Posts Tagged ‘ AG Edwards ’

Stephen King Settlement Nets more than AG Edwards…Huh?

April 1st, 2010. By AbiK

Not often that you see your boss’ name connected to a lawsuit. Then again, when you have a boss whose name—Stephen King—is the same as one the world’s most well-known and prolific writers, you’re bound to see the name in all sorts of places. The fact that this one was for a lawsuit settlement caught my eye—hell, wouldn’t it catch yours?

But, alas, wrong Stephen King. Nothing to forward over to John (also my boss), Jaime, Jason, Jonathan, Jane, Heidi, Gord, Lucy, Brenda, Hana, Michelle and Deb with the requisite “Holy Sh-t have you seen this?!?” subject line. Maybe next time.

But still worth a post.

Why?

Well, first the details. Yes—the lawsuit settlement does have to do with Stephen King, the writer.

Seems when his book, “Cell”, launched back in 2006, some folks got unsolicited text messages to their cell phones that advertised the book and  the Stephen King VIP Mobile Club.

And that was in violation of a federal statute.

Here’s what caught my eye though—straight from the settlement agreement notice:

YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A $175.00 CASH PAYMENT

Yes, $175.00.

Keep in mind, I read this on the heels of writing about the roughly $20-per-person AG Edwards settlement.

Just try to grapple with the juxtaposition here—you’ve got a text message snafu that’s worth (potentially) $175 per claimant and a loss of life savings (alleged by numerous AG Edwards claimants) that’s worth a McDonald’s family meal.

I’m not going to argue that receiving unsolicited text messages is right—but whenever I receive a spammy text message (unless of course it’s from that other Stephen King I work for) I don’t even read it and I hit “Delete” and when it asks me if I really want to delete the message, I hit “Damn right I do”.

However, had I lost my life savings, there’s a bit more than a 3-second keypad annoyance at stake.

So I’m hoping that the folks who were AG Edwards account holders during the AG Edwards class action class period (try to say that fast) of 2000-2005 were also those who were receiving unsolicited text messages from Stephen King in 2006. That way maybe they can afford a family meal somewhere that comes with printed menus and real flatware.

PS—if you haven’t submitted your Stephen King text settlement claim yet, you can do so at satterfieldtextsettlement.com.

Tags: AG Edwards, Stephen King
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

AG Edwards Settlement has Plaintiffs Ticked Off

March 29th, 2010. By AbiK

And I have to say, I’d be ticked too.

Plaintiffs got a little gift in their mailboxes last week: they received notice of the proposed settlement from the AG Edwards class action. Guess how much some plaintiffs are receiving? The initial report of the proposed settlement put the average payout at $20-25 customer. One commenter at LawyersAndSettlements.com quotes his notice as saying he’ll receive $20.42. You can read the notice yourself at agedwardsclassactionsettlement.com. (Note the name change of the website—prior to the proposed settlement, the site was agedwardsclassaction.com; the URL has been updated to reflect that the case now has a propsed settlement.)

Keep in mind, if you’ve read the comments that came flowing in from our post on where the AG Edwards class action suit was heading, many of the Class Members claim they lost their “life savings” compliments of AG Edwards. And remember, this was back during a class period of 2000 – 2005—not post-2008 when we all saw our savings take a dive.

The AG Edwards class action had been brought against the brokerage firm in 2005 claiming that AG Edwards breached its fiduciary duties to the Plaintiffs (folks who owned AG Edwards accounts) and that AG Edwards was “unjustly enriched by receiving millions of dollars in improper payments from mutual fund companies whose funds were held by Plaintiffs“. The Class Period had covered five years—and getting to a proposed settlement then took five years.

That’s a long time to wait for some resolution and ideally, restitution.

Another aspect of the proposed settlement is what the lawyers’ take will be. Apparently it’s $21 million—plus $600,000 in expenses. That’s 35% of the total proposed settlement of $60 million—and Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AG Edwards, AG Edwards Settlement, Class Action, Mutual Funds, Wells Fargo
Posted in Class Action, Emerging Issues, Financial, Securities, Settlement | 48 Comments »

AG Edwards Class Action – Update 1

November 11th, 2009. By LucyC

We’ve had a lot of interest from you about the status of the A.G. Edwards class action and what, if any mutual funds may be involved. This is what we’ve managed to find out—we hope it helps. We’ll continue to follow this for you, so keep your questions coming. 

First off, why where you notified about the AG Edwards (AGE) Class Action? 

According to official documentation provided on the AGE class action website:

“Records show that you maintained a brokerage account at A.G. Edwards in which you may have held shares of any mutual funds that were advised by, distributed by, or in any way related to companies that compensated A.G. Edwards based, at least in part, upon the holdings of A.G. Edwards’ clients in the respective mutual funds during any part of the period beginning on April 12, 2000 and ending on April 12, 2005. This notice explains that the Court has allowed, or “certified” a class action lawsuit that will affect you if you are a member of the Class.”

So, a class has been certified, which means the lawsuit can proceed as a class action. No determination of right or wrong has been made—and that could be decided in court. Again, according to the official documentation: 

“The Court has not decided whether A.G. Edwards or the Plaintiffs are correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Plaintiffs will win or lose the case. The Plaintiffs must prove their claims at a trial scheduled to start on December 14, 2009.”

So what AG Edwards mutual funds qualify?

According to the documentation, the following is a list of mutual funds “that might be involved:”  Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AG Edwards
Posted in Class Action, Financial | 26 Comments »

A.G. Edwards…Going Somewhere?

November 9th, 2009. By LucyC

Way back in 2005, a class action lawsuit was filed against AG Edwards (now part of Wachovia), alleging that the investment company was not playing by the rules. On Friday—yes that’s over four years later—a website popped up with some information on the AG Edwards class action suit. 

Just in case the details of the suit don’t come flooding back—here’s what you need to know: 

What are the Allegations Against AG Edwards?

“This lawsuit is about whether A.G. Edwards breached its fiduciary duties to Plaintiffs, owners of A.G. Edwards accounts which held shares of mutual funds, and all others similarly situated, and whether, as a result of those breaches, A.G. Edwards has been unjustly enriched by receiving millions of dollars in payments from mutual fund companies whose mutual funds were held by Plaintiffs. A.G. Edwards denies these allegations and the Court has not decided whether A.G. Edwards or the Plaintiffs are correct.” 

Are You In or Out?

Are you eligible to join the AG Edwards class action lawsuit? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AG Edwards, Wachovia
Posted in Class Action, Financial | 54 Comments »