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Register.com Loses Class action Lawsuit

Posted by timothy on from the and-nelson-laughs dept.

Anonymous Blowhard writes "I found out today I am a member of a class that just beat register.com in New York Supreme Court!! The suit was filed by Michael Zurakov because register.com pointed his newly registered domain(s) to 'coming soon' web pages. Mr. Zurakov receives $12,500 for the harm caused by register.com while members of the class can look forward to a settlement of $5 off their next domain renewals. Register.com will also pay 'reasonable Class Counsel attorneys' fees and costs in an amount not to exceed $642,500.00, subject to Court approval.' If you want to exclude yourself from the class, giving up any settlement and not being bound by its terms, you have to opt-out."

1 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Stupid lawsuits by the few... by arth1 · · Score: 1, Troll
    Frequently, the media portrays the lawsuits as idiotic, but when you dig into the details and hear the other side it is not so idiotic. Case in point, the famous case of the old women suing McDonald's for the hot coffee spilled on her. Stupid lawsuit until you read the full story behind it. That McDonald's coffee was the hottest in the industry. That McDonald's coffee temperature was on the "knee of the curve" where a few degrees made the difference between a minor burn and a 3rd degree burn. The women received 3rd degree burns and had to go to a hospital. By pushing their coffee temperature to an extreme, well beyond industry practice, McDonald's created a hazard. The lawsuit is not so stupid in that context.


    It is impossible to receive 3rd degree burns from hot water. 3rd degree burns imply that the skin is burnt away with charred and blackened tissue. What she got was a 1st or 2nd degree burn.

    Coffee is also supposed to be that hot. Hotter, in fact. 204-208F is ideal. In gourmet restaurants you'd lose your job over serving coffee as cold as what McDonald's did. If you drink correctly served coffee, you will scald your mouth. This is supposed to be common knowledge, and if it isn't (apparently you didn't know either), attack your parents or the school system that doesn't teach you even a minimum of culture.

    Even if she didn't know that coffee is supposed to be hot, common sense and previous exposure to hot liquids should have told her that you treat an unknown hot liquid as "as hot as hell" until you've tested the temperature. If you're too stupid to get this, you're too stupid to be allowed out on the streets in a car, for dogs sake.

    Here in the US, the bar seems to be extremely high for what's called a frivolous lawsuit. The whole economy seems to be built around litigation, to the point where half of the cost of any US product is costs for lawyers and insurance against them. It's to the point where people don't stop and help accident victims, because they fear that the victims can sue them if their aid inadvertedly contributes to the damage. Yes, the litigation-ruled society does make America look ridiculous, and the discussion topic only contributes to make this clear.
    In a more civilised society than ours, the customer in question would have been able to go to a public consumer protection agency, who would have had the power to judge whether register.com were breaking advertising laws, and warn them or slap them with a fine if they did. In the US, the only recourse that doesn't require the company's cooperation is - tada - litigation.

    --
    *Art