Complaints About Police Officers
If you have experienced police misconduct:
- Contact the law enforcement agency involved.
- Submit your complaint in writing to the chief of police or the head of the law enforcement agency involved.
- Send a copy of your complaint to the Internal Affairs Division of the law enforcement agency. Be sure to keep a copy for yourself.
If the problem remains unresolved, learn how to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Finally, as with any potential legal dispute, you may want to contact a licensed attorney.
Tobacco Class Action Lawsuit
Details of the case:Class actions have long been an effective legal tool in holding tobacco companies accountable for misleading the public about the safety of cigarettes and the health consequences of smoking. To this day, the largest class action settlement in history remains the $206 billion agreement reached between public prosecutors in the United States with Philip Morris and other major tobacco companies.
Canada is now seeing its own landmark tobacco class action case play out in the courts. Smokers in Quebec have sought legal action against cigarette makers Rothman Benson & Hedges, JTI-MacDonald, and Imperial Tobacco Canada for failure to warn consumers about the dangers of cigarettes.
Outcome:In 2015, Quebec Superior Court ordered the defendants to pay $15 billion in damages. An appeals court upheld this ruling in 2019. However, all three companies attained creditor protection after the appeal. In spite of the judgment in their favor, this may ultimately reduce the compensation to which consumers have access.
Locating An Employment Attorney To Assist You In Filing A Lawsuit
Upon request, the EEOC offices can provide you a list of local attorneys who have indicated to EEOC they specialize in labor and employment law the EEOC does not make specific recommendations.
The following organizations also provide directories of attorneys who represent workers if you are considering filing a lawsuit:
American Bar Association – A Lawyer Referral Directory of Services of the American Bar Association organized by state and by legal issue.
National Employment Lawyers Association: NELA is a national professional organization of attorneys who represent employees in employment law cases.
Workplace Fairness: The Workplace Fairness Attorney Directory features lawyers from across the United States who primarily represent workers in employment cases.
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How Do You Choose Defendants
Determining and selecting from possible defendants
Just as important as finding people who will be bringing a lawsuit is figuring out who exactly they should sue. Once a case is filed, the party being sued is usually known as a defendant, or may also be called a respondent. In some instances, it will be very clear who the appropriate defendant for a lawsuit would be. Even so, there may be more options available than you think, and there are several things you might wish to consider:
Substance: The substance of your claim and the laws you wish to enforce may dictate or explicitly direct who the appropriate defendant would be.
Procedure: The laws that underlie your claim or the court in which you bring your claim may have procedural requirements that suggest or mandate selecting a particular defendant.
Success: The likelihood of success you might have in bringing your suit against potential defendants could also come into play. It might be easier to prove that one potential defendant was responsible for the harm your plaintiff suffered than another, so you might consider focusing your attention and resources on defendants against whom you have more evidence.
Common defendants in strategic litigation
There are a few sorts of defendants that are sued regularly in strategic litigation. Since the aim of strategic litigation is broader social change, the defendants are most often branches of the government.
Examples:
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Immigration justice advocates affiliated with Never Again Action, a Jewish-led immigrant rights group, voiced their opposition to the construction of new Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices with detention capacity being built in Warwick, Rhode Island. Advocates pressed the Warwick city council members to stop the process at all costs by revoking permits, refusing occupancy certificates, and construction of the facility. The new facility will replace an existing one that has been in the city for decades. Uprise RI
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How To File Legal Complaints Against A City Government
Every state has adopted some form of a government immunity statute that generally provides that, except in limited types of cases, city governments can not be sued. In those limited cases where the government has “waived immunity” , the statutes typically specify strict notice and procedural requirements.
Overprescribing And The Opioid Crisis
A huge amount of people make use of these drugs which are often prescribed even when theyre not needed. For example up to 70% of the nursing home residents and older patients suffer from chronic pain conditions. On top of that, many people illegally use narcotics for recreational purposes because they enjoy subjective sensation of intoxicating euphoria and relaxation known as high.
Despite their huge potential for abuse and unfavorable risk vs benefits profile, narcotic pain killers are frequently misused and overprescribed. According to many court claims, even apparently irreproachable doctors, pharmacists, and drug wholesalers are instead on the payroll of the most mischievous Big Pharma, who paid them kickbacks and lavish gifts to inappropriately prescribe these drugs.
The current opioid crisis is so large that it has been aptly defined as epidemic. To put things in perspective, in 2015 a total of 793 million doses of opioid medications were prescribed, meaning that every man, woman and child in the state could have received 68 pills each. States such where unemployment and poverty are higher among the population show the highest death rates as well.
The article continues after the table of contents.
