Class actions are cases that are filed on behalf of a larger group of individuals by one or more class representatives that represent the interests of the entire class. Class actions can involve thousands of class members or as few as twenty. Class actions are often the only effective way to prosecute the claims of the class members, particularly when the individual claims of the class members do not justify the expense of litigation.
Class representatives are individuals who step forward to represent the entire class. They must advocate for the interests of the class and cannot place their own individual interests before those of the class. Although it is customary for class representatives to receive an incentive award in successful cases, such awards are at the discretion of the Court and are based upon the service of the class representatives rather than a percentage of the recovery.
INFORMATION ON CURRENT CLASS ACTIONS AT SLATER | ROSS:
Viterra Class Action:
This class action is filed on behalf of Oregon residential tenants against Viterra Energy Services (Viterra), Aquameter, Guardian Management (Guardian) and CTL Management (CTL). Viterra and Aquameter are corporations in the business of water submetering, which involves measuring tenants' individual water and sewer use in typically larger apartment complexes. Guardian and CTL are two of Oregon's largest residential landlords who contracted with Viterra and Aquameter to bill their tenants for their water and sewer use. Guardian settled separately with Plaintiffs in 2002.
THE CASE IS NOW SETTLED. For information about the settlement agreement, please go to submeterclassaction.com.
This proposed class action is filed against Verizon Communications and Verizon Northwest (collectively "Verizon") for the disclosure of customers' telephone records to the National Security Agency (NSA) without the customers knowledge or consent. The proposed class is all Verizon customers in the Northwest and across the United States. The complaint alleges that Verizon voluntarily contracted with the NSA to provide customer records in violation of the Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access Act, 18 U.S.C. secs. 2702 and 2707.
Similar actions were filed across the country against the major telecommunications carriers. These cases, including the one filed by SLATER | ROSS, have been transferred by the Multi District Litigation (MDL) Panel for discovery managment to the Northern District of California before the Honorable Vaughn Walker. SLATER | ROSS is working closely with consumer advocacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and other Plaintiff firms to coordinate on these cases. Collectively, these cases impact well over 100 million customers in the United States.
These cases have not been certified as class actions. At this time, SLATER | ROSS is not compiling a list of class members. However, if you have an interest in serving as a class representative, please feel free to contact us using the form below. Please be sure to include your address, telephone number, email address, and any information you can to assist us in determining your eligibility.
ON JULY 9, 2008 THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE BILL (FISA) BILL WAS SIGNED WHICH GRANTED RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY TO THE TELECOM CARRIERS, INCLUDING VERIZON, FOR DISCLOSING CUSTOMER RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY ASSUMING CERTAIN CONDITIONS WERE MET.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES TO ENSURE THAT THEY PROTECT YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIVIL LIBERTIES.
Recent filings in the Verizon Class Action:
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