Corp Reform - Not Tort Reform

Cicinfo@gardencitygroup.com - UPDATED

Lately, I've been getting a ton of hits from people searching for cicinfo@gardencitygroup.com.  I had no idea why until I got a letter from Freecreditreport.com advising me that freecreditreport.com entered into a settlement with the FTC over consumers who weren't given full refunds.  The letter reminded me of the lawsuit I had against Freecreditreport.com back in 2004.  (Search the site for the saga.)

Since I've been getting so many hits, I thought I'd dig and see what I can figure out about cicinfo@gardencitygroup.com.

Apparently, Freecreditreport contracted with Garden City Group to handle the details of the settlement.  Garden City Group appears to be a legal "middleman" that processes the paperwork, refunds, etc. in class action cases and other cases with a large number of people involved.  I have no idea how reputable/honest/efficient that Garden City Group is, but judging by their list of clients, I assume they're at least OK.

Freecreditreport.com and I resolved our differences back in 2004, so I have no need to participate in this settlement.  However, if I did, here's what I would do:

• Follow the directions in the letter.
• Not send my social security number via email.
• Send any paperwork or forms via certified mail and keep copies for myself of anything I sent.

All the standard disclaimers apply: I'm not a lawyer; this isn't legal advice; if you have legal questions, find a lawyer through the yellow pages or your State Bar Association.

On a side note, I'm happy to see that the FTC did some good in this case.  The wheels of justice turn slowly, but at least they still turn.

UPDATE:

For more info, visit the FTC's page about the settlement:

"Consumerinfo.com, Inc., doing business as Experian Consumer Direct, has settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceptively marketed “free credit reports” by not adequately disclosing that consumers automatically would be signed up for a credit report monitoring service and charged $79.95 if they didn’t cancel within 30 days, in violation of federal law. The settlement requires Consumerinfo to pay redress to deceived consumers, bars deceptive and misleading claims about “free” offers, requires disclosure of terms and conditions of any “free” offers, and requires the defendant to give up $950,000 in ill-gotten gains."

The Constitutional Status of Tort Law

Thanks to Ian at Yale for bringing this to my attention.

Professor John C. P. Goldberg, the Associate Dean for Research at Vanderbilt Law School, has written an article for the Yale Law Journal discussing the Constitutional status of tort law, and of proposed tort reforms.

"In short, anyone who takes history seriously will find it difficult to disavow the existence of a federal right of victim access to what we today know as tort law, a corresponding duty on states to provide such law, and a corresponding power in the courts to consider whether certain forms of legislation so undermine tort law, with so little justification, as to amount to a breach of that duty."

Professor Goldberg offers powerful arguments that many of the changes to tort law proposed by big business may in fact be unconstitutional.  Perhaps some of his research and ideas may someday be used to repair the damage done to our justice system in states such as Texas.

At least Europe gets it right.

While our Congress is busy pandering to big business, it seems that the boys and girls who run the European Union are fighting for consumer rights.  Business Insurance reports that the European Union wants to:

• Make it easier for consumers to file antitrust lawsuits.
• Create (not eliminate!) special types of class-action lawsuits.
• Eliminate roadblocks in their justice system.

At least one group of politicians understands the need to keep big business in check.  Too bad they're on the other side of the pond.

The Best Government Money Can Buy

The same pharmaceutical industry that brought us such wonderful medicines as Oraflex, Fen-Phen, Zyprexa, and Vioxx have now been granted immunity for any hastily-developed vaccines they may develop.

The Center for Justice and Democracy summed it up thusly:

Today, the U.S. Congress, in a grotesque display of pandering to corporate America, enacted sweeping immunity for drug companies that produce unsafe vaccines and other drugs, leaving average Americans with no recourse if they have been hurt and creating a grave risk to public health in the event of a disease pandemic.  This unprecedented legislation was enacted even though this dangerous and cruel provision was contained in neither House nor Senate passed bills, but rather was buried deep in the Defense Appropriation legislation.

While I certainly identify myself as a Democrat, it's too bad that only issues like Arctic drilling can prompt my party to filibuster.  Yes, yes - I understand that this was a critical bill and all that.  But someday, I hope to see a Democratic politician with the gumption to stand up and fight against such vicious tort reform.

Site Woes

Over the years, I've been pretty happy with TypePad, so I was surprised that the site has been alternatively down and outdated.  However, as a former IT guy, I know these things hapen from time to time.

The important thing is that all of my data was backed up and protected, so kudos to TypePad.  The site should be fully functional by Monday.

Did you catch "Tiger" on Fox News?

Apparently, Tiger and the rest of the heartless bastards at the ATRA just issued the 2005 Judicial Hellholes report.  Somehow, I missed the story on the web, but I did manage to catch it on Fox News.

UPDATE:

I was absolutely flabbergasted to learn that the ATRA admittedly made an error in the newest judicial hellhole report.  From the Charleston Gazette:

"Critics of West Virginia’s civil justice system this week conceded that they wrongly attacked state courts for a chemical exposure lawsuit that was not filed here.

The suit, filed in Florida and 13 other states, alleges that DuPont Co. exposed thousands of consumers to toxic chemicals used to make Teflon nonstick coatings.

Citing the DuPont suit, the American Tort Reform Association bumped West Virginia up a spot in its annual “Judicial Hellholes” report, from fourth last year to third in 2005.

Victor Schwartz, a lawyer and spokesman for the association, said the group learned from a Gazette reporter that the DuPont case was not filed in West Virginia.

