Posted: 02/09/12 03:19
by Dave Mindeman
How do you fight back against a corporation if you are a consumer? Name your options.
Phone calls? Maybe that works for a clerical error, but if you have a serious problem do you think you'll ever get past the "hold" stage?
Letters? Like being ignored?
Complain at the local store? You are only 20 steps away from finding someone who can actually do anything.
No, the only recourse a consumer has at fighting a corporation on a serious problem is the lawsuit.
But corporations apparently think they are too "vulnerable". They think that all these deep pocket consumers have way too many advantages.
Well, the MN GOP Legislature comes to the rescue.
First...they change the statute of limitations. Dropping your opportunity to file a suit from 6 years down to four. Which will be of great help to you if you discover a construction problem on your house after some severe weather 5 years down the road. Or a health problem from groundwater chemicals 6 years later.
Second...reduce attorney fee awards compared to the size of the lawsuit. One of the ways to actually get an attorney to take on a case with little money up front is an assurance that if he or she is successful, he or she will be compensated for their expenses. Under the GOP plan that will be murky and make them more reluctant to take on a case that will require a lot of discovery work.
Third...make class action suits more difficult to move forward. The GOP Legislature gives the deep pocket corporate world another tool for pulling the rug out from under class action early in the process. Corporations could appeal this type of suit before the plaintiffs can gather all the information needed in the discovery process. They can kill it before it can reallly get started.
I am sure that corporations will be very appreciative to get more advantages in dealing with consumer complaints.
After all, they have so few advantages overall, right?
