Do class action lawsuits bring about change?

Class action lawsuits are usually filed when a company has wronged a significant number of it’s customers with it’s business practices. It’s meant to bring justice to victims, but also send a message to the company about their behavior. These cases tend to be in the news, but do we pay enough attention to them?

For example, CapitalOne just lost a class action lawsuit for the third time about their unfair overdraft practices. The THIRD TIME! That’s insane to me. Clearly the punishments here are not harsh enough to deter the behavior. It’s an interesting problem, but I’m not sure what the solution is. On one hand, yes, we should punish banks for breaking rules, but in punishing them financially what impact does that have on the stakeholders?

You might argue that people in leadership positions or board members should be removed or replaced if the company is found guilty, but then is government over-stepping their boundaries and hindering our ability to pursue happiness? It’s tough and I’m not sure exactly what the answer is.


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