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Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

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Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#81

Post by smsm42 »

devy wrote: post #30

I am a Equifax data leak victim. How do I know Legalist is dependable and trustworthy so that my personal information is NOT going to be leaked by Legalist again in the future for the second time? And small claim court filling fee is only less than $100 (in my state it's $35, appeal is $250 refundable). And maximum claim amount in small claim court in my state is $3000. Is it worthy for me to trust another 3rd party…

> so that my personal information is NOT going to be leaked by Legalist again in the future for the second time?

No problem. If that happens, Legalist would be happy to finance you suing them in a small claims court!

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#82

Post by xie_alan »

smsm42 wrote: post #75

AFAIK small claims court are pretty informal, and most do not allow one to be represented (as opposed to advised, which is allowed) by a lawyer. So I imagine you come to the court, and the judge asks you "OK, tell me why you are suing Equifax", and you, being true to the promise to tell the truth and fearing perjury, answer "I've read an ad from a law firm which promised me that I can sue them for free and get money…

That's for sure why people participate in class-action lawsuits against big companies like Red Bull, but isn't the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? I can't see a plaintiff showing up to court and not saying something along the lines of "Equifax lost my data and I want to be compensated."

Maybe Plaintiff John Doe isn't going to be able to exhaustively demonstrate quantifiable material damages, but maybe the court hands out a default judgment.

The real opportunistic money-grabbers here are Equifax...they took their own data breach, which is basically historically unprecedented in its scale, and used it as a way to shill one of their own credit score monitoring products. That, IMO, is despicable. If it's easier to sue these guys for their negligence, so be it.

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#83

Post by etjossem »

jayess wrote: post #79
etjossem wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a lawyer, this isn't legal advice backed by any level of expertise in the law. But if I had to write a complaint for small claims right now, here's what I'd bring up: -- FCRA § 604. states that "any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other", and lists allowable reasons to dispense a credit report. FCRA § 607. requires compliance, stating that an a…

How do you show "willful noncompliance" if they were hacked?

Equifax left a critical security vulnerability open for quite a while after it was announced, and confirmed that it was used in the breach.

In a statement, Apache Struts wrote, "This vulnerability was patched on 7 March 2017, the same day it was announced ... In conclusion, the Equifax data compromise was due to their failure to install the security updates provided in a timely manner."

https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/entry/media-alert-the-ap...

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#84

Post by radvocate »

This is terrible advice. In litigation you only get one bite at the apple - if you sue in SC court and win $100, it extinguishes your ability to sue again for new damages. And let's face it, our real damages aren't apparent yet.

Also, SC is probably your worst option, as far as ROI goes. If you want a more strategic sense of your legal options, check out:

http://myradvocate.com/new-blog/2017/9/10/5vpvo8j70gnergoci4...

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#85

Post by xie_alan »

radvocate wrote: post #76

This is terrible advice. In litigation you only get one bite at the apple. Do you want to file a claim now for a few hundred dollars in SC court, or wait until you actually have real damages to cover? If you file and win now, you're out of luck with your future damages.

My knowledge of identity theft is admittedly limited to TV documentaries...but if your identity is stolen five years from now and the fraudsters rack up thousands of dollars in loans and bills under your name, is there a way for you to link that crime to the Equifax hack? I could see a lawyer making the very shaky argument that John Doe could have had their personal information hacked elsewhere and that there's no evidence connecting the thieves to Equifax.

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#86

Post by Rapzid »

smsm42 wrote: post #75

AFAIK small claims court are pretty informal, and most do not allow one to be represented (as opposed to advised, which is allowed) by a lawyer. So I imagine you come to the court, and the judge asks you "OK, tell me why you are suing Equifax", and you, being true to the promise to tell the truth and fearing perjury, answer "I've read an ad from a law firm which promised me that I can sue them for free and get money…

That may be a truth, but it's not the truth and not an answer to the question the judge is actually asking. He'd be probing about the legal basis of the claim, not the impetus that drug you out of bed and into the courtroom on that particular day.

