Supreme Court bends over for Corporations

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Supreme Court rules that companies can block class-action lawsuits | The Raw Story

I am livid. It takes a whole lot of pressure to piss me off, but this is too much.

Edit: What do you plan to do about this, if anything?

[James81]

Eh, when it comes to a service like AT&T, I can't ever think of a reason to sue them that wouldn't cost me more than actually just sucking up whatever BS cost they throw at me and then cancelling the service.

Actually, come to think of it, now that I know just how much you can get away with when it comes to not paying your bills, I see no reason why I'd ever *need* to sue a company like AT&T because if I didn't like something they did, I'd simply cancel the service and not pay it, let it put a very small mark on my credit and watch it disappear seven years later. I don't think people realize how insignificant a mark like a utility bill is on their credit until they go through credit hell like I did and see just how little they can actually do about it if you don't pay.

[Justin Mazza]

Shocker

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by James81

Eh, when it comes to a service like AT&T, I can't ever think of a reason to sue them that wouldn't cost me more than actually just sucking up whatever BS cost they throw at me and then cancelling the service.

Actually, come to think of it, now that I know just how much you can get away with when it comes to not paying your bills, I see no reason why I'd ever *need* to sue a company like AT&T because if I didn't like something they did, I'd simply cancel the service and not pay it, let it put a very small mark on my credit and watch it disappear seven years later. I don't think people realize how insignificant a mark like a utility bill is on their credit until they go through credit hell like I did and see just how little they can actually do about it if you don't pay.

A class action lawsuit allows numerous individuals with the same grievance to basically band together in court, you can still sue a company as an individual but it's just you vs. what may be a multibillion corporation or in the case of the pharmaceutical companies nearing the trillions. There's just no way to win and the power of numbers has been removed from the equation. This is basically giving corporations with the money to blow on arbitration a free pass to do whatever the hell they want to the consumer.

Say you or a loved one was seriously injured or killed by a drug from a pharmaceutical company, like the Vioxx ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. This law prevents you from taking your case to court with numerous other victims of the drug, your grievances will likely not be met and while you may say "oh well it's not the money that matters" lawsuits are sometimes the only thing keeping these companies in check as far as ethical product sales goes.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Well, it was all in the fine print, a legal binding contract that the consumers signed. So, if they agree not to be part of a class action lawsuit when signing up for AT&T, then they can't be part of a class action lawsuit. I think the Supreme Court is pretty futile anyway, as they are almost always going to side with corporations, especially if they are mostly conservative. Either way, these people did sign a contract, probably without reading it, so they are at fault as well.

[Cado]

This about sums up the whole damn legal/political system: YouTube - Electric Six - "Gay Bar" (Hi Res)

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

Say you or a loved one was seriously injured or killed by a drug from a pharmaceutical company, like the Vioxx ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. This law prevents you from taking your case to court with numerous other victims of the drug, your grievances will likely not be met and while you may say "oh well it's not the money that matters" lawsuits are sometimes the only thing keeping these companies in check as far as ethical product sales goes.

One does not sign an arbitration agreement when buying a drug. I doubt that lawsuits that involve the right to life are covered by arbitration agreements.

In times of economic hardship, it is difficult to strike a balance between the right of companies to exist and access to court.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

One does not sign an arbitration agreement when buying a drug. I doubt that lawsuits that involve the right to life are covered by arbitration agreements.

In times of economic hardship, it is difficult to strike a balance between the right of companies to exist and access to court.

Only thing is, many of these companies are far from suffering. They're billion dollar enterprises.

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

Only thing is, many of these companies are far from suffering. They're billion dollar enterprises.

Many, but not all. Or would you like to propose a differential treatment for the big companies as opposed to the small ones?

[Brutha]

I don't think it's an easy legal issue. As it stands congress should simply make a law that forbids those clauses in contracts.

[GeorgeMagister]

Originally Posted by Brutha

As it stands congress should simply make a law that forbids those clauses in contracts.

Agreed.

