credence
Newbie
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« Reply #45 on: June 06, 2008, 06:38:54 AM » |
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I've been a member of other class actions. In those instances, the court awarded a lump sum fee to the attorneys separate and apart from the award to the plaintiffs. Keep in mind any contract you signed with an attorney probably deducts both fees and expenses. So your attorney may get more than one-third of your recovery. If your attorney ordered your vet records or paid for medical opinions, made copies, made long distance calls, etc., all this adds up.
It's a bad deal all the way around. There is not a single plaintiff who will ever be made whole.
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Sandi K
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« Reply #46 on: June 06, 2008, 08:39:30 AM » |
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Credence, first of all, welcome to Itchmo and thank you for voicing your thoughts and knowledge on this. One thing that I still want and not even a small claims case will take care of that, is a jury trial so everyone knows exactly what was happening with these PFC's prior to March 16th 2007 AND I want more demands of changes made, more than just the puny testing for one year that was in this one. I know its hard to get change in a class action settlement agreement but I would really like to know why more wasnt asked of the PFC's. This money settlement that was agreed on will not create change so there is nothing stopping this from happening again and to me, all this has done is make the PFC's more secretive of when food issues happen again. Its ironic that all they have learned from this settlement is to be more hush-hush instead of learning to make safer pet food. So what will happen when there is another food problem is they will get reports from people, try to find the source of the problem on their own, not announce anything to the public and fix it behind the scenes so that no one ever knows except the pet that is left sick or dead. I dont know if it will take a criminal trial to effect what I wish for or what but for me personally, I wont be joining another class action that strictly involves financial compensation. I want more than that and I still hope that some zealous attorney out there steps forward to help us all out.
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lesliek
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« Reply #47 on: June 06, 2008, 08:32:46 PM » |
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That fact just makes me want to throw up ! So if we had all returned their[IMHO]poison for a refund , it would have hit them in the wallet harder ?
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"the world's most inept extortionist"
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karvskitties
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« Reply #48 on: June 06, 2008, 10:56:31 PM » |
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That fact just makes me want to throw up ! So if we had all returned their[IMHO]poison for a refund , it would have hit them in the wallet harder ?
Everyone is correct on this thread. $24 million is beyond belif, ridiculous, not even worth the time the courts took on this (I bet they spent more on corporate lawyers, hiding evidence, advertising to rebuild public confidence, etc). Who the h**l are the lawyers that agreed to this in the first place?  They all advertised to GET ON THE BANDWAGON (I remember) - just for a piece of $8 million???Everyone involved should object. If your lawyer won't cooperate - see what your state has in line for Class Actions and representation (or the state sued in - Don?). I had no place in the suit against Menu (I was lucky). But this whole thing smells so rotten of corruption - I personally wouldn't touch it with a ten foot rod. |
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karvskitties
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« Reply #49 on: June 06, 2008, 11:59:45 PM » |
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I was speaking more to objections themselves, and complaints you can make about the attornies if they don't cooperate. Not necessarily starting another suit, but to deal with the outrageousness of this one. For obvious reasons, I myself had not alligned with an attorney in this suit.
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JJ
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« Reply #50 on: June 07, 2008, 11:49:59 PM » |
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Were not pets valued in ones family before the lawsuits due to the recalled food doing what it did? Seems kinda odd that one would state this to be the case when so many of us have valued pets for over 30 years - not just since the pet food companies were called on the carpet for what was allowed to happen.
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'Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
But how to dance in the rain.'
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #51 on: June 17, 2008, 07:59:52 AM » |
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http://www.sunherald.com:80/prnewswire/story/629065.htmlIf You Purchased or Your Pet(s) Consumed Recalled Pet Food, You May Be Eligible To Participate in a Class Action Settlement
WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?
If you wish to remain a member of the Settlement Class, you do not have to do anything. But, to obtain any settlement benefits you must file a claim. If the Court approves the Proposed Settlement, you will be bound by all the Court's orders, the release and other provisions of the Settlement Agreement. This means you will give up any legal rights you may have against defendants and other released entities and individuals covered by the Settlement, regardless of whether you file a claim.
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #52 on: June 18, 2008, 12:48:18 PM » |
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http://www.petfoodsettlement.com/documents/notices/notice.pdfon Page 2 or settlement notice: SUMMARY OF CLASS MEMBERS’ RIGHTS AND OPTIONS UNDER THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT SUBMIT A CLAIM BY November 24, 2008. EXCLUDE YOURSELF BY August 15, 2008. COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT GO TO A HEARING DO NOTHING http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/06/the-am-law-li-6.html... And while we're on the subject of fees for class action plaintiffs lawyers, let's look at the $6 million in fees and reimbursements that the lawyers in the tainted pet food settlement told potential class members they will seek. (Their notice to class members said they'd ask for "no more than $6 million," which usually means no less, either.)
