…in a class-action lawsuit against American Airlines! I just got the notice…Marks, Marks & Kaplan, a fine law firm of Chicago, has decided to sue AA on my behalf! How nice! They claim I was injured in 1986, because I couldn’t book a flight using my frequent flyer miles. My questions: how can I get back at these thieves? I LIKE American Airlines. Also, how can I prevent these legal rascals from recovering on my behalf? Can I sue them in small claims court?
Of course, we all know the outcome of this lawsuit-Marks, Marks and Kaplan will get a pile of cash-i will most likely get a few dollars at most. I am really angry about this!
If it goes to court (it might not; AA might just settle to make them go away), go to the courtroom as it goes to trial, say you are the plaintiff (waving the letter that MMK sent you), then say you want them off the case.
See if that does any good. 
I’m sorry, but, aren’t you saying that you’ve been named as a plantiff??? they’re not suing you, are they???
Part of my duties at my job is to act as legal liaison for the company. Over two years, I’ve received three claims form for class action lawsuits to which the company could plausibly claim a share.
It really seems like a scam, but I spoke to our lawyers about it and they claimed that class action lawsuits rarely result in the kind of massive, hundreds-of-millions of dollars settlement or judgement that makes millions or tens of millions for the law firm handling it. That’s why reputable firms tend to stay away unless they think they’ve got a strong case, and class action lawsuits tend to be the province of ambulance chasers - they’re long shots.
If Marks, Marks, & Kaplan really are the fine firm that you say they are, then maybe they’re pretty confident about their case.
By saying you like American Airlines, you have jeopardised your claim to sanity. A good attorney will pull your lack of a case to pieces now.
I was drawn into the multi-level marketing scheme (or is it “scam”?) to sell Sprint long-distance services in the 80s. I spent $134 (that I could’ve put to better use) for the “training”. I got a single person to try Sprint.
Years later, I was informed I was part of a class against Sprint. Final outcome: I got two $50 prepaid Sprint phone cards. I discovered the cards a couple of weeks ago while I was packing stuff. They expire in March. Why not? I used one of them, and I still have the other. I didn’t recover the money I spent, but it’s not as bad as losing it all.
EG if you realy don’t want to be part of the suit, generally there is an opportunity for you to opt out. Try reading the materials that were sent you – usually the instructions for opting out are included. If not, watch the papers, ususally there are ads which give information on big class actions. Call or write the law firm and ask how you can opt out. If you do not want to be a member of the class, you have the right to remove yourself. However, if you don’t, your rights will be adjudicated in the class action.
I agree that attorney fees in class actions suits have been very high recently. However, they have been justified to and approved by a judge.
Personally, I think class actions are a very useful tool to help fight injustices which otherwise couldn’t be addressed. Imagine an organization which steals $5.00 from each of its customers. Individually, it isn’t feasible for anyone to take legal action to correct the situation. But if this behavior affects millions of people, something can be done. Is that a bad thing?
I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure you’re not a defendant. Your topic header makes it sound as if someone’s suing you.
I thought class-action suits usually allow people to remove themselves from the case.
A umm, friend of mine was once involved in a suit. Remember when it was revealed that the group Milli Vanilli didn’t really sing on their album? Somebody decided that justified a lawsuit, & people who bought the album got a couple bucks back or whatever.
I thought it was dumb since this was a debut album, & the alleged singers were unknowns, so people who bought the album must have done so because they liked the songs. Therefore there was no harm done to the buyer. It’s not like someone made an album with unknown musicians & tried to pass it off as the Beatles.