[James81]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

A class action lawsuit allows numerous individuals with the same grievance to basically band together in court, you can still sue a company as an individual but it's just you vs. what may be a multibillion corporation or in the case of the pharmaceutical companies nearing the trillions. There's just no way to win and the power of numbers has been removed from the equation. This is basically giving corporations with the money to blow on arbitration a free pass to do whatever the hell they want to the consumer.

Say you or a loved one was seriously injured or killed by a drug from a pharmaceutical company, like the Vioxx ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. This law prevents you from taking your case to court with numerous other victims of the drug, your grievances will likely not be met and while you may say "oh well it's not the money that matters" lawsuits are sometimes the only thing keeping these companies in check as far as ethical product sales goes.

Ok, but I wasn't talking about pharmaceutical companies and dying as a result of a product offered.

I was very specifically talking about AT&T and how there is nothing that AT&T offers to me, that I could agree to buy, that would influence my life or my finances in such a way that I would ever feel compelled to sue them. To sue them for something they did is really just using more of my time and resources than is worth it for my own well-being.

If AT&T screws me out of a hundred dollars, for example, I'll chaulk that up as a loss and never make the mistake of using AT&T again.

I'm not talking class action lawsuits here. I'm talking about class action lawsuits against a company such as AT&T. When it comes to pharmaceutical companies, that's a different animal entirely.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

Many, but not all. Or would you like to propose a differential treatment for the big companies as opposed to the small ones?

No, I'd like to propose these kinds of laws being repealed. Corporations, whether large or small, should not have this kind of legal protection.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by James81

Ok, but I wasn't talking about pharmaceutical companies and dying as a result of a product offered.

I was very specifically talking about AT&T and how there is nothing that AT&T offers to me, that I could agree to buy, that would influence my life or my finances in such a way that I would ever feel compelled to sue them. To sue them for something they did is really just using more of my time and resources than is worth it for my own well-being.

If AT&T screws me out of a hundred dollars, for example, I'll chaulk that up as a loss and never make the mistake of using AT&T again.

I'm not talking class action lawsuits here. I'm talking about class action lawsuits against a company such as AT&T. When it comes to pharmaceutical companies, that's a different animal entirely.

But this law doesn't just affect AT&T, it affects and gives protection from class action lawsuits to all corporations in the U.S.

So you approaching this from the angle of "oh this is just concerning AT&T you can't bring the other companies into it" is just flat out ridiculous because this law gives privilege to every corporation, not just AT&T.

But because I like you James, I'll bite. AT&T is a massive telecommunications company, they've already had numerous legal issues over breaches of privacy before and after the Patriot Act. Canceling any services doesn't prevent this, they can still retain any and all information they have on you. Was there a clause preventing retention of personal information in your contract?

This goes way beyond people simply dropping services from corporations they don't like. Corporations have control over nearly every service available nowadays and because of this law they're less likely to be called accountable for grievances and damages caused to the 'consumer' (oh how I hate that demeaning term!).

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

But because I like you James, I'll bite. AT&T is a massive telecommunications company, they've already had numerous legal issues over breaches of privacy before and after the Patriot Act. Canceling any services doesn't prevent this, they can still retain any and all information they have on you. Was there a clause preventing retention of personal information in your contract?

In order to avoid speculation, could you please indicate arbitration agreements that wave the protection of such rights as the right to life, to physical integrity and to privacy. As far as I know, such rights cannot be waved by any means.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by AlmostGodess

In order to avoid speculation, could you please indicate arbitration agreements that wave the protection of such rights as the right to life, to physical integrity and to privacy. As far as I know, such rights cannot be waved by any means.

Just look at the class action lawsuit over the deaths Vioxx caused.

Supreme Court Rejects Vioxx Class Action - washingtonpost.com

But may I ask what's wrong with speculation?

[AlmostGodess]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

Just look at the class action lawsuit over the deaths Vioxx caused.

Supreme Court Rejects Vioxx Class Action - washingtonpost.com

But may I ask what's wrong with speculation?

I will have a look and come back. It seems like a serious matter.