Local law students

From: RDShatt
To: sulawrev@seattleu.edu
Sent: 9/3/2009 5:25:37 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation

Dear Mr. Prince,

I doubt this is ripe for a law review article or note, but I thought I would pass it on for your consideration.

I am a citizens' class action objector. The most recent class action of which I have received notice is against Expedia, Inc. (headquartered in the state of Washington) that is pending in King County Superior Court and that is further described here: Expedia Litigation Settlement Website.

There are many critics and much criticism of class action lawsuits, and thousands of plaintiff class members, including myself, file objections in class actions about proposed settlements and attorney fees.

I am currently trying to advance two contentions that I think are deserving of more attention than they have heretofore received. The two contentions have a connection to each other I believe.First, I contend that class action litigation such as the Expedia lawsuit does not promote an objective of the law to lessen corporate wrongdoing, and such litigation is in fact counterproductive to that end and it undermines the fostering and inculcation of ethical business conduct. My argumentation to this effect is set out at length in this article of mine: Does the Law Undermine Business Ethics?Second, I contend that this litigation such as the Expedia case is very questionable in serving the social utility of "doing justice." The main reason it is questionable is that I believe insufficient attention is paid to the extent to which this litigation at bottom is only about making transfers of amounts by and among parties in interest who are not culpable of any wrongdoing. It is possible there has been wrongdoing by corporate officers and employees or other individuals, and as a result some innocent parties have received a benefit from the wrongdoing and other innocent parties have had a loss or cost imposed on them. Whether or not there has been such wrongdoing, the case against the corporation should be considered as an unjust enrichment case, and nothing more. The facts and circumstances of all the persons who have been unjustly enriched and at whose expense they have been unjustly enriched are likely highly variable and somewhat indeterminate, and it is likely there has not been adequate investigation, or opportunity for argument, as to persons who are contended to have been unjustly enriched, the particular facts about whether or not he was unjustly enriched or, if he was unjustly enriched, about whether more is being taken from him in the litigation than the amount by which he was unjustly enriched.The reason I believe insufficient attention is paid to viewing the case as being nothing more than an unjust enrichment case is a certain blindness that has arisen in the law because the plaintiffs' lawyers get their riches by and large out of the pockets of parties in interest who are innocent of wrongdoing. In order to do that, they want to bang the drum of corporate wrongdoing and do not want any reasonable and thoughtful consideration of factors such as who the wrongdoing individuals are, how much those individuals benefited from their wrongdoing, how much they are being called on or not called on to compensate harmed parties, and to what extent is it fair and just in the situation to have innocent parties in interest pay for an alleged loss.Having stated the foregoing reason of the explanation for my second contention, I think you will readily discern its connection to my first contention.

I have sent emails to the presiding judge in the Expedia lawsuit, which may be found here.

To repeat, I doubt this is ripe for a law review article or note, but I thought I would pass it on for your consideration. If you see any Seattle University Law Review potential here, I would be very interested in hearing from you.

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: dhancock@washlrev.org
Sent: 9/3/2009 5:37:49 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation

Dear Mr. Hancock,

I doubt this is ripe for a law review article or note, but I thought I would pass it on for your consideration.

I am a citizens' class action objector. The most recent class action of which I have received notice is against Expedia, Inc. (headquartered in the state of Washington) that is pending in King County Superior Court and that is further described here: Expedia Litigation Settlement Website.

There are many critics and much criticism of class action lawsuits, and thousands of plaintiff class members, including myself, file objections in class actions about proposed settlements and attorney fees.

