Deborah R. Hensler et al.

In the following viewpoint, Deborah R. Hensler and the other authors assert that the only people who benefit from class action suits are the attorneys, not the consumers seeking redress for damages. They contend that because private attorneys often receive enormous fees when a suit is successful, they are too willing to bring suits without merit into the justice system. In addition, the authors argue that these attorneys encourage quick settlements at the expense of trials that adequately examine the facts and law, thereby providing little help to the plaintiffs and other affected consumers. Hensler is the Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution at Stanford University Law School, director of the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation, and a senior fellow at the Rand Institute for Civil...