Those law firm commercials looking for people who suffered malpractice...

RedBedroom wrote:You know those commercials that ask if you suffered such and such during a certain period of time, announcing they are bringing a class action lawsuit...Do you think the motivator is to get $ from people in the form of retainers and then the case never goes anywhere. Or do they actually get cases together?

If you don't have them in your area, you won't know what I am talking about. Here, there are so many for cancers, birth defects and motorcycle accidents.

Supernova wrote:My mother considered joining the lawsuit against Con-Agra foods when she got salmonella from the Peter Pan Peanut Butter (NEVER again we will never buy it again) and she almost died, but she decided not to because she found out even if they didn't win she'd still have to pay the attorneys.

Who pays the lawyers in a class action lawsuit?

In a class action for money damages, lawyers who represent the class are generally paid out of the money that's recovered - called a "common fund" - for the people they are representing. In class actions involving declaratory judgments or injunctive relief, lawyers may be paid by the people who hired them, or in some cases, by the people or companies they are suing.

Attorney's fee awards are subject to court review and approval. Ordinarily, if an award is made in a common fund case, it will be awarded as a percentage of the total money available for the class. A benchmark award generally accepted by the courts is approximately 25 percent of the total, although the award may be adjusted higher or lower, depending on the specific facts of a case.




http://class-actions.lawyers.com/Lawyer-Fees-in-Class-Actions.html