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Settlement reached in MGM DVD class action lawsuit [merged]

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Settlement reached in MGM DVD class action lawsuit [merged]

Old 01-13-05, 12:16 AM
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I ain't participating in this damn class action lawsuit. I'm far from a lover of big corporations, but this is just wrong. It's disappointing that a company can get sued for issuing widescreen DVDs.
Old 01-13-05, 12:29 AM
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$7

I have no love for lawyers either, but the case is about false statements claiming that the widescreen dvds display more image than 4:3. I am going to trade in mine for the $7.
Old 01-17-05, 07:16 PM
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what we need to do, for those who missed out on jonny mnemonic, last action hero, and ...and justice for all ws/fs dvds, someone make a scan, buy the fullscreen only one then insert the artwork that says this has both, say hey you liars ! oh that would be awesome !

mods, if this is unacceptable, delete. just don't ban me please !
Old 01-23-05, 07:33 PM
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From how I read this, we send in disks by March 31st, yet the final settlement court hearing is in May. Meanwhile, they have our disks! Does this make any sense? What if the settlement changes? Do we get the same movies back? I like the ones I have like Four Weddings and a Funeral (although I heard that there is a SE in Europe). This whole thing is weird.
Old 01-24-05, 09:41 PM
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Hrm...

Hrm...

I'm considering this as an option to remove about 10 movies from my shelf that are either re-released in a better edition or are something I don't think I'll ever watch again.

That won't make much of a dent in my collection, but the $72 or so I'll get for them will at least buy me the Director's Cuts of both Two Towers and Return Of The King...
Old 01-25-05, 12:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Janitor
I love all the lawyer bashing.

So you people (you know who you are) are assuming that some lawyer went around and was looking for some poor schuck to get involved in a frivolous lawsuit in his name?

Come on people. The lawyer was looked up by the plaintif, and he was asked by that anus if he could get him some money. Be real - the a$$hole who engaged the lawyer is a leech and you're blaming the hired guns.

Do you call the guy who flips your greaseburgers at McDonald's a leech because he charges for his time?



/r
Lawyers ALL THE TIME go searching/advertising for suckers (I mean clients) to give them a excuse to file class action lawsuits! The original person went to a lawyer to file a lawsuit against MGM and guess who turned it into a class action suit? The lawyer of course. Class action law suits are a creation of lawyers that allows them to make millions while leaving their clients usually with useless settlements like coupons for less then $10 or so! In this case the lawyers get who know how much overpriced amount and the clients get a lousy $7.10 for a DVD that they paid $15-$20 for!

Lawyers have the most dis-honorable profession and most are not to be trusted at any level (i.e personally or professionally).
Old 01-26-05, 01:13 PM
  #82  
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MGM Class Action Settlement for listed DVDs...

I didn't see this anywhere here but just saw it on another board...anyone know anything more about it?


http://mgmdvdsettlement.com/

MGM has been is subject of a Class Action settlement. MGMmarketed DVDs as widescreen, when in fact the DVDs are just P&S with the top and bottom chopped off.

325 DVD movies are included in the list, and you can get a true WS replacement or claim $7.10 per DVD. To request a Claim Form, you must call 1-800-285-2168.
Old 01-26-05, 01:29 PM
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wow - I have alot of those titles... thanks.
Old 01-26-05, 01:36 PM
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Thanks for the link, I have some on that list. I never noticed that they did this, I'll have to pay more attention.
Old 01-26-05, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by ngp
I didn't see this anywhere here
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402532

Originally Posted by ngp
MGM has been is subject of a Class Action settlement. MGMmarketed DVDs as widescreen, when in fact the DVDs are just P&S with the top and bottom chopped off.
False. They were sued because the case showed that widescreen DVDs had more information on the sides when, in fact, the titles in question were open-matte transfers, which is not the same thing as pan and scan with the top and bottom chopped off.

It's a pointless lawsuit which will, at best, accomplish nothing and, at worst, make studios more reluctant to release widescreen DVDs lest they be sued for mislabelling them. It's best not to participate, since there's nothing wrong with the DVDs other than a mistake on the case of some of them.

Originally Posted by ngp
325 DVD movies are included in the list, and you can get a true WS replacement or claim $7.10 per DVD.
That's false too, the list of replacements hasn't been made public yet (unless I missed something), but they're not replacing the WS with "true" WS because they already were. Please don't engage in this sort of baseless hyperbole, it'll just scare and confuse people.

Last edited by ThatGuamGuy; 01-26-05 at 01:55 PM.
Old 01-26-05, 01:51 PM
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I guess I'm confused....are they now producing the REAL WS movies? I knowI have Spaceballs, Return of the Living Dead and a few more. Now, what are they going to replace them with? Will these be anamorphic replacements? I nkow I can get $7.10 back, however, i can get $5 from blockbuster with NO hassle.
Old 01-26-05, 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by ngp
I didn't see this anywhere here but just saw it on another board...anyone know anything more about it?


http://mgmdvdsettlement.com/

MGM has been is subject of a Class Action settlement. MGMmarketed DVDs as widescreen, when in fact the DVDs are just P&S with the top and bottom chopped off.

