From Chuck Shepherd:
The Latest Results From America's Pre-eminent Lawyer Enrichment Program (class-action lawsuits):Nice to know there are still some people with their priorities straight.[St. Louis Post-Dispatch,6-22-03] [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6-4-03] [The Citizen-Times(Asheville, N.C.), 7-30-03] [San Francisco Chronicle, 7-19-03]
- In a $350 million settlement between AT&T and customers overcharged on telephone leases, lawyers get $84 million, and customers get back $15 to $20 each (December).
- In a recent settlement between Sears and customers with improperly done wheel balancing, lawyers get $2.45 million, and customers get $2.50 a tire.
- In a $3.7 million settlement between televangelist Jim Bakker's Praise the Lord Ministries and 165,000 defrauded Christians, lawyers get $2.5 million, and each victim gets $6.54 (July).
- In a settlement of price-fixing charges against
cosmetics manufacturers and retailers, lawyers get $24 million, and each customer gets a free cosmetic (July).