The Best Class Action Lawsuits Right Wrongs

Personal data breaches through hacking. Accounting fraud. Denying your child’s right to go to a decent school.

All these are among the problems solved by class action lawsuits, perhaps the best equalizer a citizen has. Born in England in the 1200s, the class action enables individuals who lack the time and money to hire an attorney to obtain representation against large corporations and governments.

In fact, one of the most important legal decisions in U.S. history resulted from a class action suit: Brown v. Board of Education. It started as a class action lawsuit including five states. Ultimately, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision ended government-sanctioned segregation under the guise of “separate but equal” schools.

Of course, not every class action lawsuit will yield such profound results. But there are millions of people with serious problems solved through class action litigation. For instance, a consumer class action proved an efficient remedy after hackers stole financial information from millions of debit and credit card users at Home Depot in 2014.

Harris Lowry Manton attorneys, serving as co-lead counsel for consumers, helped broker a preliminary settlement agreement in The Home Depot data breach putative class action for $19.5 million, on behalf of about 40 million consumers. Thirteen million dollars of the settlement will reimburse customers for out-of-pocket expenses, while $6.5 million will fund client identity protection services.

The company agreed to improve its data security systems. Under the agreement, the company will hire a chief information security officer to monitor progress in creating better data safeguards.

Initially, dozens of class action lawsuits were filed nationwide, and then were consolidated in federal court in Atlanta. HLM and other attorneys filed a motion in March seeking approval of the settlement and another request to certify the class nationwide.

In another case, HLM recently filed suit in federal court on behalf of thousands of Owens Corning customers who bought its Supreme-brand roofing shingles. The proposed class action, alleges the shingles are defective.

At least two plaintiffs said they paid about $6,000 to roof their homes only to see the shingles start to rot shortly after installation. One homeowner’s insurer would not sell him coverage until the new roof was replaced, the lawsuit says. The shingles make up 30 to 50 percent of the roofing costs, and the company is not honoring a 25-year limited warranty, the suit says.

Class actions also serve as financial and workplace regulators. They sometimes enforce the law when federal regulators and prosecutors are slow to do so.

For example, Enron Corp., the now-defunct energy company, falsified numerous financial reports before its stock price collapsed in 2001. Shareholders filed suit in October that year, ahead of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. In 2008, after the company’s bankruptcy and criminal prosecution of its executives, Enron shareholders won a $7.2 billion settlement.

To read about HLM’s successful class action representation, see our Verdicts and Settlements page.

To read about the Home Depot class action settlement see a Reuters news story.

Class Action Lawyers

Harris Lowry Manton attorneys have extensive experience representing plaintiffs in consumer and financial class action litigation. If you need help, please call us toll-free at 404-961-7650 or fill out our online contact form.