I am currently trying to advance two contentions that I think are deserving of more attention than they have heretofore received. The two contentions have a connection to each other I believe.First, I contend that class action litigation such as the Expedia lawsuit does not promote an objective of the law to lessen corporate wrongdoing, and such litigation is in fact counterproductive to that end and it undermines the fostering and inculcation of ethical business conduct. My argumentation to this effect is set out at length in this article of mine: Does the Law Undermine Business Ethics?Second, I contend that this litigation such as the Expedia case is very questionable in serving the social utility of "doing justice." The main reason it is questionable is that I believe insufficient attention is paid to the extent to which this litigation at bottom is only about making transfers of amounts by and among parties in interest who are not culpable of any wrongdoing. It is possible there has been wrongdoing by corporate officers and employees or other individuals, and as a result some innocent parties have received a benefit from the wrongdoing and other innocent parties have had a loss or cost imposed on them. Whether or not there has been such wrongdoing, the case against the corporation should be considered as an unjust enrichment case, and nothing more. The facts and circumstances of all the persons who have been unjustly enriched and at whose expense they have been unjustly enriched are likely highly variable and somewhat indeterminate, and it is likely there has not been adequate investigation, or opportunity for argument, as to persons who are contended to have been unjustly enriched, the particular facts about whether or not he was unjustly enriched or, if he was unjustly enriched, about whether more is being taken from him in the litigation than the amount by which he was unjustly enriched.The reason I believe insufficient attention is paid to viewing the case as being nothing more than an unjust enrichment case is a certain blindness that has arisen in the law because the plaintiffs' lawyers get their riches by and large out of the pockets of parties in interest who are innocent of wrongdoing. In order to do that, they want to bang the drum of corporate wrongdoing and do not want any reasonable and thoughtful consideration of factors such as who the wrongdoing individuals are, how much those individuals benefited from their wrongdoing, how much they are being called on or not called on to compensate harmed parties, and to what extent is it fair and just in the situation to have innocent parties in interest pay for an alleged loss.Having stated the foregoing reason of the explanation for my second contention, I think you will readily discern its connection to my first contention.

I have sent emails to the presiding judge in the Expedia lawsuit, which may be found here.

To repeat, I doubt this is ripe for a law review article or note, but I thought I would pass it on for your consideration. If you see any Washington Law Review potential here, I would be very interested in hearing from you.

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck

From: RDShatt
To: bingisse@u.washington.edu
Sent: 9/3/2009 5:48:18 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: Federalist Society: In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation

Dear Mr. Bingisser,

I am sending you this email to inform you about the above matter and issues I am raising about it, because I think they fall with the domain of interest of The Federalist Society and they may be grist for consideration and debate by the Society.

I am a citizens' class action objector. The most recent class action of which I have received notice is against Expedia, Inc. (headquartered in the state of Washington) that is pending in King County Superior Court and that is further described here: Expedia Litigation Settlement Website.

There are many critics and much criticism of class action lawsuits, and thousands of plaintiff class members, including myself, file objections in class actions about proposed settlements and attorney fees.

I am currently trying to advance two contentions that I think are deserving of more attention than they have heretofore received. The two contentions have a connection to each other I believe.First, I contend that class action litigation such as the Expedia lawsuit does not promote an objective of the law to lessen corporate wrongdoing, and such litigation is in fact counterproductive to that end and it undermines the fostering and inculcation of ethical business conduct. My argumentation to this effect is set out at length in this article of mine: Does the Law Undermine Business Ethics?Second, I contend that this litigation such as the Expedia case is very questionable in serving the social utility of "doing justice." The main reason it is questionable is that I believe insufficient attention is paid to the extent to which this litigation at bottom is only about making transfers of amounts by and among parties in interest who are not culpable of any wrongdoing. It is possible there has been wrongdoing by corporate officers and employees or other individuals, and as a result some innocent parties have received a benefit from the wrongdoing and other innocent parties have had a loss or cost imposed on them. Whether or not there has been such wrongdoing, the case against the corporation should be considered as an unjust enrichment case, and nothing more. The facts and circumstances of all the persons who have been unjustly enriched and at whose expense they have been unjustly enriched are likely highly variable and somewhat indeterminate, and it is likely there has not been adequate investigation, or opportunity for argument, as to persons who are contended to have been unjustly enriched, the particular facts about whether or not he was unjustly enriched or, if he was unjustly enriched, about whether more is being taken from him in the litigation than the amount by which he was unjustly enriched.The reason I believe insufficient attention is paid to viewing the case as being nothing more than an unjust enrichment case is a certain blindness that has arisen in the law because the plaintiffs' lawyers get their riches by and large out of the pockets of parties in interest who are innocent of wrongdoing. In order to do that, they want to bang the drum of corporate wrongdoing and do not want any reasonable and thoughtful consideration of factors such as who the wrongdoing individuals are, how much those individuals benefited from their wrongdoing, how much they are being called on or not called on to compensate harmed parties, and to what extent is it fair and just in the situation to have innocent parties in interest pay for an alleged loss.Having stated the foregoing reason of the explanation for my second contention, I think you will readily discern its connection to my first contention.

