California: “Elaborate, decade-long towing scam”

According to prosecutors in Santa Clara County, a “lawsuit mill” formed part of an extensive “tow-and-sue” criminal scheme in which a towing operator sold towed cars without notifying the owners and then added insult to injury by going after the owners for storage and handling fees. Paul Stephen Greer, also known as Vincent Cardinalli Jr., pleaded no contest to fifty-nine felonies. Prosecutors say Greer, who operated tow trucks in Clovis, Gilroy and Hollister, sued parties that did not own the vehicles, arranged for falsified proof of service so as to obtain quick default judgments against defendants never apprised of his suits, and engaged in perjury. [San Jose Mercury-News, press release]

Volkswagen sunroof class action settlement

Lawyers sued German automaker VW charging that water could leak into the car from the sunroofs on some of its models. Ted Major is not enthralled with the resulting settlement:

For many class members (such as myself), the only benefit they will receive is a piece of paper to put into the owner’s manual that says “check your sunroof drains every 40,000 miles.” That’s it, no reimbursement, no inspection, no free drain cleaning, nothing.

Lawyers say that and other benefits to class members, including an $8 million repair fund, are worth $125 million and justify a fee of $30 million plus $1.5 million in expenses. A fairness hearing in federal court in New Jersey is scheduled for June 26.

May 27 roundup

Lucrative world of IRS informant bounties

It’s attractive enough to have lured private equity money:

Three years ago, the I.R.S. began offering bigger rewards — 15 percent to 30 percent of whatever money the government recovered — in a move that has turbocharged the agency’s whistle-blower program. …

Among the lawyers, hedge funds and investors who may provide the financing for class-action lawsuits and whistle-blower cases against government contractors, the reinvigorated I.R.S. program has attracted attention.

[N.Y. Times]

May 26 roundup

  • Oh dear: Elena Kagan praised as “my judicial hero” Aharon Barak, ultra-activist Israeli jurist flayed by Posner as lawless [Stuart Taylor, Jr./Newsweek] Kagan and executive power [Root, Reason]
  • More on efforts to get feds to redesign hot dogs and other choking-risk foods [NYT, earlier]
  • Amid brouhaha over Rand Paul views, Chicago firefighter-test case provides reminder of how discrimination law actually plays out in courts today [Tabarrok, MargRev]
  • So please, Ken, tell us what you really think of this Mr. Francis (“Girls Gone Wild”) and his nastygrams [Popehat]
  • More on SEIU’s tactic of sending mob to banker’s home in suburban Maryland [Volokh and more, earlier]
  • “Intensive Parenting Enforced: Parents Criminal Liability for Children Skipping School” [Gaia Bernstein, ConcurOp on a California bill]
  • Julian Ku unimpressed with United Nations officials’ claims that Arizona immigration statute violates international civil rights law [Opinio Juris] Plus, a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights [Kopel, Volokh] Ilya Shapiro analyzes statute’s constitutionality [Cato]
  • Bill moving through Congress would force states, localities to accept unionization, arbitration for public safety workforces [Fox, Jottings] And here comes the giant federal bailout of union pension funds [Megan McArdle]