James Glassman has an interesting Tech Central article on pernicious class action lawsuits — including one brought by Wal-Mart (against Visa, et al.) that threatens to wreak havoc on the longterm economy: “Wal-Mart’s Classless Act.”

Here’s a snippet:

It’s hardly a surprise that Wal-Mart, whose 1.3 million employees serve 100 million customers weekly, is the most-sued company in America. What’s alarming and puzzling, however, is that Wal-Mart is the lead plaintiff in a suit which, if successful, will make it easier for others to file massive class-action suits against deep-pocketed targets, including Wal-Mart, and to inflict serious harm on the economy as a whole — not a small consideration for the world’s largest retailer, whose revenues last year were $217 billion, or about 2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

The suit, filed originally in 1996 by Wal-Mart and a few other large chains, has been quietly moving through the legal system, becoming what scholars believe is the biggest class-action suit in American history. The case pits practically every retailer in the country against practically every bank. The four million plaintiffs want damages that an appeals court judge says could top $100 billion. But the ultimate bill could be much greater. If the Supreme Court refuses to accept the case (in a decision that could come soon), then class-action suits — already a virus spreading through the U.S. economy — could become an uncontrollable plague. Gigantic industry-vs.-industry suits, packaged and promoted by trial lawyers, will multiply, and shareholders, businesses and consumers will be the victims.

A bit apocalyptic? Perhaps. But it’s suits like this — and the legal system that continues to allow them to flourish by keeping class definitions separate from findings of cause — that lead to bullying tribute movements like the recently-filed slave reparations suit.

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