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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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Michael Recently, a letter arrived at the house again, which, in its neutral white envelope with an address window, looked like an advertisement for a new credit card. However, inside were several densely written pages filled with legal jargon. As is often the case in America, the legalese was translated for the average person, and at the top of the letter it read: "You are *not* being sued.
We were merely informed that our fitness center "24 Hour Fitness" had become involved in unfair business practices. The company had not processed cancellations from their monthly paying customers immediately, but rather a month later.
In America, such a thing doesn't happen. While there is no lack of imaginative entrepreneurial spirit to circumvent the law and extract money from people using all possible and impossible methods, consumer protection in America is one of the best in the world.
It seems there are some encoding issues in the text you provided. Here's an attempt to translate it with the likely intended characters:
"When a company crosses the line again, consumers have the option of a so-called..."
If you can provide the correct characters or more context, I can offer a more accurate translation. "Class-Action" Legal proceedings. Resourceful private individuals find out who has been harmed by these business practices, seek out a law firm, and then sue the company on behalf of all those affected.
If a company manufactures defective child car seats, engages in misleading advertising, or fails to deliver promised services, it will quickly face consequences and, if the claims are found to be justified, will have to make substantial compensation payments.
The case is either tried in the court of the respective state or, if the case crosses state borders or violates federal law, in a federal court. To be accepted, it must meet certain criteria. For example, there must not only be a justifiable and precisely quantifiable damage, but the number of those affected must be so large that individual court proceedings would not be practical. If the court finds the company guilty and orders it to pay, the compensation amount is distributed to the affected parties after deducting expenses. These individuals then unexpectedly receive mail informing them that someone has conducted and won a lawsuit on their behalf! If an affected person then submits the form enclosed with the letter, they are awarded their share of the settlement.
a company sees a lawsuit worth millions or even billions coming its way, it often settles out of court and offers compensation on its own, as such cases often end in favor of the consumers. And if a company acts particularly maliciously and criminally, there is even the risk that the court will impose "punitive damages," which go far beyond the actual damage caused. In the case of BMW versus Gore In 1996, BMW had to pay $2,000,000 because the company sold their repaired cars in North America as new. The plaintiff's damage was only $4,000, but the court was so outraged by this audacious business practice of the Bavarians that it showed them who was boss.
In the case of "24 Hour Fitness," an out-of-court settlement was reached, likely because the company wanted to avoid the risk of a trial. As you can see in Figure 2, every customer can now choose from four possible compensation options, including a free half-hour private training session offered by 24 Hour Fitness! We can certainly appreciate that.
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