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 Class Action Sweepstakes
On March 4, 2004, John L. bought a Big Mac and along with his drink and fries he walked out of McDonald's that day with an award of $1,000,000.00. No one ever benefited more quickly from a lawsuit than he did. About one month before that, Terri Carlin of Knoxville, Tennessee filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against all parties responsible for Justin Timberlake's exposure of Janet Jackson's breast in the Super Bowl halftime show. Carlin requested compensation for the "outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury" suffered by the viewers. She withdrew her suit one week later. In North Country, actress Charlize Theron plays the role of Josey Aimes, one of the first women to work in the iron mines of Minnesota. Sexually harassed and mistreated from the beginning, she eventually triumphs in a lengthy lawsuit. This is a fictionalized account of the true story of Lois Jenson, the Minnesota miner who was the lead plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit, Jenson v. Eveleth Mines. What do these three events have in common? Each involves a class action suit. John L. was an indirect beneficiary of one; Terry Carlin was a plaintiff in an unsuccessful one; Lois Jenson was the lead plaintiff in America's first sexual harassment class action suit. And what is a class action suit? It is a lawsuit in which one or a few people represent all the members of a class who stand in a similar legal position. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, chapter 23, make clear the prerequisites for a class action suit:
Lois Jenson, for example, was a member of a large class of people; all had similar questions of law and fact; her claims were typical of the class; she and her attorney would adequately protect the interests of the entire class. So on August 15, 1988 Paul Sprenger applied for class action status on behalf of Lois E. Jenson and Patricia S. Kosmach v. Eveleth Taconite Co. in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. On December 16, 1991 U.S. District Court Judge James Rosenbaum made legal history by permitting Jenson v. Eveleth to proceed as the first class action ever for sexual harassment. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also make clear the requirements for maintaining a class action suit. For example, either the alternative of individual lawsuits must create a substantial risk of inconsistent results for the plaintiffs, or the Defendant has generally acted in a similar way to all members of the class. The issues in class action lawsuits are as broad as the injuries that others may inflict upon you. If an individual tricks you out of money, you can sue him for fraud. If a major corporation does so, you can sue in a class action suit. Of course, the major company is more sophisticated than the individual. The company may lie about its profits and convince you to buy its stock. Then when the lie is exposed, the stock price drops and you lose much of your investment. But you would qualify as a member of the defrauded class in the class action suit against the company. If an individual assaults you, you have the right not only to file criminal charges, but to sue for compensation in a civil court, too. But if a major corporation injures you with its defective products you would qualify as a member of the class injured by the same products and you could join in a class action suit. If an individual fails to pay you for your work, you may sue for compensation. But if a major corporation fails to pay, the class action lawsuit may be your answer. Wal-Mart has recently had to pay workers millions of dollars in such class action suits. If an individual sexually harasses you, you may file a civil suit against that person. But if a major corporation does so to you and others like you, you may have the right to join in a class action suit for damages. That's what Lois Jenson did. Of course, it was a long, frustrating process. The case had been filed on August 15, 1988. On January 25, 1992 Lois stopped working at the mine and was soon diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The trial began in St. Paul on December 17, 1992. Fortunately, Judge Kyle, the trial court judge, ruled in favor of Lois and held Eveleth liable for not preventing sexual harassment. But then began the nightmare journey to determine damages. A retired federal magistrate, Patrick McNulty of Duluth, was named special master to oversee the trial to determine damages. Time and again he ruled in favor of the Eveleth lawyers in pre-trial motions. The trial began on January 17, 1995, paused, then resumed on May 22 and concluded on June 13. On March 28, 1996 McNulty wrote a lengthy report of his findings, spoke disrespectfully of the women, and for no apparent legal purpose made public some embarrassing information about their private lives. His damage award to the fifteen women averaged an insulting $10,000 per person. The appellate judge was outraged. On December 5, 1997, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed McNulty's ruling and ordered a new trial for damages. On December 30, 1998, on the eve of the new trial, the fifteen plaintiffs settled with Eveleth for 3.5 million dollars, an average settlement of $233,000 per person. This was certainly an improvement over the previous offer. But when you realize that Eveleth had spent over 15 million dollars defending the case, it hardly seems fair that they paid only 3.5 million to settle. Was it worth it to the women? You'd have to ask them. But consider Lois Jenson. For almost two decades of harassment and a ten-year case, she received what amounted to about $7,000 per year in compensating damages. I doubt she thought it was worth it financially. But was it worth it for the cause? The federal appellate judge who overruled McNulty and ordered a new trial said this, "The emotional harm, brought about by this record of human indecency, sought to destroy the human psyche as well as the human spirit. The humiliation and degradation suffered by these women is irreparable." Maybe it was worth it to hear that. To hear the court tell those who ridiculed their story, in effect, "This mistreatment is a grave injustice and it will not be tolerated - not from miners, not from management and not from McNulty!" Some class action suits, like other lawsuits, seem a little silly. Terri Carlin's multi-billion dollar suit for the "outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury" caused by Janet Jackson's breast was a little odd. Carlin withdrew her case when the suit itself seemed to have elicited more "outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury" than Janet Jackson had done in the Super Bowl halftime show. And some class action suits, like other lawsuits, can bring a windfall. When John. L. went in to buy a Big Mac and walked out with a million dollars, he was the beneficiary of a strange settlement of a class action suit brought against McDonalds and Simon Marketing. F.B.I. agents exposed employees of Simon as having stolen millions in prize money from McDonald's customers. Since Simon had arranged the contests, its employees were in a position to manipulate the results. A class action lawsuit resulted. The settlement of it included a quick compensation to McDonald's customers in the form of million dollar giveaways to ten lucky customers. John L. picked a good day to buy a burger. Many class action lawsuits arising from defective products have yielded Big Mac size awards. Yet many class action lawsuits do not bring windfalls. The average shareholder class action suit, for example, will rarely compensate the investor for more than 10% of the loss. And that will happen only after lengthy litigation. But a class action suit is still a valuable tool for justice. Plaintiffs in effect join forces against powerful companies that otherwise could overwhelm them. Frequently the plaintiffs win. And they win not only financial reward. They win for all of us. Products are safer; corporations, more accountable. And women are more likely to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.
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