What is the biggest lawsuit ever?

Asked by: Bonita Price  |  Last update: December 3, 2022
Score: 4.1/5 (68 votes)

$206 billion
The largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history occurred in 1998 between the attorneys general of 46 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories, and the nation's four largest tobacco companies.

Who has the biggest lawsuit in the world?

5 Biggest Class Action Settlements or Verdicts Ever
  • #1. Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (1998): $206 Billion. ...
  • #2. Enron Securities Class Action (2006): $7.2 Billion. ...
  • #3. Worldcom Securities Class Action (2005): $6.2 Billion. ...
  • #4. Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill Litigation (2001): $5 Billion. ...
  • #5.

What is the most famous lawsuit?

What are the most famous business lawsuits in history?
  • Liebeck v McDonalds. This is one of the most famous lawsuits won against a business. ...
  • Apple v Samsung. Two titans of the technology world have been battling for a long time over the features of their phones. ...
  • Rosenberg v Google. ...
  • Peters v Universal Studios.

What is the largest direct action lawsuit in US history?

One example can be a customer suing a company to repeal an action deemed an infringement on the rights of the customer as a citizen and thus a subject to federal or state law. The largest direct-action lawsuit in history ($333 million) was the subject matter of the motion picture Erin Brockovich.

What is the biggest lawsuit payout ever?

$206 billion

The largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history occurred in 1998 between the attorneys general of 46 states, Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories, and the nation's four largest tobacco companies.

Top 10 Biggest Lawsuits in History

40 related questions found

What was the most expensive lawsuit?

The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA): $206 billion

The Tobacco MSA was entered into during November of 1998, and is the largest settlement in history.

What is the stupidest lawsuit?

They Sued for What? The Dumbest Lawsuits Ever
  • Inmate Sues State for His Flatulence/Gas.
  • Man Sues Microsoft Over Undeleted Files.
  • Thief rewarded for injury.
  • Woman Sues Store for Fall.
  • Seriously, they got how much?
  • Car dealership sued for nothing…. and loses.
  • Man sues Michael Jordan.

What is the craziest court case?

The Seven Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of All Time
  1. Man Sues Budweiser for Failing to Help Him Attract Beautiful Women. ...
  2. Pennsylvania Graduate School Student Sues Teacher Over C+ Grade. ...
  3. The McDonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit. ...
  4. Man Sues Himself and Asks the State to Pay. ...
  5. A $10 Dry Cleaning Bill Turns Into a $67 Million Civil Lawsuit.

Do celebs get sued?

That being said, the celebrity lawsuits that have stood the test of time are those that made their mark on Hollywood history, either shedding light on longstanding issues of sexual harassment and assault, like Rose McGowan's lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein or Kesha's lawsuit against Dr.

Who has paid the biggest criminal fine in history?

Pfizer has often been reported as paying the largest criminal fine in history - with the pharmaceutical company falling foul of US regulators in 2009.

How much has Pfizer paid out in lawsuits?

Pfizer Lawsuits

Pfizer paid $2.3 billion in fines, penalties, and settlement for illegal marketing claims.

What did Apple sue Samsung for?

During the latest damages retrial, in May in San Jose, a jury determined that Samsung had to pay Apple $539 million for infringing five patents with Android phones it sold in 2010 and 2011. That was on top of $548 million that Samsung had already paid.

What was Pfizer's criminal fine for?

WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its painkiller Bextra, which has been withdrawn. It was the largest health care fraud settlement and the largest criminal fine of any kind ever.

What are the easiest things to sue for?

The law must support your contention that you were harmed by the illegal actions of another.
  • Bad Debt. A type of contract case. ...
  • Breach of Contract. ...
  • Breach of Warranty. ...
  • Failure to Return a Security Deposit. ...
  • Libel or Slander (Defamation). ...
  • Nuisance. ...
  • Personal Injury. ...
  • Product Liability.

Who is the most litigious person in the US?

Jonathan Lee Riches, 36, bills himself as the most litigious person alive. He's claimed that the Guinness Book of World Records wanted to list him as having filed the most lawsuits; he sued Guinness in response, arguing that they had miscounted the number of his legal actions.

What is the most frivolous lawsuit?

Starbucks: The Result

Named the most frivolous lawsuit of 2016 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, the $5 million lawsuit was dismissed by a Chicago federal judge in late 2016.

Can you sue a celebrity?

All this may be true, but there is a down side to being a celebrity; being the target of a lawsuit. Any time you are in the public eye, you can easily be sued. Of course, there are times when the celebrity finds themselves doing the suing.

What makes a lawsuit frivolous?

A frivolous claim, often called a bad faith claim, refers to a lawsuit, motion or appeal that is intended to harass, delay or embarrass the opposition. A claim is frivolous when the claim lacks any arguable basis either in law or in fact Neitze v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989).

What are the Stella Awards?

What are the Stella Awards? The Stella Awards recognize hotels, convention centers, conference centers, airlines, cruise lines, DMO/CVBs, and DMCs that consistently deliver quality service and innovation to meeting and events professionals.

What is the longest running lawsuit?

Lasting for more than fifty years, the Myra Clark Gaines litigation is known as the longest case in US history, beginning around 1834 and culminating in a ruling in her favor and against the City of New Orleans in 1889.

Who is the most expensive lawyer?

Without further ado, here's the current list of the top 12 wealthiest, practicing lawyers:
  1. Wichai Thongtang. Net Worth: $1.8 billion.
  2. Charlie Munger. Net Worth: $1.6 billion.
  3. Bill Neukom. Net Worth: $850 million.
  4. Judge Judy. Net Worth: $440 million.
  5. Robert Shapiro. Net Worth: $120 million.
  6. Willie E. Gary. ...
  7. John Branca. ...
  8. Roy Black.

What are the biggest lawsuits?

The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement is also the biggest civil litigation settlement in US history. At USD246 billion, it is unlikely to be beaten any time soon. The case was brought against all the major tobacco companies by more than 40 US states.

How much will I get from the Apple settlement?

Important Dates. Under the proposed settlement, Apple will make a minimum, non-reversionary payment of $310,000,000 and a maximum payment of up to $500,000,000, depending on the number of claims submitted.

Who won Apple or Samsung?

On August 24, 2012 the jury returned a verdict largely favorable to Apple. It found that Samsung had willfully infringed on Apple's design and utility patents and had also diluted Apple's trade dresses related to the iPhone. The jury awarded Apple $1.049 billion in damages and Samsung zero damages in its counter suit.