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#87

Post by smsm42 »

xie_alan wrote: post #82
smsm42 wrote: post #75

AFAIK small claims court are pretty informal, and most do not allow one to be represented (as opposed to advised, which is allowed) by a lawyer. So I imagine you come to the court, and the judge asks you "OK, tell me why you are suing Equifax", and you, being true to the promise to tell the truth and fearing perjury, answer "I've read an ad from a law firm which promised me that I can sue them for free and get money…

That's for sure why people participate in class-action lawsuits against big companies like Red Bull, but isn't the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? I can't see a plaintiff showing up to court and not saying something along the lines of "Equifax lost my data and I want to be compensated." Maybe Plaintiff John Doe isn't going to be able to exhaustively demonstrate quantifiable material damages,…

> the whole point that people have had their privacy violated?

Possibly, but lawsuits don't work that way - "I feel bad because somebody may potentially have got my info" is not a claim you can make and get damages. There should be legal basis. Now, I'm not a lawyer, and saying US law and caselaw is huge and full of terrors would be an understatement. So maybe one could find some law that justifies it. No idea. But showing up in court and saying "but privacy, your honor!" probably don't work.

> Equifax lost my data and I want to be compensated.

And I want to be a well-hung billionaire with wings. [1] Nobody cares.

> The real opportunistic money-grabbers here are Equifax

There's a lot to be claimed against Equifax. But Equifax being crappy doesn't automatically grant you a victory in court. You have to make a valid legal claim. Granted, small claims courts, as I said, are less formal and allow you more leeway, but even then I doubt that just showing up with script-generated claim and "I feel bad, I want money" would go very well. You are welcome to try and report of course, maybe I'm an idiot and you'd be laughing all the way to the bank instead.

[1] if you recognized the quote, you get 20 bonus points

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#88

Post by secstate »

smsm42 wrote: post #87
xie_alan wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's for sure why people participate in class-action lawsuits against big companies like Red Bull, but isn't the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? I can't see a plaintiff showing up to court and not saying something along the lines of "Equifax lost my data and I want to be compensated." Maybe Plaintiff John Doe isn't going to be able to exhaustively demonstrate quantifiable material damages,…

> the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? Possibly, but lawsuits don't work that way - "I feel bad because somebody may potentially have got my info" is not a claim you can make and get damages. There should be legal basis. Now, I'm not a lawyer, and saying US law and caselaw is huge and full of terrors would be an understatement. So maybe one could find some law that justifies it. No idea. But s…

Oh god I hate the Big Bang Theory.

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#89

Post by sokoloff »

etjossem wrote: post #83
jayess wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you show "willful noncompliance" if they were hacked?

Equifax left a critical security vulnerability open for quite a while after it was announced, and confirmed that it was used in the breach. In a statement, Apache Struts wrote, "This vulnerability was patched on 7 March 2017, the same day it was announced ... In conclusion, the Equifax data compromise was due to their failure to install the security updates provided in a timely manner." https://blogs.apache.org/found…

Incompetence, poor judgment, and/or laziness is probably not the same as willful non-compliance.

(I have extremely little sympathy for Equifax here, around any aspect of what they did and did not do. It's still not clear to me though that it was willful by a legal definition/interpretation. I'm quite sure we will find out.)

Re: Tell HN: We'll pay for you to sue Equifax

#90

Post by xie_alan »

smsm42 wrote: post #87
xie_alan wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's for sure why people participate in class-action lawsuits against big companies like Red Bull, but isn't the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? I can't see a plaintiff showing up to court and not saying something along the lines of "Equifax lost my data and I want to be compensated." Maybe Plaintiff John Doe isn't going to be able to exhaustively demonstrate quantifiable material damages,…

> the whole point that people have had their privacy violated? Possibly, but lawsuits don't work that way - "I feel bad because somebody may potentially have got my info" is not a claim you can make and get damages. There should be legal basis. Now, I'm not a lawyer, and saying US law and caselaw is huge and full of terrors would be an understatement. So maybe one could find some law that justifies it. No idea. But s…

Fair points on the issues of standing — I would assume that a college-educated person with a decent understanding of the relevant case law (gleaned from some of the links below and other MSM articles about the data breach) could stand a decent chance of winning in court. Your mileage may vary, but if a 5 hour time investment could possibly yield a 4-figure settlement, I don't see a problem with filing a case and the worst-case scenario being a loss in court. That being said, since your chances of winning likely increase with how much effort you put into the claim, it's not Legalist that's doing the heavy lifting for you, which also begs the question of why you'd have them file for you in the first place.
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