325 DVD movies are included in the list, and you can get a true WS replacement or claim $7.10 per DVD. To request a Claim Form, you must call 1-800-285-2168.
Gee, I can't wait to hear the complaints when the "corrected" DVD's look exactly the same.
Old 01-26-05, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by DJ_Longfellow
I guess I'm confused....are they now producing the REAL WS movies?
They always were REAL (other than anamorphic in many cases) WS.

I knowI have Spaceballs, Return of the Living Dead and a few more. Now, what are they going to replace them with?
Check the other thread for more info, I don't think they've release the list of potential replacement discs yet.

Will these be anamorphic replacements?
Not unless the DVD is already anamorphic.

I nkow I can get $7.10 back, however, i can get $5 from blockbuster with NO hassle.
If you want the movie, keep the movie. There's nothing wrong with the discs. If you don't want the movie anymore, it's up to you to decide how best to get money for it. $7.10 certainly isn't a bad return on some of those discs (especially since 'Spaceballs' is being reissued later this year).
Old 01-26-05, 01:55 PM
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it actually says, "Class Members have the right to return to the Claims Administrator one copy of each DVD title manufactured by or on behalf of MGM which was created for a film shot in the aspect ratio of 1.85 to 1 or 1.66 to 1 (“Eligible DVD”) for either (1) a new MGM DVD from a list of 325 titles or (2) a cash refund of $7.10. "

note... must return / exchange the DVD(s)
Old 01-26-05, 01:58 PM
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i've got 10 so far that i know of.
Old 01-26-05, 01:58 PM
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Same here - they're gonna get a HUGE mailing from me!
Old 01-26-05, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by RockyMtnBri
Same here - they're gonna get a HUGE mailing from me!
I have to ask, why bother returning discs which aren't faulty simply because it's possible to do so? I'm just curious.
Old 01-26-05, 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ThatGuamGuy
I have to ask, why bother returning discs which aren't faulty simply because it's possible to do so? I'm just curious.
I'd wager a guess that some folks who click on this thread won't bother reading your responses or the facts of the case for that matter. Personally, having just finished reading the details (available as a .pdf download in the original link), I'm of the opinion (as are you) that this is all pointless and will do more harm than good.

I still have 5 or 6 of the films listed (probably had 20 or more before trading) and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the DVDs... Other than the usual anamorphic transfer issues and the like.
Old 01-26-05, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by ThatGuamGuy
I have to ask, why bother returning discs which aren't faulty simply because it's possible to do so? I'm just curious.
For those who want to get rid of some of there old dvd's it's a good deal. Unless you can find somewhere better to get 7.10 trade in.
Old 01-26-05, 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by roger_d
For those who want to get rid of some of there old dvd's it's a good deal. Unless you can find somewhere better to get 7.10 trade in.
You do realize that that settlement hasn't been approved yet, right? You'll be sending in the discs and *possibly* getting the money in about three to four months (the settlement will be reviewed in May), if it gets approved, which I don't think is very likely. Remember, nothing is actually wrong with the discs, and surely MGM will be able to find many, many people to testify to it (given the number of people in the DVD community sounding off on the stupidity of the lawsuit) if they want to; they might just figure it's easier to get it out of the way now and not have to deal with the nuisance again. (Which is why you're automatically enrolled by buying the discs and have to opt-out if you're going to want to sue them later over this.)

I mean, feel free, I just don't see why anybody would bother. How much credit does Blockbuster give on trade-ins?

Last edited by ThatGuamGuy; 01-26-05 at 02:28 PM.
Old 01-26-05, 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by ngp
MGM has been is subject of a Class Action settlement. MGMmarketed DVDs as widescreen, when in fact the DVDs are just P&S with the top and bottom chopped off.
Really? There's a lot of titles on that list, and mine didn't seem bad at all. Something like that would be quite noticeable I imagine. That means that we've never seen the OAR of the film, but a cropped version of a cropped version?
Old 01-26-05, 03:10 PM
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That'll learn 'em.
Old 01-26-05, 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by MasterCXtreme
Really?
No.
Old 01-26-05, 03:45 PM
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The whole thing is ridiculous IMO.
Old 01-26-05, 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted by ThatGuamGuy
You do realize that that settlement hasn't been approved yet, right? You'll be sending in the discs and *possibly* getting the money in about three to four months (the settlement will be reviewed in May), if it gets approved, which I don't think is very likely. Remember, nothing is actually wrong with the discs, and surely MGM will be able to find many, many people to testify to it (given the number of people in the DVD community sounding off on the stupidity of the lawsuit) if they want to; they might just figure it's easier to get it out of the way now and not have to deal with the nuisance again. (Which is why you're automatically enrolled by buying the discs and have to opt-out if you're going to want to sue them later over this.)

I mean, feel free, I just don't see why anybody would bother. How much credit does Blockbuster give on trade-ins?
It's a settlement; MGM isn't going to do anything to try to derail it. The only reason it might not get approved would be if the Judge thinks the class members aren't getting a fair settlement.

And it's standard procedure for a class to automatically include everyone who meets the class definition and require individuals who don't want to be in the class to opt out. It's not any kind of special tactic by MGM or the plaintiff's lawyers.

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