Free money from milk

[Daehawk]

Have you bought milk in the last 15 years or milk products? Live in one of the states listed? Then get money...maybe up to $70.

http://www.boughtmilk.com/

The lawsuit accused milk producers of price-fixing. Instead of taking the case to court, the milk producers settled the case for $52 million. The settlement claims farmers were prematurely killing cows in order to raise the price of dairy products.



You are a member of this class if you, since 2003, purchased milk or other milk products (including half & half, cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt or cream) when you were a resident of one of the following states, you may be entitled to payment from this milk price-fixing class action settlement:

Arizona
California
District of Columbia
Kansas
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
Oregon
South Dakota
Tennessee
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin

NOTE: To be eligible for benefits from this class action settlement, you must have purchased the milk products from a grocery store or other retailer, not directly from one of the defendants. The products must not have been purchased for resale.

http://www.classactionrebates.com/settl ... resh-milk/

[hepcat]

Have you bought milk in the last 15 years or milk products?

Well, I've "acquired" it over the last 15 years. Does that count?

[AWS260]

Have you bought milk in the last 15 years or milk products?

Well, I've "acquired" it over the last 15 years. Does that count?

That was a steer, and that's not milk.

[hepcat]

You jest, but...

I've said too much already. Big Milk may be listening.

[LordMortis]

Have you bought milk in the last 15 years or milk products?

Well, I've "acquired" it over the last 15 years. Does that count?

That was a steer, and that's not milk.

The episode of Teen Titans Go where Robin milks the Cow King creeps me out.

I probably watch too many cartoons.

[Rip]

Have you bought milk in the last 15 years or milk products?

Well, I've "acquired" it over the last 15 years. Does that count?

That was a steer, and that's not milk.

He can get a steer to ejaculate?

Damn he is better than I ever imagined.

[hepcat]

Damn it, Rip. You always have to drag politics into things.

Spoiler:

[Moliere]

These type of lawsuits are really annoying. "Have you driven a car in the last 20 years? Let's sue someone so lawyers can try and collect millions in fees while the participants get a $5 coupon for gas." If you drank milk and didn't have a problem why would you contribute to this nonsense?

[killbot737]

You'll probably get $10 or $20, or nothing. Just like every other class action lawsuit.

Bought milk?

[Kraken]

These type of lawsuits are really annoying. "Have you driven a car in the last 20 years? Let's sue someone so lawyers can try and collect millions in fees while the participants get a $5 coupon for gas." If you drank milk and didn't have a problem why would you contribute to this nonsense?

I've collected on four of these things in the past six months, totaling something over $60. I was wronged -- wronged, I tell you! -- but $10 will make it right.

[Pyperkub]

These type of lawsuits are really annoying. "Have you driven a car in the last 20 years? Let's sue someone so lawyers can try and collect millions in fees while the participants get a $5 coupon for gas." If you drank milk and didn't have a problem why would you contribute to this nonsense?

Because price-fixing made it cost more for 15 years?

[Moliere]

Because price-fixing made it cost more for 15 years?

I will have to wait for Isg to find a better graph, but this is what I could come up with in the 5 minutes before I grew bored of the search. Lots of fluctuation in the price.

[Jaymann]

I'm in.

[Scuzz]

These type of lawsuits are really annoying. "Have you driven a car in the last 20 years? Let's sue someone so lawyers can try and collect millions in fees while the participants get a $5 coupon for gas." If you drank milk and didn't have a problem why would you contribute to this nonsense?

I've collected on four of these things in the past six months, totaling something over $60. I was wronged -- wronged, I tell you! -- but $10 will make it right.

Yep, and some law firm made millions.

[Zarathud]

Some law firm spent millions finding the evidence to get a settlement. Would you rather they not settle and have everyone spend more?

When government won't prevent bad actors in the market, plaintiffs lawyers will try to do the job and collect a bounty.

[Jeff V]

I've collected on four of these things in the past six months, totaling something over $60. I was wronged -- wronged, I tell you! -- but $10 will make it right.

I get notices from time to time. Some drag out for years...decades even. Then, finally a settlement! "To claim your share of the RAM settlement, please provide proof of purchase for computer memory bought between 2001 and 2003."

I've collected on exactly one - a lawsuit against the makers of Synthroid that netted me a whopping $20 (my nephew had been on it longer and reaped $75). Oh, and I think I made like $0.14 on the Amazon Kindle lawsuit. The Netflix suit was puppies since the temporary free upgrade to more movies out would flip to higher cost after a month if you didn't remember to reset to your prior plan (and at the time, I was on a grandfathered plan that was no longer available).

[Unagi]

Title should be either "Bought Milk?" or "Milk Money"

just sayin.

[Scuzz]

Some law firm spent millions finding the evidence to get a settlement. Would you rather they not settle and have everyone spend more?