For a big-time mass tort, $6 million doesn't sound like much, but it's actually a full 25 percent of the total $24 million in the settlement fund, a bigger slice of the pie than the 10 or 15 percent that class actions lawyers typically take (though less, of course, than the standard 33-to-40 percent contingency fee). ...
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Carol
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« Reply #53 on: June 19, 2008, 12:16:50 PM » |
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Well, I got my two claim forms in the mail today and upon reading it I was surprised to read that the defendants admit to no wrongdoing......so ..if they did nothing wrong....how did my and your cats and dogs get so sick or die from MARF???  you can read it on line too-- on page 3 under 2. What Are The Lawsuits About? http://www.petfoodsettlement.com/documents/notices/notice.pdf |
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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PFR07PS
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« Reply #54 on: June 19, 2008, 12:45:52 PM » |
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Accepting responsibility will never happen in the pet food industry.
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kittylyda
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« Reply #55 on: June 19, 2008, 03:11:27 PM » |
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I got my claim forms in the mail today. On top of everything else, what really bugs me is the fact that I already filled out forms, sent receipts, vet bills etc..to Crawford and Co when they were handling it for Menufoods. Now I have to do it all over again. Luckily I kept copies of everything, but I still have to fill out the new forms (one for EACH CAT) and copy everything one more time. There is nothing I like more than doing the same work TWICE. Is it not enough that my cats were poisoned and I already went through this? Everyone will have to please excuse me, this kind of thing puts me in a foul mood. |
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karvskitties
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« Reply #56 on: June 19, 2008, 10:40:52 PM » |
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I got my claim forms in the mail today. On top of everything else, what really bugs me is the fact that I already filled out forms, sent receipts, vet bills etc..to Crawford and Co when they were handling it for Menufoods. Now I have to do it all over again. Luckily I kept copies of everything, but I still have to fill out the new forms (one for EACH CAT) and copy everything one more time. There is nothing I like more than doing the same work TWICE. Is it not enough that my cats were poisoned and I already went through this? Everyone will have to please excuse me, this kind of thing puts me in a foul mood. Foul moods allowed, we are only human here (with furkids in the family). |
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #57 on: June 20, 2008, 09:51:08 AM » |
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From information here it looks like there were about 120 cases consolidated in this pet food recall New Jersey settlement: http://whattoeatbook.com/2008/05/24/pet-food-recall-settlement-24-million/
May 24, 2008
The class action lawsuits filed as a result of the pet food recalls last year are inching
toward settlement. A judge in New Jersey consolidated 120 cases and awarded the
plaintiffs $24 million to cover documented expenses related to the illness, death, or
burial of their dogs and cats.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1207133081114
About 120 suits were filed in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Illinois,
Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and WashingtonIf my calculator is working correctly, and math is not my strong suit, that means $6 million divided by 120 cases nets the law firms involved $50,000 per firm involved, plus actual costs recovered, just as a point of reference for other class action suits. |
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« Last Edit: June 20, 2008, 09:57:08 AM by 3catkidneyfailure »
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #58 on: June 25, 2008, 10:11:33 PM » |
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If for whatever reason you received New Jersey consolidated cases claim forms in the mail, which
means you are considered a class member for some action taken in the past, and you want to opt-out
of this settlement, YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY DO IT BY AUGUST 15, 2008, or any rights you have to
act against these defendants will be given up by the terms of the New Jersey settlement.
So call whoever sent you the claim forms, inform them you want to opt-out of the settlement, and submit the opt-out
documents before August 15, 2008. After that date, your right to pursue any other form of legal action will be gone.
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Carol
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« Reply #59 on: July 01, 2008, 07:48:29 AM » |
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http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/06/local_pet_owners_to_get_compen.html"The exact number of pets affected by contaminated food last year is not known, but Sherrie Savett, a lawyer for pet owners, estimated that 1,500 animals died and several times that number were sickened with severe kidney and urinary disorders."I did not like seeing that number coming from one of the attorneys in the suit and I think she is one of the lawyers involved in this lawsuit as I gogled her name and this link came up---it is from Sept and my not too smart legaleeze thinks that there was some infighting among the attorney back then....but maybe that is not what this shows... http://www.scribd.com/doc/2731058/IN-RE-PET-FOOD-PRODUCTS-LIABILITY-LITIGATION-Document-No-52I am still trying to figure out what we should do with our claim forms.... ...alot of conflict....I truly wanted a jury trial with everybody under oath---as everything I have ever said or wrote is as if I am "under oath"...
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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