The Toyota lawsuit circus could break new ground in illustrating how class action lawyers get the money and their clients get...well, here's how the Wall Street Journal sized it up today:
People suing Toyota Motor Corp. over reports that some of its vehicles suddenly accelerate hope they will be compensated for the loss in resale value of their Camry, Corolla or other model. But plaintiffs in similar product-liability cases have been disappointed.
Sometimes the awards went only to charity. In other cases, owners of the affected products were issued coupons of limited value that carry restrictions.
Legal experts say that product-liability suits often result in outcomes that favor the attorneys rather than the consumers involved. For instance, a 2008 settlement of a class action against Ford Motor Co., involving incidents in which Firestone tires exploded on Ford Explorers, offered certain Explorer owners coupons worth $500 toward the purchase of a new Explorer and $300 toward the purchase of any other Ford vehicle.
As of March, only 148 people had redeemed a coupon out of 1,647 people eligible. The plaintiffs' attorneys who led that litigation collected about $19 million in fees.
"It was rather absurd," said Julie Hamilton Webber of Glendale, Calif., a class member who has a 1993 Ford Explorer. "The net result was the attorneys were enriched and did nothing for the class."
You can read the entire article here. (Subscription required) And other recent examples are here, here, and here.