Legal question

[Cheshire]

Not sure where to put this one so any help is appreciated!

Over a year ago I received notice that I could choose to be involved in a class action lawsuit against a company that had lax security standards and my personal information "may" have been compromised.

Because my ID was stolen at the same time I decided to participate in the lawsuit. I've sent in the claims form they requested with plenty of backup showing how I spent my time cleaning up the mess and monitoring my personal information. The company came back and offered me something like $100 to settle my claim. UGH! I spent hundreds of hours on this over a couple of years getting it cleaned up.

So, if I decided not the accept their offer the case would go to arbitration. I choose the arbitration. I have the option of being there (many states away from where I live), being available by phone or sending in a letter explaining my side.

I'm leaning towards the letter with copies of everything explaining the hours spent cleaning it all up. I don't want to get into a "discussion" over the phone with their lawyers. If I choose the letter then they don't get to have any type of oral argument with the arbitrators. They can only submit something in writing as well. I don't know if they'll get to look at mine and rebut everything in it or not??? Anyone know anything about that?

My biggest question is what will the arbitrator be looking for? What should I put in the letter. I plan to keep it professional and not emotional but I want to convey what a huge PIA this really was.

Any legal mommas out there??? Or, anyone BTDT in arbitration?

[CatsCradle]

I'm a lawyer and although I can't give you any advice as you are not my client, I can tell you what I know about class-action lawsuits. A class-action lawsuit can involve 10 people or 10 million people. Do you know how many are part of the class? This will probably ultimately dictate how much you are paid. The settlement amount is usually distributed proportionately between all the members of the class. If there is a $100 million settlement or arbitration award, and there are 100k members of the class, then each member would only get $100.

As long as you qualify as a member of the class, you are usually not treated any differently than anyone else unless, of course, your injury was more substantial. Here, working long hours to put together your claim would probably not qualify as an "injury". Your injury here is that your identity was stolen and any damages in the normal course of litigation would arise out of your losses related to that specific injury.

Another thing: arbitration and/or continuing with litigation does not always mean that there will be more money in the end. That is a risk that litigants take and you have to make some sort of business decision along the lines of "is it worth the time and effort and money to continue" even if you are not guaranteed a better result?

I'm sorry, this is a very rushed response as I'm at the office, but the arbitration will be about the defendant's liability (i.e. what harm was caused by the lax security policies). I wouldn't worry about participating in the arbitration on any level unless you're called in as a witness. You could request to be a witness, but the logistics of the arbitration are up to the legal team(s). If there is a large class of plaintiffs, your chances of being heard regarding the time and effort you spent in submitting your claim are slim, in my opinion.

[polyhymnia]

Wait, am I reading it right that you are trying to claim extra compensation due to the fact that independently of the issue in the class action suit, your wallet was stolen and you had to spend time monitoring your accounts?

I agree with CatsCradle; I have been involved in a few class action suits and the payouts that result are generally quite small. But it's better than nothing, especially in this case where you would never have even thought to do anything on your own.

[Cheshire]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure how many class members there are. I couldn't find that info in the letters they've sent and I couldn't find much about it online.

As for the other confusion let me see if I can clarify. My personal information was breached from their database. Shortly after the breach they notified those affected and offered credit monitoring. A few months after the breach I found out my personal information was being used without my permission.

I've spent years cleaning up the ID theft and closely monitored my credit because of the breach and because of the ID theft. The claim I've submitted included all of the hours spent monitoring my credit, writing letters, making phone calls, etc., to clear up the ID theft problems. I keep great records and have copies of everything.

My claim is not based on the time I spent on the class action suit - it is based on the time spent cleaning up the ID theft mess from their security breach.

In the offer of settlement if I do not accept the offer I can choose to arbitrate. So, I chose arbitration. Now I have the choice to show up in person (or by phone) for the hearing or consent to the arbitrator settling it on just the papers submitted. If I choose to submit papers for the arbitration the defendants do not get to offer any oral argument. From what all of the letters say I understand it that the arbitrator will look at each claim individually.

So, I'm just curious what would the arbitrator be looking for?

[papayapetunia]

I think hearing your testimony may have an impact on how much is awarded. If an arbitrator sees a bunch of paperwork, that's a lot less of an impact than hearing an actual story from someone who dealt with what you did.