Page Contents
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Build Your Case On Time
When suing the government, you need to file a notice of claim before filing a lawsuit in court.
The notice of claim may vary depending on whether you are suing the federal or state government and may vary from one agency to the next. It is typically one to three pages long.
In the notice of claim, you must state that you have a claim against certain government employees or government, explain the basic facts surrounding your claim and, in some cases, must state the amount of money you are seeking.
The purpose of a notice of claim is to give the government a period of time to investigate your claims. The government may wish to settle your case outside of court. In most cases, however, the government will deny your claim or simply allow the claim to expire by failing to settle within a specified period of time, and you will need to bring a lawsuit after the notice of claim period expires.
There are strict time limitations that apply to claims against government agencies. The time limitations are often significantly shorter than the time limits on filing claims against private individuals or corporations. Failure to abide by these time limits may result in dismissal of your claim against the government entity.
Can You Sue The Government For Negligence
Yes, you can but its not always easy. There is a completely different set of rules that apply when dealing with public entities such as cities, counties, school districts, public employees or public highways.
Unlike private companies, they have immunity from being sued under certain laws, and the amount of time allowed to file a lawsuit against them is greatly reduced.
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How Do I Start My Own Class
If you believe that you have been hurt, physically or financially or suffered a loss in any way that you think may be common to other people, you may have the beginnings of a class-action lawsuit
While anyone can start a class-action lawsuit, it is crucial to talk to a class-action attorney if you wish to do so. Class-action lawsuits can be very complicated. The attorney will help you determine if you have the basis for a class action by reviewing the four prerequisites with you:
- Numerosity, or that there are so many people affected in the same way that it would be impossible for them to file individually or join their individual cases
- The factual and legal issues must be common to all of the people who would be involved in a class-action lawsuit
- One individual has a case that is similar to the claims of all the other individuals in the case
- That one individual can fairly represent the interests of all the individuals involved in the case
Your lawyer will then help you determine other important information you should know before starting a class-action lawsuit. They will go over whether the potential reward is large enough to justify a class-action lawsuit, what the resources of the defendant in a class-action lawsuit are and whether you should become the lead plaintiff.
What Is A Class Action Lawsuit
If you are wondering what a class action lawsuit is, youre not alone. Class action lawsuits tend to be highly complex, and they require an experienced lawyer at the helm. The actual definition of a class action, though, is fairly simple: in a class action, a person or group of people sues on behalf of a large group of people who all suffered the same legal injury.
For example, someone could file a class action suit on behalf of everyone who:
- Bought the same defective product
- Suffered losses from investing in the same security
- Paid too much for a product or service because of the same anticompetitive conduct
The person who starts the lawsuit is called the named plaintiff or class representative. The people proposed to be represented are called the class members. Class action lawsuits typically include hundreds or thousands of class members.
If you are having problems with a companywhether its a website, a company you invested in, or even your employermany other people may be having the same problems. In these situations, a class action suit is often the best solution because it can allow many people across the country to benefit from a single lawsuit. It also empowers individuals who may otherwise lack a means of speaking out to stand up against a powerful company in court.
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Class Action Lawsuit Settlements
Most class action cases settle before going to trial. Sometimes, they settle during the trial. No matter what, a class action cannot be settled, preventing future class member claims, without court approval and notice to the class.
If the parties reach a settlement agreement, they must present it to the court. The court will then determine if its a fair settlement. If the court approves, the class must receive notification of the proposed settlement and of the right to attend a fairness hearing and oppose the settlement. After the fairness hearing, the settlement may be approved.
Many class action settlements provide cash, but other forms of relief for the class are also common. For example, a defendant might agree to discontinue harmful practices.
In many cases, class members will need to visit a website and fill out an online form to claim their portion of the settlement. Sometimes, class members will automatically receive their portion of the settlement without filling out a claim form. For example, they might get a check in the mail without having to do anything.
If the court approves, the named plaintiff may receive a higher compensation amount for participating in the case. This is called a service or incentive award.
Is My Complaint Too Small For A Class
After you hire a class-action lawyer, one of the first things the lawyer will do is work with you to determine if your complaint is too small for a class-action lawsuit.
If your injury is too individual, it may be difficult to find other people with similar injuries caused by a product or a company. Or while there may be other people who have suffered in similar ways, there may not be enough to have your class-action lawsuit certified
Another factor may be the financial resources of a possible defendant. Would the potential financial reward be worth the time and effort involved?
