SECURING SHARE OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS DOES NOT REQUIRE REPRESENTATION
In a press release issued on February 16, 2024, the Office of the New York State Attorney General announced that it had sent a case-and-desist letter to a New York City law firm, “H&H.” Apparently, the firm’s advertising offered to assist Uber and Lyft drivers with securing their share of settlement funds totaling some $328 million – representing back pay owed to those drivers – in exchange for a 15% fee.
According to the AG, the law firm’s advertising deceptively suggested that the process was “complicated and time-consuming,” and wrongfully implied that their representation would somehow facilitate the claims process. (The AG’s office further characterized the firm’s charge as an “excessive or illegal fee.”)
In a written statement, AG Letitia James noted that, “Asking hardworking drivers — many of whom are immigrants and people of color — to pay a fee for their rightfully earned wages is unacceptable …. [H&H] is trying to get rideshare drivers to pay for an unnecessary service, but we will not allow them to get away with it. Uber and Lyft drivers should only trust settlement information from my office, settlement administrator Rust Consulting, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. I encourage anyone with knowledge of others attempting to charge drivers for their settlement payments to reach out to my office.”
Looks like that law firm could now use a lift of its own ….
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