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Decision could pave way for class action against Dell
Headline News |
2007/07/12 19:15
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A decision expected Friday by the Supreme Court of Canada could open the door to a Quebec class-action lawsuit against Dell Computer Corp. The case - which pits Dell against a Quebec consumer advocacy group - was initiated in 2003 after the computer giant posted incorrect low prices online for its Axim handheld personal digital assistants. Montreal consumer Olivier Dumoulin started a class-action lawsuit against Dell, arguing that the company wouldn't honour Axim sales made on its Canadian website, before the erroneous prices of $89 and $118 were rectified. The real prices were $379 and $549 respectively. At issue for the Supreme Court is a caveat used by Dell and a growing number of retailers on the sale of everything from computers to cellphones. It's a clause that obliges dissatisfied customers to challenge companies through arbitration - and not class-action lawsuits. "This clause for us is abusive. Its goal is to block class-action lawsuits," said Charles Tanguay, a spokesperson for Quebec's Union des consommateurs, which is spearheading the case with Dumoulin. "What we're defending here is a principle. When a price is advertised, it must be sold at that price." In 2004, the Quebec Superior Court granted the union and Dumoulin class-action certification. Each member of the class is asking for Dell to supply the Axim at the transaction price, plus compensatory damages of $100 and punitive damages of $1,000, court papers show. A lawyer for Dell couldn't be reached for comment yesterday. Dell's appeal of the Superior Court's decision has broad implications for most Canadian provinces. While such arbitration clauses are no longer permitted in Quebec - their use is also forbidden in Ontario - Friday's decision would set the standard for retailers in other provinces, legal experts say. "There's a big trend of retailers favouring arbitration clauses," said Frederic Bachand, a McGill University law professor. Bachand was part of a team of lawyers representing a neutral intervenor in the Dell case. While the trend is more limited in Canada, Bachand estimates that these clauses are used in more than half of U.S. consumer contracts - or purchases of goods and services. Arbitration is advantageous for big business because it's done privately - sparing companies potentially negative publicity - and usually less costly, he said. Some arbitration clauses also force customers to challenge a company as individuals, which could dissuade customers from taking action because of fees. "What the big-business side is trying to do is to force the consumer to go to individual arbitration," he said. "We've seen some cases that are obviously abusive, where companies are trying to shift the cost (of arbitration) to the consumer." Dell wasn't trying to gouge customers on fees, Bachand said. Along with the Dell case, the Supreme Court is also expected to decide on a similar lawsuit involving Rogers Wireless. A Quebec customer trying to launch a class-action lawsuit against Rogers for high mobile fees was also told he had to go to arbitration instead of court. |
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Pro bono work costs Seattle schools plenty
Headline News |
2007/07/11 15:43
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For 200 years, Americans have built our democracy with the growth of universal public school education. Public schools are gathering places for democracy. They take in all children, from different walks of life, different families and different backgrounds. One crucial lesson that children learn in public school is that you can get along with different kids. Some may be richer, some poorer, some white, some black, some fast, some slow, some smart and some not so smart, all Americans.
In Washington, we have embraced that notion. But last month, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, set in motion the means to unravel the social compact of integrated public schools. In a case brought by one small group of Seattle parents - Parents Involved in Community Schools - the Supreme Court decided that the best way to remedy racial discrimination in public schools is to not address racial inequities. It endorses a game of pretend - if we pretend that racial discrimination isn't a historical and current fact of life in America, then it isn't!
Seattle has open choice for high schools. While the idea of choice itself resonates with parents, there has to be a formula for deciding who gets into schools that are oversubscribed. Factors for that included, first, if another sibling was already in the chosen school (sibling preference), and then race (if the school is way out of whack with district averages) and proximity to school.
Parents Involved in Community Schools did not like the schools that their kids were slated to attend. So they sued the school district. They didn't sue over sibling preference, or proximity, which they could have done. They chose to sue over the racial integration tie-breaker. This attracted support from the turn-back-the-clock crowd of people who oppose integration. The result is a whole lot more damage to racial integration across the country than the Parents Involved in Community Schools probably anticipated. But who knows - they seem to be happy about the outcome.
So does the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT), which took this case for the Parents Involved in Community Schools as pro bono - that is, they didn't charge for their services. Now they intend to request that the Seattle School District pay the bills for their work for re-segregation. They say they will plow this back into more pro bono work, but we don't need any more of this kind of community "service" litigation.
I am surprised DWT is embracing the Supreme Court decision - the firm has a big emphasis on diversity in its partnership and mentoring new minority colleagues. Former Gov. Gary Locke, who knows a lot about discrimination, is one of the partners. DWT states, "We believe that increasing the diversity of our attorneys and staff is central to our ability to fulfill our commitments to our clients and the community. In short, diversity is critical to DWT's long-term success."
