Judge Pops a Cap in Hot Coffee Class-Action Settlement
Judge Pops a Cap in Hot Coffee Class-Action Settlement
July 31, 2008
So you handled all the killing and thuggery in GTA San Andreas but found yourself traumatized by the hidden, pixelated sex?
Don't spend your Hot Coffee lawsuit settlement money just yet.
The New York Times reports that the Hot Coffee class-action lawsuit, which was nearing settlement, has been tossed by a federal judge:
...Judge Shirley Wohl Kram wrote that purchasers of the game could not be lumped together in a class action. The claims of members of the proposed class would be affected by the law in each purchaser’s home state, Judge Kram wrote, and therefore could not be resolved in a single proceeding in federal court in New York.
“Accordingly, the court decertifies the settlement class on the grounds that common issues do not predominate over individualized issues,” the judge wrote.
The judge’s latest decision undermines a settlement agreement reached between lawyers for purchasers of the game who contended they were offended by the hidden scenes, on the one hand, and lawyers for the game’s makers, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games.
The NY Times notes that less than 3,000 GTA San Andreas buyers had applied to join the lawsuit. The paper had previously questioned the size of the plaintiffs' legal fees in the case. Meanwhile, attorney Ted Frank of Overlawyered writes:
Take Two spent millions negotiating and administering a settlement because the court refused to rule on its decertification motion last year; that wasted effort demonstrates why it is important for courts to resolve certification questions early in the case. But with no certified class, there can be no class settlement...
Frank, who joined the class and filed objections to the proposed settlement, wonders whether there will be an appeal.
The judge's ruling may be found here...
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Posted 07/03/09 at 09:17pm
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:51pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:49pm
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:47pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:45pm
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:44pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:26pm
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:15pm
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
Posted 07/03/09 at 04:04pm
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:59pm
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:58pm
Krono: Huh, apparently Sarah Palin is resigning.
Krono: Huh, apparently Sarah Palin is resigning.
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:34pm
GoodRobotUs: Sounds like he's been mainlining the Angel Dust again
GoodRobotUs: Sounds like he's been mainlining the Angel Dust again
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:50pm
ezbiker555: I'm back. Just in time too, my Jack Thompson sense were going wild
ezbiker555: I'm back. Just in time too, my Jack Thompson sense were going wild
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:47pm
DarkSaber: You mean "playing with himself"? :-P
DarkSaber: You mean "playing with himself"? :-P
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:16pm
Matthew: Oh, Jack's back? I guess he got bored of playing single-player.
Matthew: Oh, Jack's back? I guess he got bored of playing single-player.
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:05pm
Andrew Eisen: I'm leaving most of his comments up but he'll be banned again shortly.
Andrew Eisen: I'm leaving most of his comments up but he'll be banned again shortly.
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:03pm
PHX Corp: So the jackhole finally got through to attack us again
PHX Corp: So the jackhole finally got through to attack us again
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:03pm
Andrew Eisen: I deleted all of JT's off topic stuff.
Andrew Eisen: I deleted all of JT's off topic stuff.
Posted 07/03/09 at 01:00pm
PHX Corp: He also has more BS Law suits agains the florida bar
PHX Corp: He also has more BS Law suits agains the florida bar
Posted 07/03/09 at 12:47pm
DarkSaber: Yep, for once it's a GENUINE Jack Attack.
DarkSaber: Yep, for once it's a GENUINE Jack Attack.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Good. It was a stupid lawsuit anyway.
Defendant: I went out of my way to hack my console and my gmae disk to access this content and I was offended by what I sought to find.
E. Zachary Knight
http://www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
To me, justice is those hoping to profit off the scare getting nothing.
No, you can't have millions of dollars in legal fees. Not yours.
This ruling should have been made a year ago.
These guys deserve to lose every penny they can on this lawsuit for trying to sue over something you have to go out of your way to get to.
Finally, someone with some common sense gets involved.
Well, if the suit is dropped, T2 can move to be declared the victor with prejudice and ask for legal fees. Would love to see the legal firms and folks that put this nonsense lawsuit up pay out of pocket for the millions T2 had to invest into a defense against a bogus lawsuit. Hell, I would even point out that the plaintiffs were trying to do some court-shopping by having NY court be the battleground for the entire nation. I am a little relieved to see this handed down though. Better late than never.
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful. Edward R. Murrow
"Would love to see the legal firms and folks that put this nonsense lawsuit up pay out of pocket for the millions T2 had to invest into a defense against a bogus lawsuit."
That would be fantastic. :)
It would be nice, then the greedy bastards would have a taste of their own medicine. It'd be nice if the side that brought upon a lawsuit always had to pay the legal fees of the loser if they (the plaintiff) lost..
It's about damn time.
This whole entire lawsuit was just a big scam anyway. The lawyers would have been the only ones to really benefit significantly from it.
"Well, if the suit is dropped, T2 can move to be declared the victor with prejudice and ask for legal fees. "
Not in the United States they can't. T2 is left holding the bag for those costs. Support tort reform.
I walked in on someone accessing this content. I did not go out of my way to access it. I found myself aroused yet offended at the same time. I am no longer turned on by my wife because I can't get the scene out of my head. My marriage is ruined!
So what you're telling us is that nothing at all has happened as a result of the incident that was declared, by at least one individual, as the end of the entire gaming industry?
Awesome.
-"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
So the 3,000 people got about as much as they would have and the lawyers also get nothing? awesome.
Hope T2 can get their legal fees back...
Yeah I'm real sure those 3,000 jackasses were reeeeaaal offended by it @_@
We need that list of idiots who tried to sue T2 -- my cousing Niko Bellic will know what to do with them!
I reckon Take 2 should sue consumers for their money back. Give those litigious moronic yanks who applied, a taste of their own medicine... as I wait for fallout 3 LOL.
Gallagher can araç kiralama say all he wants, but I strongly rent a car believe it's due to his crappy leadership and E3 being a joke. ESA's Board of Directors need to find a way to get out rent a car of this horrid contract with this Bush cronie before there's no one left on the Board.
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing ttnet vitamin or little and need to start saving costs.
Always interesting to read comments here. You guys are pretty darn smart I must say! Ug. I should have done better in school.
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