Anatomy of a Madison County (Illinois) Class Action: A Study of Pathology


 

Publication Date: August 2002

Publisher: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Center for Legal Policy

Author(s): Lester Brickman

Research Area: Law and ethics

Keywords: Schuppert v. Down; abusive settlement; Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole; class action

Type: Report

Coverage: Illinois United States

Abstract:

The Manhattan Institute released today a case study by Professor Lester Brickman of Cardozo Law School on how class action litigation in state courts allows attorneys to profit at the expense of their clients. Professor Brickman shows how the law firm of Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole ('Ness Motley') struck a settlement agreement with a convicted felon for a $2 million dollar attorneys' fee and woefully failed to protect the interests of its clients--hundreds of thousands of elderly Americans.