After the Supreme Court decision, DWT stated that "School districts around the country should now focus on improving how and what they teach all children." That's nice, but hard to do when you are billing the Seattle School District for over $1 million - money that could go to teaching children. DWT did make a donation of between $5,000 and $10,000 to the Alliance for Education to support the Seattle Schools. Now that appears to be just a figleaf for legal greed.
In fact, if DWT is sincere about improving education across the country, the firm would acknowledge the need for full-day kindergarten, high quality pre-kindergarten, more school days in the year, lower student-teacher ratios, and funding for music, arts and athletics, to start with. It is a lot easier to have true color-blind education when the resources are available for high quality education for all children.
So here's an idea for DWT's next pro bono venture: Lobby the Legislature to meet the constitutional paramount duty of education for all children. They could start by proposing that legal services should no longer be exempt from the sales tax. That new revenue, close to $200 million a year, could be dedicated to the public schools, improving the educational opportunities for all children. That would be true pro bono work. |
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Big Tort Lawyer Turns State's Evidence
Headline News |
2007/07/10 14:07
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Federal prosecutors are closing in on two titans of the class action bar, Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach, after one of their former law partners pleaded guilty to scheming to make secret payments to plaintiffs in securities lawsuits. David Bershad, 67, entered a guilty plea to one felony count of conspiracy before Judge John Walter yesterday afternoon. During the 40-minute hearing, Bershad told the judge that prosecutors were correct when they charged that the firm where he worked for nearly four decades, Milberg Weiss & Bershad, paid investors to serve as named plaintiffs. Bershad, the longtime financial chief for the firm, also implicated Messrs. Weiss and Lerach by agreeing that they were aware of and participated in the payments. "Of course, this is the worst possible development," a law professor at New York University, Stephen Gillers, said. "It bodes ill for Partners A & B," the professor said, using the pseudonyms prosecutors have adopted to refer to Messrs. Weiss and Lerach in court proceedings. "Each of them is clearly in the prosecutors' sights," Mr. Gillers said. With Bershad's testimony, prosecutors "may now have the ability to pull the trigger" and obtain an indictment of the two men, Mr. Gillers said. "It seems pretty damning to me," another professor who has been following the case, Larry Ribstein of the University of Illinois, said. "They are facing a trial or pretty hard time, if all this pans out." Messrs. Weiss and Lerach have not been charged with any crime. However, in recent weeks, the pair has been in plea discussions with federal prosecutors, a lawyer involved in the case said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Mr. Weiss's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment on the development. Mr. Lerach's lawyer, John Keker, did not respond to a message seeking comment for this article. Bershad could receive up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count. Prosecutors and Bershad's lawyers agreed that sentencing guidelines call for 18 months to two years in his case, though Judge Walter is not obligated to follow that recommendation. Bershad also agreed to forfeit $7.75 million of his receipts from the various lawsuits and to pay a $250,000 fine. At yesterday's hearing, Bershad and one of his lawyers, Cristina Arguedas, stood at a lectern as a prosecutor, Richard Robinson, outlined the facts the government would seek to prove if Bershad went to trial. For 15 minutes, the prosecutor described the scheme by which Milberg Weiss used secretly paid plaintiffs to win the race to be first to file securities lawsuits. "Generally, these individuals were promised that they would be paid approximately 10% of the net attorneys' fees that Milberg Weiss obtained," Mr. Robinson said. This gave Milberg Weiss an advantage because plaintiffs' firms that filed first were likely to be named as lead counsel and to enjoy a larger share of attorneys fees when cases were settled, he said. In 1995, Congress changed the laws related to class actions, and first-to-file status became less critical. In one of the case's most eye-catching allegations, Mr. Robinson said Bershad kept in his office a stash of cash contributed by Milberg Weiss partners. The prosecutor said this became a "secret payment fund" used to make off-the-books distributions to plaintiffs, who were expected to take less than the customary 10% if they were paid in cash. Mr. Robinson said Partner A, Mr. Weiss, made at least one payment from the fund, and Partner B, Mr. Lerach, sought reimbursement for a cash payment to a plaintiff. The prosecutor said Partner A also used a "phony option," which court papers indicate related to an artwork, to pay $175,000 owed to one plaintiff involved in the scheme. |
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California law firm repays excess fees to Nevada
Headline News |
2007/07/09 12:21
