Consumer Actions

Consumer class action lawsuits seek recovery for company-wide or industry-wide practices that harm many individual consumers or customers in the same way. For instance, if a company has manufactured a product with a consistent defect or has made misrepresentations in the sale of its products that cause harm to its customers, a single customer may sue the company on behalf of all similarly situated customers to recover damages.  Most recently, the firm's consumer litigation practice has tended to focus on companies in the personal and information technology fields.  Cases brought against these companies require not only legal expertise, but also mastery of the underlying technology.  We have found that high-tech companies all too freguently rush their products to market without adequate testing and quality control and then refuse to make repairs or to fairly compensate customers for the products' diminished value.

In 2006, following three years of hotly contested litigation, Chitwood reached a settlement of a class action against Seiko Epson Corporation's American subsidiary arising from claims that Epson inkjet printer cartridges falsely claim to be empty and shut down while significant ink remains in the cartridge.  That settlement, valued in excess of $900 million, is one of the largest consumer class action settlements in history.

Regardless of the product or industry involved, Chitwood brings years of experience and consummate ability to consumer actions throughout the United States.