Are Class-Action Lawsuits becoming the newest Get-Rich Scheme?

Maybe it’s just me but lately I’ve been noticing an increase in class-action lawsuits being brought by attorney’s on behalf of those who would otherwise have no voice or way to receive justice.  While I can support this need for equality, I also can’t help but think that there may be more to it than meets the eye.

I say this because I was once asked to join a class-action lawsuit where there had been proven illegal activity and having lost a generous amount of money; personally, the received settlement was miniscule compared to the amount which was supposedly set aside by the judge.  The set-aside amount of in the millions yet my portion of the settlement amounted to less than $20.  I then had to ask the question of just how much the attorney’s representing the plaintiffs received.
I fear that the same thing may happen in the case of Black Farmers getting their justice.  Michael Hewlett of the Winston-Salem Journal reports in his article that a Judge has approved a second settlement for black farmers in the amount of $1.25 billion dollars.  “The lawsuit said from 1983 to 1997, the U.S. Department of Agriculture denied black farmers loans and other benefits and failed to investigate claims of racial discrimination, violating federal civil rights laws.”  My fear is that before any farmer receives a dime, those representing them will have taken theirs leaving very little to be split between those who were actually harmed by this. 
My thoughts go back to the time of my father and mother who started out share-cropping in the 1960’s but because they were also overlooked and ignored lost everything and all that they have left is the memories of what once was.  They may have been calculated but never compensated.  The same can also be said about those who fought in the Civil War, promised forty acres and a mule but got nothing. One can only wonder how much farther this nation would be regarding equality and race relations had those in power with the authority to make these promises actually lived up to them.

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