corporations is through class action suits. That is why there is so much lobbying to curtail them. >>> That's cheap. >>> Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> >> I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. >> Hard to know what is fair for the attorneys but I can tell you that Honda >> will probably send 20 or more $500 per hour attorneys to fight the lawsuit [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > is through class action suits. That is why there is so much lobbying > to curtail them. well said. >>>> That's cheap. >>>> Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >>>> that exceeds that of a door stop... >>> I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. I can make 2 suggestions for tort reform which are far better than just limits. First, a proportion of punitive damages should go into a fund that covers judgement proof defendants. So if you win $50 million in punitive damages, you only get part of it. The rest goes to other plaintiffs who win suits but cannot collect their money. Secondly, judges should have to right to reimburse winning defendants up to the amount the plaintiff spent on legal fees. So if I sue Honda and spend $10k and Honda spends a million defending itself, and I lose and the judges rules my case frivilous, I have to reimburse Honda up to $10k. >>Hard to know what is fair for the attorneys but I can tell you that Honda >>will probably send 20 or more $500 per hour attorneys to fight the lawsuit [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >>> >>> I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. > > That's cheap. > > Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > I say I don't want them to be given $9,000,000 from Honda in my name. Well then sign the form that says you don't want to be part of the settlement, and send it back to the address they give. Then, try to negotiate a settlement of your own with Honda. Buena suerte, Earle SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com <snip fud> > I'm saying screw these lawyers. If I'm dissatisfied with my car, I'll > take care of the issue by not rewarding the vendor by not buying > another car from them. Not helping strangers collect a sum greater than > 128 years of my yearly earnings from a vendor they may have never done > business with. are you a lobbyist? i can't afford a lawsuit against a large corporation unless i team up with other victims and have the case handled by a specialist. that's called a class action. distracting fud about fees is b.s. restricting class actions limits my legal remedies. corporations have a number of choices. these include: not screwing up in the first place. settling. fighting in court. if i have to escalate to legal action, i only have one of those options available to me, fighting, and that's hard/impossible to afford. corporate lawyers and lobbyists know that. either you don't understand the problem or you're being paid to try and make justice inaccessible. |
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