Ugh. This guy.
This dude has identified and exploited the fundamental challenge to class action litigation — there is no one directly involved with the litigation that has a fiduciary relationship with the class members. It’s not crazy to expect the court to look out for them, but that’s very different than the role a judge normally plays, and it’s therefore unsurprising that courts aren’t very good at it.
Within a recent 18-month stretch, Groshek applied to 562 jobs, including one at Time Warner Cable. But it doesn’t appear he had any intention of keeping a job long-term. Instead, his aim seems to be to catch companies violating the law during the hiring process, so he can threaten a class-action lawsuit and demand a settlement.
Based on newly filed court records, his plan is working.
Documents show Groshek has used the tactic to extract at least $230,000 in legal settlements from businesses across the country.
Something I hadn’t thought of before, but this guy appears to be proceeding under the FDCPA provision that provides statutory damages (so he doesn’t have to show damages to recover). This seems like an excellent lesson in the Law of Unintended Consequences. Since statutory damages are usually intended to make litigation less onerous for would-be plaintiffs with potentially limited recovery (the same purpose as class action litigation), perhaps plaintiffs should be forced to choose between class action status or statutory damages.