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Red Light Camera Cases
The Simon Law Firm, P.C. has handled several red light camera class actions. The goals of these class actions are to prohibit cities from using red light cameras, dismiss all outstanding tickets, and obtain a refund of camera tickets that have been paid. The vast majority of those who oppose red light cameras are concerned citizens who believe local governments should be looking for ways to improve public safety using engineering countermeasures instead of a system that preys on citizens endangered by poor traffic design.
Dozens of studies across the country, including studies in Missouri, have found that crashes and injuries increase after cameras are installed. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group has concluded that contracts between cities and camera companies put revenue first and put the publics interest at risk, as these payment models can encourage camera companies and public officials to take actions designed primarily to increase the number of citations issued.
Indeed, some cities have been caught shortening the length of yellow lights in order to generate more red light camera citations. This conduct goes against the recommendations of the Federal Highway Administration , which found that reducing yellow light intervals by one second results in a 110 percent increase in red light violations with a 125 percent to 225 percent increase in crashes.
Can I Opt Out Of A Class
Yes. There are two good reasons to opt-out of a class-action lawsuit.
- After reviewing the materials, you may decide that the lawsuit has nothing to do with you
- After consulting with a lawyer, you determined that your chances of compensation are greater if you pursue the case individually rather then as part of a class action
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What Are The Advantages Of A Class
When you think about the class-action lawsuits mentioned above, they provide great examples of several benefits of filing a class-action lawsuit:
- It would have been extremely costly and difficult for individuals harmed by the actions of any of these defendants to file a claim on their own
- If every one of the individuals involved in the class-action lawsuits mentioned above had filed claims on their own, courts would had to deal with hundreds of thousands of claims which wouldve taken many, many years to resolve
- In many of these cases, the companies admitted that mistakes were made and/or they settled with the injured individuals for millions or billions of dollars
- While the injured individuals received compensation for their efforts, by launching class-action lawsuits they often also forced these companies to improve their products and/or the way they interact with customers
States And Governmental Agencies Join The Opioid Mdl
To halt the flow of prescription opioids, many state and city attorneys decided to sue the manufacturers and distributors of these drugs, including Allergan, Teva Pharmaceutical, Cardinal Health and Johnson & Johnson. According to their claims, the drug makers and their associates purportedly downplayed the risks and overstated the benefits of these medications caring only to inflate their profits. Many State Attorney Generals decided to protect their people by pursuing a legal action, including Delaware, New York, Ohio West Virginia and even Alaska.
The toll of this epidemic is devastating: countless families struggle to survive against overwhelming odds to pay for these drugs, youths and adolescents resorting to crime to buy these pills, and the number of overdose victims mounting up year by year. The governmental authorities want to hold those responsible for this monstrosity liable. In their lawsuits, they request pharmaceutical companies, distributors and even the medical experts who inappropriately prescribed the narcotics to take financial responsibility for the overwhelming costs that the public services had to face.
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Requirements For Filing A Class Action
While an experienced attorney will do his or her best to ensure their clients’ claims meet the requirements for filing class actions, it is a judge who decides whether a case can officially proceed as a class action.
The Judge Will Consider the Following Questions:
How Many People Are Affected?
A large number of people must have been harmed by the actions of the company that is being sued. If only a small handful of people have been injured, the judge may decide that these people should file individual lawsuits rather than a class action.
Do Class Members Share Common Questions of Law and Fact?
The lawsuit must involve factual and legal issues that are common to all class members. In addition, the class members should all have suffered the same injury.
Are the Plaintiff’s Legal Claims Typical of All Class Members?
The person or people bringing the lawsuit should have claims and injuries that are typical of all potential class members. In general, if the named plaintiffs will serve the interests of the proposed class by advancing their own interests, this requirement will be satisfied. For instance, if the named plaintiff has suffered a significantly greater degree of harm than the average class member, the judge may rule that the plaintiff should file an individual lawsuit rather than a class action because his or her claim is not typical of all class members.
Is the Potential Class Adequately Represented?
Has Ocwen Treated Borrowers Fairly Since The Settlement No
Despite the nationwide coverage of the lawsuit and settlement, Ocwen has continued to mistreat its consumers. Ocwen settled with the State of Florida for $11 million in October 2020. The settlement was a result of the Florida attorney general suing Ocwen on accusations that it:
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Failed to credit customers with making on-time mortgage payments. This caused them to wrongfully incur late fees, which the company then reported as negative events to credit bureaus.
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Failed to correctly apply payments and calculate loan balances.
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Knowingly gave false information to borrowers.
The CFPB also sued Ocwen in Florida for similar issues. Ocwen won a partial summary judgment, but the CFPB appealed. Finally, Ocwen prevailed in the CFPBâs lawsuit when a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida said most of the claims were precluded by the earlier district court settlement.
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