“This is an error,” Schwartz said in a phone interview Tuesday evening."

That's the best part about preparing propaganda - you don't need to check your facts!

Lawyers - Get Grassroots!

I spent some time working for a nonprofit a while ago that canvassed neighborhoods to build support for alternative energy sources.  I learned a great deal about how to run a grassroots campaign, and wanted to offer all of you an easy way to help fight the corporate factions that relentlessly lobby for tort reform. 

Below is an image of a postcard in Microsoft Publisher format.  After you settle or otherwise resolve a case for a client, ask him or her to sign this postcard.  You can either preprint the address and salutation, or provide it for the client to fill in.  Depending upon how your state's political system works, you could have the client sign one for his representative, senator, governor, assemblyman, etc.  I would try not to ask them to sign more than two, because patience wears thin.

You can either mail them off as clients sign them, or you can work with your local trial lawyers' association and arrange for a lobbyist to drop them off en masse every couple of months.

I urge you not to underestimate the power of postcards and letters from constituents.  I've personally seen politicians vote against powerful special interest groups (including large contributors) because of grassroots campaigns.

Obviously, I urge you to check the laws in your state to make sure there's nothing illegal or unethical about doing this.  And if there is, I urge you to challenge it. 

Any office supply store will have prescored postcard paper, or you can simply print them on cardstock and use a paper cutter to cut them out.  If you need assistance in figuring out which politicians to send the postcards to, don't hesitate to ask. 

You have my permission to alter the wording on these postcards to suit your needs.  If you need a format other than Publisher, let me know and I'll see what I can do. 

Here is the publisher file. 

And Speaking of John Engler...

Detroit's Metro Times has an article that theorizes why John Engler is the current President of NAM:

"Let’s suppose your doctor prescribes some spiffy new drug for your pimples, say, or your aching back. Unfortunately, it turns out to have some minor side effect, like it makes you totally blind. Or kills you.

Whoops. Guess the drug company didn’t experiment enough on those rabbits. Or maybe it didn’t work the same on people. It’s always something. But, hey, you can sue the pharmaceutical firm for what it did to you or yours, right?

Sure you can — in every state in the union except one. That’s right. Mississip— uh, Michigan! That’s right. Big pharmaceutical companies have total immunity in this state — as long as their drugs have been approved by the FDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

We can thank Gov. John Engler for that. Ten years ago, he rammed through a law that prevents us from suing any pharmaceutical company whose drug has been approved by the FDA.

Wonder why he now has a cushy, high-paying job as head of the National Association of Manufacturers?"

The article also describes the efforts of Republican Ed Gaffney to undo the damage done by Engler:

"He was shocked when he learned Michigan wouldn’t allow damaged residents to sue drug companies. “This is tort reform run amok,” Gaffney says. (Emphasis added.)

He has introduced his own legislation. Drug companies would be presumed innocent, but if you could prove their product had harmed you, you could successfully sue. Yet so far, he can’t get the time of day from House Speaker Craig DeRoche, a Novi Republican who’s young enough to be his son.

“I’m sure this would pass if we can ever get it to the floor for a vote,” Gaffney says. Republicans have only a 58-51 majority, and a number of them feel as Gaffney does. As far as I can tell, all the Democrats want the change."

As a former staffer for a Democratic legislator here in Michigan, I can assure you this bill will get a floor vote over Craig DeRoche's dead body.

It's also worth noting that many tort reformers want federal legislation that mirrors Michigan's.  In their eyes, you should never be able to sue a drug manufacturer if the FDA approved the drug - even if it is revealed that the manufacturer falsified data to get the drug approved. 

What do Samuel Alito and Randy Cunningham Have In Common?

Randy Cunningham is a scoundrel and a traitor to his country.  Judge Alito is an accomplished jurist who deserves respect - even if you disagree with his judicial philosophy.  So what in the world could those two have in common? 

John Engler, the President of the National Associationof Manufacturers (NAM) and NAM endorse both of them.

Earlier this week, I wrote to Mr. Engler to ask him why his organization continues to endorse convicted felon Randy Cunningham.  To date, there has been no response. 

News on the NAM endorsement of Alito here. 

I suppose this is also a frivolous lawsuit

The Idaho Statesman tells the story of an 82 year old veteran with Alzheimers that was grossly taken advantage of by Lithia Ford, a Fortune 1000 company.  From the article:

"A lawsuit filed Monday alleges Lithia Ford of Boise violated an Idaho law that protects consumers from "unconscionable contracts" by taking advantage of an 82-year-old man's dementia.

The lawsuit contends a Lithia salesman convinced Frank Baxter to swap his $32,000 SUV for a $15,000 economy car on Sept. 9 by taking advantage of Baxter's "inability to understand, and other factors due to his age and dementia.

The lawsuit claims the Lithia Ford contract with Baxter also was unconscionable because the dealership knew it was getting a vehicle that had been driven only 16 miles by Baxter and had a value of $31,253, in exchange for a 2006 Ford Focus valued at $15,215...

The suit also alleges that the dealership should have realized Baxter was not capable of entering into such an agreement because he was so disoriented at the time that a Lithia Ford employee had to drive him home."

I wonder what kind of commission you get when you make $15k on a trade-in by taking advantage of a war veteran who lives in the Alzheimer's ward of a nursing home.  I hope for Boise's sake that they don't give the man his money back or Tiger and the rest of the heartless bastards might declare a state of emergency in Idaho and label Boise a Judicial Hellhole.