At least one court finally is taking notice that the lawsuit industry appears to benefit the trial lawyers bringing the cases more than the supposedly injured victims they represent.
A class action against headset manufacturers alleging potential hearing loss to consumers resulted in an $850,000 payout for the plaintiffs' lawyers but nothing for the class members, and a federal appeals court has ordered the lower district court which approved the settlement to take another look as reported by Daniel Fisher for Forbes:
The decision provides yet more evidence that the real problem with these settlements lies with the judges who approve them. * * * The Ninth Circuit found that U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer failed to investigate the disparity between the results the lawyers achieved and the amount of money they wanted for their work and wasn't critical enough[.]
Let's hope that all lower courts throughout the country take notice of this appellate decision, and they stop rubber stamping settlement agreements and fee applications for the lawsuit industry and start providing real oversight on behalf of the purportedly injured consumers.
Further reading that may be of interest:
