The cosmetics of trial lawyer greed

Houston Chronicle:

A dozen years of litigation that earned lawyers more than $25 million ended for consumers last week in a short-lived cosmetics trick or treat at malls in Houston and around the country.

The folks who picked up some free makeup or perfume in Houston didn’t seem to know or care about the lawsuit filed on their behalf, alleging that cosmetics manufacturers and sellers had fixed prices and discouraged discounting.

So what was the point?

Cynics would say it was just to make lawyers rich. Supporters of class-action lawsuits say it’s one of the few checks on corporate greed left in our legal system.

For the women, and a few men, who waited 10 to 30 minutes in lines at Houston department stores on Tuesday, it was just kind of fun. Tuesday was the first and, in many cases, the last day of the giveaway that ran far short of its maximum of seven days because all the products were quickly gobbled up.

Few of the people interviewed could summon outrage or even interest in the underlying litigation that led to their being handed something like Lancome Fatale black mascara or a pretty pink box containing 6.7 ounces of Romance shower gel.

“I’ll just take what I can get. I was willing to pay full price,” said Michelle Castro, of Katy, who skipped watching the presidential inauguration in favor of being among the first to run from store to store in the Galleria, picking up giveaway items. She was in line at Neiman Marcus for Christian Dior J’Adore perfume.

Several lawyers involved in class-action cases say the consumers don’t need to be aware of the alleged wrong.

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No, I guess not as long as the trial lawyer collects his fee, he can rationalize it as a deterrence. If it were a war people would be talking about proportionality. The disproportionate cost versus the minimal results suggest a war crime.