Legalzoom Class Action
LegalZoom.com is the subject of a consumer class action lawsuit that charges the web-based business with practicing law without a license, along with several other unfair and deceptive anti-consumer practices. The Arns Law Firm and co-counsel Stebner and Associates filed the action in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 27, 2010. The class representative is the estate of Antony Ferrantino. Ferrantino attempted to use LegalZoom’s services before he passed away. The case is Webster v. Legalzoom.com, Inc., et al.
The class described in court papers includes anyone in California who paid LegalZoom for a living trust, will, living will, advance health care directive or power of attorney.
The class action complaint contends that “LegalZoom’s business is based on nurturing the false sense of security that people do not need to hire a traditional attorney,” said Arns. “The complaint points out that Legal Zoom advertises that you don’t need a real attorney because their work is legally binding and reliable. That’s misleading, as improperly prepared estate planning documents are a ticking time bomb that can result in improper tax consequences and other items that could cost the estate and heirs huge sums.”
Some of the misleading statements by LegalZoom that are detailed in the lawsuit are: that LegalZoom carefully reviews customer documents, that LegalZoom guarantees its customers 100 percent satisfaction with its services, that LegalZoom documents are the same quality as those prepared by an attorney, and that the documents are effective and dependable.
The lawsuit names LegalZoom co-founder Robert Shapiro as a defendant. Shapiro appears on the LegalZoom web page and in the business’s TV ads. He is best known for being one of O.J. Simpson’s attorneys.
We The People Class Action Settlement
The Arns Law Firm and co-counsel Stebner and Associates filed a class action lawsuit on September 19, 2007. The claim asserted that defendants Dollar Financial Corp.; Dollar Financial Group, Inc.; We The People USA, Inc.; We The People LLC; We The People Forms and Services Centers USA, Inc.; and certain individuals are responsible for allegedly unfair, unlawful and fraudulent business practices in the We The People franchise system. This included various alleged misrepresentations, omissions and unlawful acts having to do with the provision of document preparation services in California. We The People is a document preparation service that, at one time, had over 60 locations in California, as well as many more nationwide. The action is Blau v. Dollar Financial Corp., et al., Case No. RG 07-347097.
On June 11, 2010, the Alameda County Superior Court granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement and certified two settlement classes which together include all persons who paid for and received document preparation services involving living trusts, wills, probate matters, quit claim deeds, and advance health care directives and/or powers of attorney from a We The People store located in the State of California at any time between September 19, 2003 and May 27, 2010. Defendants deny all of plaintiffs’ allegations of wrongdoing and contend they acted in all ways lawfully under California laws and regulations. The terms and conditions of the proposed settlement are set forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement and all amendments thereto (the “Settlement Agreement”) on file with the Superior Court and summarized in the Notice. The time period in which the class members may make claims expires on August 16, 2010. A copy of the Notice and its associated Claim Form is here. |