When government won't prevent bad actors in the market, plaintiffs lawyers will try to do the job and collect a bounty.

So do you think that law firm did this out of a sense of injustice or because they saw a way to make money for themselves?

[ImLawBoy]

Some law firm spent millions finding the evidence to get a settlement. Would you rather they not settle and have everyone spend more?

When government won't prevent bad actors in the market, plaintiffs lawyers will try to do the job and collect a bounty.

So do you think that law firm did this out of a sense of injustice or because they saw a way to make money for themselves?

Can't it be both?

[Zarathud]

My wife andI ended up with over $200 from the kindle book settlement.

My local Microcenter does a fake "rebate" deal to lower shelf prices, but you have to jump through steps that make the product non-returnable within their return period. I'm waiting for them to get sued eventually.

[Scuzz]

Some law firm spent millions finding the evidence to get a settlement. Would you rather they not settle and have everyone spend more?

When government won't prevent bad actors in the market, plaintiffs lawyers will try to do the job and collect a bounty.

So do you think that law firm did this out of a sense of injustice or because they saw a way to make money for themselves?

Can't it be both?

If a law firm is taking on a government agency or industry over something that endangers lives or the environment, I can respect them for that. Sure, get paid for a good cause. If you are getting a paycheck so that I can get a $4.20 check from somebody then I question your true motives.

I know the milk industry lost this case, but they have had, at least in California a pretty rough time in the last 10 years. Between environmental laws, the drought and crazy PETA people the industry is slowly moving out of the state.

[El Guapo]

Because price-fixing made it cost more for 15 years?

I will have to wait for Isg to find a better graph, but this is what I could come up with in the 5 minutes before I grew bored of the search. Lots of fluctuation in the price.

Damn, if only the defense counsel had spent five minutes on Google apparently this injustice could have been avoided. Why didn't they think of looking to see if there was evidence??

[Isgrimnur]

I know the milk industry lost this case, but they have had, at least in California a pretty rough time in the last 10 years. Between environmental laws, the drought and crazy PETA people the industry is slowly moving out of the state.

LA Times

State regulators want more farmers to reduce emissions with methane digesters, which capture methane from manure in large storage tanks and convert the gas into electricity.

The state has set aside $50 million to help dairies set up digesters, but farmers say that's not nearly enough to equip the state's roughly 1,500 dairies.

[morlac]

I know the milk industry lost this case, but they have had, at least in California a pretty rough time in the last 10 years. Between environmental laws, the drought and crazy PETA people the industry is slowly moving out of the state.

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable excuse for killing good cows to artificially inflate supply vs demand to raise profits with other dairy farms...nudge nudge wink wink..

[El Guapo]

Price fixing tends to happen more in struggling industries than thriving ones.

[morlac]

Price fixing tends to happen more in struggling industries than thriving ones.

Awesome, well than justified...my bad.

[El Guapo]

Price fixing tends to happen more in struggling industries than thriving ones.

Awesome, well than justified...my bad.

It's not a justification, it is just a factual assertion. Probably because people are more willing to take the risk of price fixing (it being illegal and all) when they are struggling / desperate then when everyone is fat and happy.

[MHS]

These type of lawsuits are really annoying. "Have you driven a car in the last 20 years? Let's sue someone so lawyers can try and collect millions in fees while the participants get a $5 coupon for gas." If you drank milk and didn't have a problem why would you contribute to this nonsense?

I've collected on four of these things in the past six months, totaling something over $60. I was wronged -- wronged, I tell you! -- but $10 will make it right.

[Unagi]

Personally I'm udderly shocked at the lack of puns in this thread. I've been waiting for heifer and heifer, and couldn't resist.

[Jeff V]

Personally I'm udderly shocked at the lack of puns in this thread. I've been waiting for heifer and heifer, and couldn't resist.

Eh, moove back to Jersey. I'm sick of this bull.

[rshetts2]

Personally I'm udderly shocked at the lack of puns in this thread. I've been waiting for heifer and heifer, and couldn't resist.

Well, I for one refuse to kowtow to such requests. It's just too cheesy.

[El Guapo]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

[Jeff V]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

I suspect it's because when a single person wins a lawsuit due to, say, a product defect, they might reap a life-changing reward, even after the lawyers get their pound of flesh. However, when lots of people are involved, the damages awarded appear to escalate with the number of plaintiffs, but the amount actually received in most cases is trivial. Perception is everything though -- I'm sure in cases where physical injury is involved, the plaintiffs fair much better than in cases where a lawsuit was brought because cumulatively, there is a significant financial stake but individually, it's not worth each plaintiff to bother with. The main problem is both scenarios are referred to by "class action lawsuit" and the trivial (per plaintiff) outcomes far outweigh the windfall cases. For the most part, no body is demanding these lawyers spend vast sums of money working on such cases for years -- in the end, they are the ones benefitting from ill-gotten gains; the people wronged, not so much.

