How to Sue Equifax
If the Equifax security incident last week got you thinking about a lawsuit, you are not alone. From hiring your own attorney to representing yourself in small claims court or participating in a class action lawsuit, there are several ways to take your frustration over an incident to court.
Optimization of filing claims with a chatbot
Small claims court is probably your best bet if you want to sue Equifax in person. If you’re not a lawyer, then filling out all of these legal paperwork can be a little tricky. One startup, Do Not Pay, has revamped its chatbot, which is commonly used in a parking ticket dispute, to help fill out small forms to file a lawsuit against Equifax.
Not a bad idea, but some publications report that the bot is automatically suing Equifax, which is not true. This will help you complete the documents for the claim, but you still have to file these documents with your local court (and pay the filing fee).
You will also have to go to court and defend your position. TechCrunch notes that the form automatically sets a $ 10,000 grievance size . While this may sound like a good amount of money, you will have to prove that you suffered $ 10,000 in losses in small claims court. If you cannot prove that your information was accessed or used, this can be a difficult proposition. If you fail to prove the damage, you will probably lose the case.
There is also a chance Equifax will move to consolidate all small claims litigation in state or federal courts. In this case, the decision will be up to you.
Get money to Sue
Filing claims in court is not free. A startup called Legalist is offering to pay the fees associated with filing a lawsuit against Equifax for anyone affected by the incident.
The motherboard advises that if you register with them, they will send you a check to cover the registration costs (typically $ 70 to $ 100). In return, the team will provide you with a pre-completed legal complaint to submit to court. However, if you win, you will have to give the company 30% of the grade. Depending on how much you are suing for, this rebate could be much more than the $ 100 the company gave you to file your claim.
Many small claims courts do not admit attorneys. The idea behind the company is that by encouraging people to sue small claims across the country, they will in some way prevent Equifax from presenting itself everywhere, as they will have to have real employees in hundreds or thousands of courtrooms. once.
Their logic is that you might have a good chance of getting a default solution, but you shouldn’t count on it. As I mentioned earlier, Equifax can take all small claims cases to a larger court. And you can still use this strategy on your own and just file a small claim without using Legalist money. Thus, you will adhere 100% to any judgment.
What about a class action lawsuit?
USA Today reports that there are currently at least 23 different class actions filed against Equifax in the United States . All of these 23 claims were filed by persons who are trying to obtain confirmation of their case in court. Here’s a good rundown of how class action suits work .
When a case is certified by a court, everyone who is affected by this case is automatically included in it. It is also possible that some of these 23 cases (or all of them) will be combined into one case, which will include everyone affected by the incident.
When one of the 23 lawsuits filed is certified, the person (s) who filed it will become the “lead plaintiff” in the case and represent everyone. To get certified, they will need to prove that they have a legal claim against Equifax and that there is a large group of people who have been similarly injured. Both of these options are not that difficult, but they will also have to prove that they and their lawyer have a plan to represent everyone involved in the case, and the judge believes that this will happen fairly.
After the claim is witnessed, the court will order that anyone who has been affected be contacted, something that could happen via the media or the Internet, or via direct mail. You will find out that this is happening.
If you have not received a notice of who passed certification, but you see information about it in the news, it is recommended that you contact the appropriate lawyer. The main plaintiff in the case will maintain all court appearances and determine which settlement (if any) the group will accept. As an individual, you probably will not need to participate in anything to receive part of the settlement, if any.