Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Class Action Lawsuits

I have filed claims in many class action lawsuits. If I read an article about a class action case, and if I am a potential member of the class, I will file a claim. I have received as settlements, from what I can remember, and among other things, a $25 check and a gift certificate for a free music CD, but now I'm moving on to bigger and better things. I'm sure that most of you have heard about the class action against Bar-Bri. I read recently that all class members can potentially receive up to $250 dollars as part of that settlement. If you haven't heard about that one yet, however, you are too late. The time for filing claims passed sometime last fall. (Sorry.)

But, I have two new ones for you. Check out this article from today's National Law Journal. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a federal court summary judgment ruling in a class action case against Access Group, the student loan provider. Apparantly, Access Group has charged each of its borrowers about $700 in improper interest charges. All of my student loans are through Access. I don't expect a huge settlement check, but it could be decent. The articles does not contain any specific information about when or where to file claims, but identifiable, potential class members are sometimes notified by mail, and the courts usually set up websites to handle online claims.

But, here is the good one. There is a monster class action suit against DeBeers, the global diamond cartel responsible for almost half of all diamond sales worldwide. Go to www.diamondsclassaction.com for more information. From what I understand, claimants will receive up to 10-15% of the purchase price back for any and all diamonds purchased between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006. I got lucky again, considering that I purchased an engagement ring during that time period. I just filed my claim online. Claimants do not need documentation for purchases less than $10,000. Simply fill in the price that you paid for any and all diamonds purchased during the subject time period, and wait for your check.

Please note that the last date to file claims in the diamond case is May 19, 2008.

2 comments:

Lincoln M. King said...

Thanks for the info, Mike. The correct website however is diamondsclassaction.com.

Michael W. Huseman said...

Thanks Lincoln. I have corrected the link in the original post.