Overlawyered letters

Send a fax to cure a fax?

Is it just me, or is there supreme irony in receiving an unsolicited fax notice of a proposed class action settlement that begins "ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO WERE SENT AN ALLEGED UNSOLICITED FACSIMILE ADVERTISEMENT…" This involves a claim brought by Cohen & Malad, LLP in Indianapolis against PrimeTV, DIRECTTV, et al, obviously for sending faxes promoting their business offerings in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Now, if we can just amend the Act to include unsolicited faxes from trial lawyers who comb through every statute to find opportunities for transferring wealth from legitimate businesses to themselves…

It looks as if the members of the settlement class would receive a certificate for a satellite system plus six months of service (as settlement awards go, that’s actually pretty good for the “victim” of an unsolicited fax, especially compared to the typical award equivalent to $3.95). The lawyers would get up to $200,000 for shuffling some papers around. The punishment seems a bit disproportionate to the crime.

I could fax a copy of the notice to you, but -- unlike the lawyers -- I feel I must receive your solicitation first. -- Rick Provost, Richmond, Va.

Separately, we heard that the New York Insurance Association has asked state attorney general Eliot Spitzer to investigate this incident ("'Just the Fax' - N.Y. Insurance Assoc. Asks State's AGO to Investigate Law Firm", ClaimsGuides.com, Apr. 5). For more on junk-fax litigation, see Jul. 19, 2003, and links from there; Dec. 3; Mar. 19. -- W.O.