Plaintiffs' lawyers from 13 firms have received more than $25 million in attorney's fees and expenses in a class action lawsuit against Ford Motor Company.
But fewer than 100 people out of a million covered in the class action lawsuit in four states (including 414,000 in California) have redeemed their settlement award -- a coupon worth between $300 and $500 toward the purchase of a new vehicle.
Under terms of the settlement, anyone in California, Texas, Illinois, and Connecticut who owned an Explorer between roughly 1991 and 2000 was eligible to receive a voucher, The Sacramento Bee reported.
So far, the dollar value remitted to plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit has added up to about $37,500.
The discrepancy between the lawyers' fees and the plaintiffs' award has more than a few critics -- some unexpected and noteworthy. John C. Sims, who worked 11 years for Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Litigation Group, said the plaintiffs' attorneys "hijacked" the case and made it more about themselves than consumers.
"It's an outrage to have anything labeled as a consumer class action if the lawyers get $25 million and the class members effectively get nothing," said Sims, now a McGeorge School of Law professor.
In a June 29 filing in Sacramento Superior Court, attorneys for the plaintiffs reported that as of last month, a total of 2,267 people had filed claims for the coupons. Some 620 claims had been rejected by Ford, leaving 1,647 vouchers approved and issued.
Of that total, only 75 had been redeemed, the plaintiffs said.
During the last legislative session, the Civil Justice Association of California sponsored a bill that would have brought more fairness to class action lawsuits. Senate Bill 1202, authored by Senator Tom Harman, would have helped ensure that class action settlement money is distributed to the class members by allowing judges, at their discretion, to withhold part of the plaintiff's attorney's fees until the class members have been contacted and received their share of the funds.