Everyone seemingly got some tangible benefit — except for nearly all of the 1 million consumers covered by the class action lawsuit filed in their name. None of the consumers got money, only discount coupons toward new Ford purchases. Few used them.

The practice of settling class action lawsuits by doling out discount coupons rather than cash has come under fire from tort reform activists and others who complain that such lawsuits mainly benefit the lawyers — and even the companies being sued — at the expense of their clients.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David De Alba authorized the settlement of a class action that lawyers argued could be worth as much as $500 million to people who owned Ford Explorers during the 1990s.

In exchange for dropping the lawsuit that alleged rollover problems unfairly diminished the resale value of Explorers, Ford customers could receive a $500 discount coupon toward the purchase of a new SUV or a $300 coupon to buy another Ford vehicle. Consumers had until April 29, 2008 to apply for the coupons.

De Alba awarded the lawyers $25 million in fees and expenses after presiding over a 50-day trial without a jury in 2007. The case settled before the judge reached a verdict.

Simpson and convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart won't be in a Las Vegas courtroom Monday for the 30-minute sessions allotted to their lawyers before a trio of justices from the state's only appellate court. Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who prosecuted the pair, will argue against release.

The justices won't make an immediate decision, but it is rare for the state high court to hear oral arguments on bond and even more rare to grant release.

Simpson, 62, is serving nine to 33 years for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in the September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. Stewart, 55, is serving 7 1/2 to 27 years.

Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter has said Simpson won't flee if he's released, poses no danger to the community and will comply with any conditions the high court sets.

"C.J. is hopeful the court will take a look at the record and see that there are multiple issues on appeal that should get him a new trial," said Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson.

Bryson argues that Stewart, a former mortgage broker from North Las Vegas, should have been tried separately from Simpson, an NFL Hall-of-Famer, television star and celebrity criminal defendant acquitted in the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in Los Angeles.

Galanter and Bryson said a favorable ruling from the court would signal how justices feel about their overall appeals, which are unlikely to be decided for at least a year.

Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court. The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition.

Thompson says she's been unable to find gainful employment since she received her information technology degree in April.

She says the Bronx school's Office of Career Advancement hasn't provided her with the leads and career advice it promises.

Monroe College spokesman Gary Axelbank says Thompson's lawsuit is completely without merit.

The college insists it helps its graduates find jobs.

At a hearing Friday, prosecutors told D.C. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Alprin that they have provided more than 5,000 pages of evidence to attorneys for Ingmar Guandique (gwan-DEE'-kay.)

Chandra Levy had just completed a U.S. Bureau of Prisons internship when she disappeared in 2001 after leaving her apartment in jogging clothes. Her remains were found a year later in a Washington park.

Defense attorneys say they need to interview at least 10 other possible suspects. They asked to push back the January trial date, but Alprin refused.

Guandique's lawyers have said the case against him is flawed. He was charged in the killing earlier this year.

Attorneys in U.S. District Court in Boston gave opening statements Tuesday in the recording industry's lawsuit against 25-year-old Joel Tenenbaum of Providence, R.I.

Tenenbaum, represented by Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, is accused of downloading and distributing thousands of songs, though the case focuses on 30.

Recording industry lawyer Tim Reynolds says song swappers such as Tenenbaum seriously damage music labels.

Tenenbaum is only the second music-downloading defendant to go to trial. Last month, a federal jury ruled a Minnesota woman must pay $1.92 million for copyright infringement.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a federal judge's decision to block the hourly employees from filing a class action lawsuit.

The judge had ruled that the court inquiries into each employee's individual situation would "swamp" any of the group's common issues.

The employees contend that FedEx has engaged in a "pervasive and long-standing policy" of failing to pay hourly employees for all time worked.

FedEx hourly employees are required to manually enter their scheduled start, end and break times into a hand-held tracker. But employees also use time cards as a backup tracking method.

The group claims they frequently worked during unpaid breaks. They also say they weren't paid for the gap periods between punching in or out on a time clock and when they actually started or finished work.

For example, if an employee punched in at 7:45 a.m. but entered a start time of 8 a.m. into the tracker, there would be a 15-minute gap for which the employee would not be paid.

A spokesman for FedEx wasn't immediately able to comment on the ruling Monday.