I have sent emails to the presiding judge in the Expedia lawsuit, which may be found here.

I hope this email has provided you something of interest for The Federalist Society.

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck


From: RDShatt
To: mwa2010@u.washington.edu
Sent: 9/3/2009 5:58:15 A.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: FLP: In re Expedia Hotel Taxes and Fees Litigation

Dear Mr. Anderson,

I am sending you this email to inform you about the above matter and issues I am raising about it, because I think they could provide a very interesting topic for The Forum on Law and Policy..

I am a citizens' class action objector. The most recent class action of which I have received notice is against Expedia, Inc. (headquartered in the state of Washington) that is pending in King County Superior Court and that is further described here: Expedia Litigation Settlement Website.

There are many critics and much criticism of class action lawsuits, and thousands of plaintiff class members, including myself, file objections in class actions about proposed settlements and attorney fees.

I am currently trying to advance two contentions that I think are deserving of more attention than they have heretofore received. The two contentions have a connection to each other I believe.First, I contend that class action litigation such as the Expedia lawsuit does not promote an objective of the law to lessen corporate wrongdoing, and such litigation is in fact counterproductive to that end and it undermines the fostering and inculcation of ethical business conduct. My argumentation to this effect is set out at length in this article of mine: Does the Law Undermine Business Ethics?Second, I contend that this litigation such as the Expedia case is very questionable in serving the social utility of "doing justice." The main reason it is questionable is that I believe insufficient attention is paid to the extent to which this litigation at bottom is only about making transfers of amounts by and among parties in interest who are not culpable of any wrongdoing. It is possible there has been wrongdoing by corporate officers and employees or other individuals, and as a result some innocent parties have received a benefit from the wrongdoing and other innocent parties have had a loss or cost imposed on them. Whether or not there has been such wrongdoing, the case against the corporation should be considered as an unjust enrichment case, and nothing more. The facts and circumstances of all the persons who have been unjustly enriched and at whose expense they have been unjustly enriched are likely highly variable and somewhat indeterminate, and it is likely there has not been adequate investigation, or opportunity for argument, as to persons who are contended to have been unjustly enriched, the particular facts about whether or not he was unjustly enriched or, if he was unjustly enriched, about whether more is being taken from him in the litigation than the amount by which he was unjustly enriched.The reason I believe insufficient attention is paid to viewing the case as being nothing more than an unjust enrichment case is a certain blindness that has arisen in the law because the plaintiffs' lawyers get their riches by and large out of the pockets of parties in interest who are innocent of wrongdoing. In order to do that, they want to bang the drum of corporate wrongdoing and do not want any reasonable and thoughtful consideration of factors such as who the wrongdoing individuals are, how much those individuals benefited from their wrongdoing, how much they are being called on or not called on to compensate harmed parties, and to what extent is it fair and just in the situation to have innocent parties in interest pay for an alleged loss.Having stated the foregoing reason of the explanation for my second contention, I think you will readily discern its connection to my first contention.

I have sent emails to the presiding judge in the Expedia lawsuit, which may be found here.

I hope this email has provided you something that you will consider as a topic for The Forum on Law and Policy..

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Robert Shattuck