Class Action Suit?

[Richard W. Haines]

I found this link on Amazon while I was checking for the current price
of HD DVD movies.

www.girardgibbs.com/toshiba_hd_dvd.html?gclid=CMz_-teO-JECFSOCGgodNw6Pxw

It appears that Gerard Gibbs is a trial lawyer trying to come up with clients for a
class action suit against Toshiba for continuing to sell HD DVD machines in an obsolete
format that they are no longer backing. I have no idea if this will come to pass or if
he has a case but I thought you'd find it interesting.

I believe the way these things work is that the attorney covers the costs if you're
one of the clients and then he deducts his fees and court costs off the top of any
settlement and splits the balance (if anything) with all of the clients on a pro-rated basis.
That might not add up to much for the clients but could be a boom to the trail lawyer
initiating the class action lawsuit with lots of billable hours.

[tonyjover]

I can't see how this suit would stand a chance. The argument goes something like this:

There is nothing wrong with the HD-DVD players that Toshiba sold; they still work and will continue to do so for (hopefully) several years.

Some films are only available on HD-DVD, and these players will continue to play them. Blu-Ray players will not play them, so there is a genuine and continuing place for HD-DVD players.

It's a cheap path into HD movies, as HD-DVD prices are already considerably lower than Blu-Ray. In fact, the saving in DVD costs could easily pay for a player quite quickly if you buy a lot of DVDs.

Regards,
Tony

[Richard W. Haines]

You're probably right but it may not matter because much of litigation consists of
nuisance suits that the company will settle quickly so as not incur bad publicity.

Toshiba could also claim the their HD DVD machines are excellent upscale units for
standard DVD playback. If the machines only played back HD discs then there might
have been a case.

[Bob_99]

Having been involved in a couple of these class action suits, the settlement is usually something like a $10 coupon off your next purchase on one of their products.

Whoopee!

Bob

[muzz]

The only person that is going to make anything real off of this is the Lawyer IMO.

Why should folks help a lawyer get rich?

Bah.........

[tonyvdb]

I work in the Building Operations field and this is just another situation for a lier (oops I mean lawyer) to make some fast cash.
For example In my line of work we are constantly being told by our elevator maintenance company to Keep people off escalators that are shut down because if someone trips its our fault and could be liable? People simply need to use there eyes and watch where they place there feet. In our climate in the winter the parking lots tend to get icy because of the snow melting during the day and freezing overnight causing any gravel we put down to simply sink into the ice. We had a lady try to take us to court for slipping on it and she was not even going into our building she was just using it as a shortcut walking to work.
Our world is just way to lawyer happy.

[Richard W. Haines]

Let's not forget that the trial lawyer lobby is one of the most powerful and
influential in Washington. They will fight any attempt at tort reform which
means all companies and corporations (big or small) are at risk. They also
contribute heavily to political parties to keep them in line and that's the way
the game is played.


I recommend John Grisham's "King of Torts" for an entertaining insider look at how class action ligitation really works. Very quick read.


In any event, I thought it was interesting to post it. It will probably pop up on other
sites.

[RollsRoyce]

"King of Torts" was a good book. Highly recommended if you want to get a (dramatized) look behind the scenes of class action suits.

[Wayde]

Thats crazy! Suing for selling a unit because it's a failed format?!? So, that gets into exactly what the definition of a "failed format" is. It still plays and upscales DVD so it's got some use for years to come.

I don't see the sense in it.