Universal lawsuit: II
p2pnet.net News:- We’ve just heard from Ratiatum.com, our opposite number in France run by Guillaume Champeau, on the class action suit launched in France against the DVD industry.
He says it seems all is not as staightforward as stated on ClassAction.fr and that both sides involved in the case might be accused of misleading the public.
"Place 12 euros (about $14.72 at the time of writingb) to win 1,000 €. This is the latest version of the lottery, invented by lawyers with misplaced scrupules" says Ratiatum.com.
It appears there’s no such thing as an American type class action suit in the French legal system.
To launch a suit in France, a lawyer has to be hired by the plaintif and, in this case, each individual who signs on to ClassAction.fr was asked to pay 12 €.
There is, of course, no guarantee the investment will indeed yield the 1,000 € payout. And on top of that, one of the plaintiffs will have to appear in court alongside the lawyers.
UFC-Que Choisir’s point is: there’s currently a government mandated group studying the feasibility of establishing the parameters for class action type suits within the French legal system and ClassAction.fr is muddying the waters by launching this suit which is dressed up as a class action without being one. According to Isabelle Faujour, a legal director for UFC-Que Choisir, all ClassAction.fr has done is to write a piece of software for collecting lawyers’ retainers in volume over the Internet.
If the suit fails, a number of people will be out of pocket by 12 €. which although not a large sum, could taint the concept of "class action," says Champeau.
UFC-Que Choisir says it’s seriously considering lodging a complaint against ClassAction.fr for misrepresentation.
Fajour also notes the current suit is based on UFC-Que Choisir’s success in an April judgement and that her association has been careful to go slowly and deliberately within the current legal framework in the aim of building legal precedents based on existing rights, adds Champeau.
(Thanks again, Liz)
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See:-
DVD industry – French lawsuit targets Universal, p2pnet, June 2, 2005
April judgement – French court bans DRM, p2pnet, April 25, 2005
