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These are two different things... For a criminal probe such as this, any possible fines generally go into the administration's coffers. I know many people like
by matt4077 9y ago
These are two different things...
For a criminal probe such as this, any possible fines generally go into the administration's coffers. I know many people like to believe that prosecutors may be motivated by that money, the people making decisions on prosecution (US attorneys in this case) are so far removed from the general budget of the federal government that it's an absurd idea. The amounts are also negligible in the scheme of things.
Then, there are class action lawsuits, where the settlement is usually divided among a large number of citizen that were actually harmed, and a rather big chunk goes to the lawyer.
Note that the latter is also kinda how the system is supposed to work: almost by definition, class action lawsuits are used in cases where each individual was harmed only slightly, making an individual lawsuit too much of a hassle. The lawyers take on most of the risk of the trial.
In both cases, it's more important where the money is coming from than where it's going: the preventative effects of such costs far outstrips the importance of healing the actual harm that occurred.
- bko 9y agoIm not 100% convinced authorities are not motivated by settlement funds. In ny, the mayor used bank settlement funds to buy iPads for police. It was a significant amount of money. http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/490-14/mayor-de-blasio-commissioner-bratton-district-attorney-vance-major-initiative-to#/0 http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/490-14/mayor-de... Mortgage settlements were large and went to various administrative entities including prosecutors office. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/business/dealbook/24mortgagelist.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/23/business/dealbook/24mortg...
- wavefunction 9y agoEven more simply, a prosecutor can point to settlement or damage amounts as a measure of their 'effectiveness' and there won't be much analysis beyond the dollar amounts involved.
- forapurpose 9y agoCouldn't Lyft also file a civil suit? And would that make redundant a class-action suit by Lyft shareholders?
- enkid 9y agoThere's also straight lawsuits, which is what lyft will probably doing to Uber.
- valuearb 9y agoUS Attorneys need splashy settlements to brag about when they run for the Senate.