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A Sacramento, Calif., law firm accused of collecting nearly $100,000 in excess fees for advice relating to a college savings program in Nevada has repaid the money to the state. The Orrick firm sent a check for $95,862 along with a letter dated July 3 disputing the findings by Nevada legislative auditors of the College Savings Plans of Nevada. Advertisement Auditors concluded Orrick was paid $428 per hour for services in 2001-02, although a contract specified a $225 per hour limit, which resulted in nearly $96,000 in excess funds. “We believe the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB) reached erroneous conclusions that could have been corrected by seeking clarification from Orrick before LCB published its audit report,” said the letter from James Houpt. But the letter went on to say that the law firm considers Nevada to be a valuable client, and the firm's “intent is not to risk that relationship.” State Treasurer Kate Marshall said the check already has been deposited in a state bank account. “They respectfully disagreed with the audit, but they also felt it was the right decision for them to make the overpayment identified in the audit,” Marshall told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The state of Nevada is a little over $95,000 better off for it.” As a result of the audit of the college savings program while under the review of then-Treasurer Brian Krolicki, Marshall sent a letter to the firm seeking a response. Orrick had served as bond counsel to the state at the time the services were rendered for the program. The contract allowed the firm to provide legal services to other state agencies as well. The firm currently does not have any contract to serve as bond counsel with the state. The treasurer's office is awaiting a response from another firm that did business with the state for the college savings program on a separate issue raised in the audit. A Georgia consulting firm, GIF Services, was overpaid $300,000, according to the audit released in May. The audit was sought by legislators after Marshall said in March that it appeared funds for the program were diverted for unauthorized legal expenditures and marketing costs. The audit also raised the issue of whether Krolicki broke state law by not depositing $6 million in state-earned fees into the state treasury. The audit has been turned over to the attorney general's office for an investigation. Krolocki, now lieutenant governor, has said he broke no laws in his management of the program during his eight years as treasurer. The program was established by the 2001 Legislature to allow parents to invest money in mutual funds to build up college funds for their children. None of the money that parents invested is missing or ended up in an improper account, according to the audit. |
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$20 Million Trial Involving Iverson Goes to Jury
Headline News |
2007/07/07 13:27
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A federal jury began deliberations Thursday in a $20 million lawsuit against Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson over a 2005 nightclub fight that two patrons say was sparked by Iverson's entourage. The NBA player has testified that he had no role in the brawl. A lawyer for the men suing Iverson and his bodyguard said in closing arguments Thursday that Iverson has demonstrated little concern about the case against him. He noted that Iverson only appeared in court Monday to testify for about two hours in a trial that is now into its second week. "He doesn't respect the court. He ain't here," attorney Gregory Lattimer told the U.S. District Court jury, motioning toward an empty chair next to Iverson's lawyer at the defense table. "He doesn't respect anything that isn't Allen Iverson." Marlin Godfrey and David Anthony Kittrell say the fight was started by Iverson's bodyguard and entourage when the pair refused to vacate a VIP section for Iverson at the Eyebar nightclub in Washington. Iverson, 32, testified that he didn't see the fight. Godfrey and Kittrell claim the bodyguard, Jason Kane, and Terrance Williams assaulted them. They allege that Williams, a friend of Kane, was acting on Iverson's behalf. Godfrey was badly beaten during the melee, suffering head and other injuries. Lattimer said he suffered depression and other long-term health problems from the incident. The lawsuit says Iverson is responsible for the brawl because he failed to properly supervise Kane and Williams _ but it does not claim he took part in the fight. The suit also accuses Kane of assault and battery for allegedly beating Godfrey with items that include a bottle. Iverson said Monday the suit was a get-rich-quick scheme by the two men, who targeted him because of his wealth and fame. Kane testified he wasn't involved in the fight and hustled Iverson out of the club when a brawl appeared imminent. Iverson's lawyer, Alan Milstein, told jurors Thursday that Kittrell and Godfrey lied about details of the fight and who instigated it. Iverson had no role in the melee, and wasn't responsible for Williams, who was not working for him, Milstein said. He echoed Iverson's claim that the case was an attempt to fleece the wealthy NBA star. "The only reason Mr. Iverson is sued is because he's got the money. This whole case is about who's got it and how do we get it," Milstein said. Iverson faces another lawsuit for another nightclub fight involving his security in Hampton, Va. That happened less than two weeks before the Washington fight. |
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Carbondale law firm celebrates anniversary
Headline News |
2007/07/07 08:29
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July marks the 30th anniversary for a Carbondale law firm that has technically been in existence for the last 99 years.
Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan and Associates, 2001 W. Main St. near the Westtown Mall in Murdale, established its current banner in 1977, but the roots of the firm stretch back to 1908, when local attorneys W.W. Barr and C.E. Feirich started a practice together. Firm partner Richard Green, one of the founders of the business' current iteration, said lasting 30 years in one form means you're doing well; lasting nearly a century in some fashion is extraordinary. Then again, the firm has always been known for beating the odds, he added. "You think about it, in 1977 we were a six-person law firm, a size that was unheard of at that time. People said it wouldn't survive," Green said. It did and has grown into a firm housing 15 lawyers, six paralegals and numerous other staff members. There was a time when Southern Illinois was considered underserved with its number of attorneys, partner John Ryan said. "There's an old saying that goes if there is one lawyer in town he'll starve to death, but if there are two, they'll do just fine," Ryan said. Today the Jackson County Bar Association alone has more than 240 registered attorneys, Ryan said. Being an attorney is a lucrative career option, he said, because lawyers are called on quite often. "The work is a byproduct of our society," Ryan said. |
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