Tranny 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.

 

wrote in

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

Of course. That's what drives the whole class action machine, despite
the pious "save the common man" rhetoric of the trial bar.

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.

 

That's cheap.

Legal fees generally amount to 1/3 to 1/2 of a settlement.

Welcome to corporate America where the 90 day bottom line is the driving
force. To hell with long term planning..

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.

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.

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

well said.

 

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.

 

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.