[LordMortis]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

I get notices all of the time that generally tell me have to do nothing, and then nothing every happens. I have nothing against them but for the amount of times I've been represented, all I've gotten out of it is the eventual need to recycle junk mail and eye strain from reading the tiny font 3x5 card they sent me.

What I dislike for trivial amounts of money is rebates. So much so, they are disincentive for me to buy a product. They seem to be 50/50 on whether they actual come and when they do, now I have to make a trip to the bank for two or ten dollars.

[ImLawBoy]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

I suspect it's because when a single person wins a lawsuit due to, say, a product defect, they might reap a life-changing reward, even after the lawyers get their pound of flesh. However, when lots of people are involved, the damages awarded appear to escalate with the number of plaintiffs, but the amount actually received in most cases is trivial. Perception is everything though -- I'm sure in cases where physical injury is involved, the plaintiffs fair much better than in cases where a lawsuit was brought because cumulatively, there is a significant financial stake but individually, it's not worth each plaintiff to bother with. The main problem is both scenarios are referred to by "class action lawsuit" and the trivial (per plaintiff) outcomes far outweigh the windfall cases. For the most part, no body is demanding these lawyers spend vast sums of money working on such cases for years -- in the end, they are the ones benefitting from ill-gotten gains; the people wronged, not so much.

But it also acts as a deterrent against a company. They can get away with low level scamming their customers for years, because wronged individuals, while still harmed, are not harmed enough to make a lawsuit worthwhile/economically feasible. Class actions can act as a counter-balance to that by holding companies accountable for their sins. Yes, the lawyers rake in the dough, but they need to have an incentive to do this work, too.

[El Guapo]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

I suspect it's because when a single person wins a lawsuit due to, say, a product defect, they might reap a life-changing reward, even after the lawyers get their pound of flesh. However, when lots of people are involved, the damages awarded appear to escalate with the number of plaintiffs, but the amount actually received in most cases is trivial. Perception is everything though -- I'm sure in cases where physical injury is involved, the plaintiffs fair much better than in cases where a lawsuit was brought because cumulatively, there is a significant financial stake but individually, it's not worth each plaintiff to bother with. The main problem is both scenarios are referred to by "class action lawsuit" and the trivial (per plaintiff) outcomes far outweigh the windfall cases. For the most part, no body is demanding these lawyers spend vast sums of money working on such cases for years -- in the end, they are the ones benefitting from ill-gotten gains; the people wronged, not so much.

Not sure I follow this, but regardless - no one is "demanding" that class action firms do this work, but if they don't, no one gets any money. Also companies would then have a greater incentive to screw large groups of people.

[Scuzz]

I know the milk industry lost this case, but they have had, at least in California a pretty rough time in the last 10 years. Between environmental laws, the drought and crazy PETA people the industry is slowly moving out of the state.

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable excuse for killing good cows to artificially inflate supply vs demand to raise profits with other dairy farms...nudge nudge wink wink..

They did kill cows during the drought. When the price of feed went up they reduced the sizes of their herds. I guess the beef industry needs a good suing too.

[Scuzz]

It's weird to me that so many people dislike class actions. Yes, you get a small amount of money, and the class action firms get a big check. But that's because the whole point of class action is to address situations where a large group is harmed on a small individual scale, as otherwise no one has the incentive to sue, so massive harm goes unaddressed. The firm gets a big check because they're spending lots of money over years and taking on significant risk.

Not that there aren't issues with class action suits, but there are issues with everything.

Would I be off base in believing that many of the losers in class action suits often pay via insurance money? Even their legal fees would be paid by insurance companies?

[El Guapo]

What I dislike for trivial amounts of money is rebates. So much so, they are disincentive for me to buy a product. They seem to be 50/50 on whether they actual come and when they do, now I have to make a trip to the bank for two or ten dollars.

Rebates are controversial as a class action remedy. And this is one issue in class actions - there's a divergence in interests between the class action firms on this, because rebates are fine for them (they get a cut in cash of the rebate amount), but are far less useful for consumers generally. So there's pushback on that, and judges sometimes reject rebate-based settlements.

[LordMortis]

What I dislike for trivial amounts of money is rebates. So much so, they are disincentive for me to buy a product. They seem to be 50/50 on whether they actual come and when they do, now I have to make a trip to the bank for two or ten dollars.

Rebates are controversial as a class action remedy. And this is one issue in class actions - there's a divergence in interests between the class action firms on this, because rebates are fine for them (they get a cut in cash of the rebate amount), but are far less useful for consumers generally. So there's pushback on that, and judges sometimes reject rebate-based settlements.

I wasn't even talking about as part of a class action but now that you mention it, I have received rebates toward future purchases as part of a class action suit, and I've been offended by that. My reward for a problem being hidden from me is buying more stuff from the problem creator?