Class Actions - What Are They Good For? Quite a Lot, Actually.

A lot's been happening recently - and that's a good thing. There have been major developments in several lawsuits, and here at ClassAction.org, we continue to find new ways to help keep consumers informed about cases that may affect them. Electrolux and Endo both recently announced settlement agreements, while public reaction to the filing of the Insomniac / Live Nation "volunteer" lawsuit has been interesting to watch. The place of class action lawsuits in the world has never been more important, though - and a new series of blog posts exploring the impact they've had on various aspects of modern life should help show just how vital they are. On top of that, we've launched our new Open Settlement Page - read below for more details, and be sure to visit the site!

- Simon Clark, ClassAction.org Writer

Announcing ClassAction.org's Open Settlements Page

You may have noticed that our past few newsletters always ended with links to open class action settlements, giving you the chance to claim settlement money that you otherwise might not have known about. Well, now we've gone a step further - an entire page, updated twice weekly, filled with all the settlement details you need. The page already lists more than 35 resolved cases, with some settlement deadlines stretching into the next six years. Could you be covered by one of the settlements?
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Insomniac and Live Nation are facing a class action lawsuit over their use of unpaid volunteers to staff music gatherings. It's fair to say that, as news broke of the case, public reaction was mixed. Some were vocal in their support of the volunteers, while others criticized what they saw as unnecessary legal action. Many, though, may have been confused. Doesn't "volunteer" mean you don't get paid? How is this illegal? The fact is, the word "volunteer" has a specific definition and companies that misuse the term could be trying to avoid paying wages, and violating federal and state laws in the process. The companies are accused of recordkeeping, minimum wage, and overtime wages violations, among others.
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How Class Actions Changed the World

You don't need to have filed a class action lawsuit, or even claimed part of a settlement, to benefit from a suit's outcome. You might not know this, but almost every aspect of modern life - from the food we eat to the technology we use - has been changed (and, hopefully, improved) through the use of class action lawsuits. Sometimes, class actions are used to reign in companies that are misleading consumers. Sometimes, they're used to make sure consumer protections are improved. The point is, class actions work for you. A new series of blog posts, Class Actions That Changed the World, has begun exploring the ways our lives have been altered by class actions over the last few years. Part one looked at class actions that changed the Internet, and part two, up this week, explored how lawsuits have changed the way we eat. The next post in the series will be coming soon.

Viagra Linked to Skin Cancer

Drugs always come with side effects, but it's the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to investigate and report these risks before placing their products on the market. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that men who took Viagra, available generically as sildenafil, were 84 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who didn't take the drug. Attorneys are now investigating whether lawsuits could be filed seeking compensation for Viagra users who were diagnosed with melanoma.
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