I love it!  Class action lawyers have long shaken down big companies for ridiculous infractions and obtained settlements giving them millions, and pennies (or even discount coupons for future purchases) for the individual members of the classes they purportedly represent.  They are members of the powerful tort bar lobby that generates huge political donations as protection money, so this legalized extortion process has continued.

Perhaps the tide is turning?

In an underreported decision handed down Friday, via Reuters:

A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out a class-action settlement intended to resolve claims that the Subway sandwich chain deceived customers by selling “Footlong” subs that were less than a foot long.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago called the settlement “utterly worthless,” and said the customers’ lawyers were not entitled to attorney’s fees for convincing Subway it was better to make the case go away than fight.

“A class action that seeks only worthless benefits for the class and yields only fees for class counsel is no better than a racket and should be dismissed out of hand,” Circuit Judge Diane Sykes wrote for a three-judge panel. “That’s an apt description of this case.”

Lawyers at DeNittis Osefchen and Zimmerman Law Offices, which represented the customers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

I sure hope that DeNittis Osefchen and Zimmerman appeal, and that the Supreme Court takes up the case. It would be a blessing if this racket ended across the nation, not just in the Seventh District.