From January 20, 2003 Newsweek: Did you purchase a music c.d. between 1/1/95 and 12/22/2000? State attorneys general in 41 states filed a class action lawsuit on your behalf for price fixing and you won! You may be eligible for a cash settlement, from $5- $20.
I know, I know, another class action lawsuit. However, here’s a silver lining. If more than 8.8 million people apply for the settlement (and the award is less than $5 per claimant):
“If the number of claims filed would result in refunds of less than $5.00 per claimant, there will be no cash distribution to individual consumers. Rather, the cash portion of the Settlement shall be distributed to not-for-profit, charitable, governmental or public entities to be used for music-related purposes or programs for the benefit of consumers who purchased Music Products.”
So far, only ~30,000 have filed an electronic claim. The settlement is $143 million. You can even file for people who are now dead.
Is there any limit per household? I would like to sign up everyone in my house, and it wouldn’t be dishonest because we’ve all bought CDs in the last 8 years.
Ice Wolf, it’s okay if I personally don’t get anything because if it goes below $5 per claimant, the $143,000,000 (man, that’s a lot of zeroes!) goes to music programs throughout the U.S. That wouldn’t be so bad.
Well if only 30,000 people have signed up (cite?) then there’s obviously not that much public intrest because I’ve been seeing links and stories about this EVERYWHERE, including slashdot, and we know what they do…
So if indeed only 30,000 have signed up I doubt it’s going to reach 8 million in the next two weeks.
The Newsweek article and Snopes both reported this. They must have gotten it from the attorneys at some point. However, I’d imagine this number has increased significantly in the last few weeks if the word is getting out.
BTW, the sign up is prior to March 3, not February 3. So there’s ~6 weeks left.
Would I register my name in a suit via the abused, distored class-action system? Only under 1 of 2 circumstances
IF the 3/3/03 deadline falls on the same day as hell freezing over.
IF the trial lawyers donate all their legal fees and awards to VALA (Voters Against Lawsuit Abuse)
That isn’t the point. The companies engaged in unbusinesslike practices (pricefixing, namely) and deserve to be punished. If we can make them help deserving causes, so much the better.
I believe the word you’re looking for is `justice.’
John, I’m actually with you on class action lawsuits. I hate them and I think most of them are moneymakers for unscrupulous attorneys.
In this case, 41 state attorneys general filed the lawsuit accusing them of price fixing. The record companies settled out of court and they agreed to pay x amount of dollars. So it wasn’t as if someone solicited me to join in so they could file a lawsuit. The lawsuit portion is already finished (or will be soon) and now they are working on the distribution portion.
The only good in this is that if enough people file a claim, they’ll put the money towards music programs in schools. It sucks, I agree, but the record companies (or their insurance companies) are going to pay this out regardless of whether we like it. So it might as well go to some good.
The irony is that I would probably spend the money on a CD.
I think there haven’t been millions of sign-ups yet because a lot of people get to the question where it asks for the last four numbers of your SSN and then close the browser window.
Well, put me on record as the first person in this thread to say that the charity angle is not “the only good” in this situation. I would characterize getting a check for $20 mailed to me for free as “good.” Selfish, I know. I signed up last month, and signed up my girlfriend, my mom, and a couple of people I know who hadn’t signed themselves up. In this particular case I think it’s easy and rewarding to take the short view of things. Does that make me a bad person?
…that these class-action lawsuits are nothing more than legalized robbery? YOU (the victim) get pennies on the dollar-the law firm gets MILLIONS! Something about this isn’t right!