City Tells Citizens They Can't Question Their Cable Fees.Business Editors DETROIT--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2004 Cable Suit Claims Taxation without Representation; Demands Refund of Excessive Cable Franchise Fees Says Charfoos and Christensen Tomorrow, Thursday, 26 Feb 2004, at 10:00 am in Macomb County 16th District Circuit Court (Mt. Clemens, MI, Judge Peter Maceroni presiding pre·side intr.v. pre·sid·ed, pre·sid·ing, pre·sides 1. To hold the position of authority; act as chairperson or president. 2. To possess or exercise authority or control. 3. ) attorneys for the city of St. Clair Shores will attempt to have the court throw out a class action lawsuit class action lawsuit A lawsuit in which one party or a limited number of parties sue on behalf of a larger group to which the parties belong. For example, investors may bring a class action lawsuit against a brokerage firm that has actively promoted a tax asking the city to make full accountability of cable TV franchise fees under the Headlee Amendment. Jason Thompson Jason Thompson can refer to different people:
Thompson continued, "The plaintiffs want accountability from their local government. By charging excessive cable TV fees, the municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. has taken money that did not belong to it. The money was taken without voter approval. The Plaintiffs want their government to be held accountable for the charges and stop further charges that violate their constitutional rights." The Charfoos & Christensen class action suit claims that citizen subscribers' cable TV bills include "franchise fees". Those fees have been collected as user fees. To be valid, user fees must be spent on the service for which they are collected, in this case, cable TV services. However, the defendant city annual audits reveal that they have collected more in "franchise fees" from their citizens than they have spent on cable TV services for their citizens. The excessive fee collection by the municipalities violates Article 9, sections 31 of the Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. , known as the Headlee Amendment. The franchise fees are really disguised taxes. The Headlee Amendment requires local governments to obtain voter approval for new taxes. The Headlee Amendment also provides Michigan citizens the right to bring a lawsuit to enforce its provisions. Charfoos & Christensen, P.C. represents residents from 12 municipalities across Michigan who have paid their cities' excessive cable TV charges. The municipalities sued include: Troy, Midland, Warren, Grand Rapids Grand Rapids, city (1990 pop. 189,126), seat of Kent co., SW central Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1850. The second largest city in the state, it is a distribution, wholesale, and industrial center for an area that yields fruit, dairy products, farm produce, , Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as , St. Clair Shores, Canton, Royal Oak, Muskegon, Livonia, Plymouth, and Westland. Each of the 12 lawsuits were filed as class actions. Each class is comprised of the cable TV subscribers in each municipality. The Michigan Court Rules provide for class actions in situations where large groups of people have similar legal and factual claims. The rule applies to these cases. All of the cases were filed on November 18, 2003 in the Circuit Courts for the counties of Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, Midland, Muskegon and Kent. The lawsuits seek two remedies: -- A refund of past cable TV charges which are found to be violations of the Headlee Amendment. -- An order prohibiting further collection of the excessive cable TV fees. Charfoos & Christensen, P.C., founded in Detroit in 1929, primarily represents plaintiffs. The firm includes a staff of 12 attorneys, a librarian and other highly skilled para professionals who provide necessary technical support. Charfoos & Christensen represents clients from Michigan and throughout the country in cases and lawsuits such as: Airplane Crash Death and Injury Cases Anesthesia Injury Cases Automobile Accident Injury Cases Birth Trauma Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Burn Injury Lawsuits Cerebral Palsy Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Civil Litigation Class Action Suits Consumer Protection Cases Contingent Fee Plaintiff Commercial Litigation Criminal Defense Discrimination Lawsuits (age, race, sex) Drug Product Liability Litigation Employment Discrimination Litigation Employment Law Fair Labor Standards Act Violations Highway Design Litigation Legal Appeals Legal Malpractice Lawsuits Mass Tort Litigation Medical Malpractice Litigation Multiple/Complex Litigation Non-prescription Drug Product Injury Lawsuits Obstetric/Gynecological Medical Malpractice Litigation Paraplegic Injury Lawsuits Personal Injury Litigation Product Liability Litigation Professional Malpractice Litigation Rollover Accident Cases Slip & Fall Lawsuits Tort Litigation Unsafe Product Cases Wrongful Death Lawsuits Jason J. Thompson is a trial attorney with the firm of Charfoos & Christensen, P.C. He works directly with senior attorney, Lawrence S Lawrence. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,763), Marion co., central Ind., a residential suburb of Indianapolis, on the West Fork of the White River. It has light manufacturing. 2 City (1990 pop. 65,608), seat of Douglas co., NE Kans. . Charfoos. Thompson specializes in complex and serious cases in the areas of Personal Injury and Professional Malpractice and Business Litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . He also handles class action cases and is a leader in the firm's environmental tort practice group. Thompson is a sustaining member of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association where he is on the Executive Board. He has published articles and been a featured speaker in his fields of specialty. He is also a licensed real estate broker. Background: Born Detroit, Michigan “Detroit” redirects here. For other uses, see Detroit (disambiguation). Detroit (IPA: [dɪˈtʰɹɔɪt]) (French: Détroit, meaning strait 1967 Admitted to bar, 1992, Michigan and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan Education: University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission (B.A., Economics 1989) Michigan State University-DCL College of Law (J.D. cum laude cum lau·de adv. & adj. With honor. Used to express academic distinction: graduated cum laude; 25 cum laude graduates. , 1992) Note and Comment Editor: Detroit College of Law Review (1991-1992) Lecturer: Featured Speaker, 2003, Product Liability and Personal Injury Law Conference, KitzbUhel, Austria - Class Action and Multi-District Litigation. Featured Speaker, 2002 Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Seminar: Mass Torts A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few corporate defendants in state or federal court. As the name implies a mass tort includes many plaintiffs and law firms have used the mass media to reach possible plaintiffs. and Environmental Class Actions. Moderator, 2002 Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Seminar: Commercial Litigation for Plaintiff Attorneys. Featured Speaker, 2002 Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Rapid Faire Symposium - Environmental Torts. Judge, 2002 Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law 3rd annual National Trial Advocacy Competition. Featured Speaker, 1998 Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Rapid Fire symposium - EMS cases. Articles: "Mass Tort Settlement Options in Class Actions and Multi-District Litigation," Association of Trial Lawyers of America The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of personal injury attorneys. The ATLA is the world's largest trial bar organization, with about 60,000 members worldwide. , Section on Toxic, Environmental & Pharmaceutical Torts, Vol. 10, No. 3, Spring 2003. "Environmental Pollution: Today's Lawsuits Against Polluters Are Including Claims for Emotional Distress emotional distress n. an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. Damages," 82 Michigan State Bar Journal 30, 2002. "As Is" Clause Holds Water Under The Michigan Underground Leaking Storage Tank Act, 1993 Det. C.L. Rev. 105 "Note, Room for Sobriety Checkpoints Sobriety checkpoints or roadblocks involve law enforcement officials stopping every vehicle (or more typically, every nth vehicle) on a public roadway and investigating the possibility that the driver might be impaired to drive. Under The Fourth Amendment", 1991 Det. C.L. Rev. 859 Mediator: Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County Circuit Courts Memberships: State Bar of Michigan, Member, Committee on Law and the Media (10/2003 - 10/2006) American Inn of Court (2003--) American Trial Lawyers Association Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Million Dollar Advocates Forum Practice Areas: Personal Injury and Professional Malpractice Environmental Tort Commercial Litigation Class Action/Complex Litigation Certifications: Board Certified board certified, adj the status of a dental specialist such as an orthodontist who has become a board diplomate by successfully completing the certification program of the recognized certification board in that area of practice. Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy Honors: Selected by Michigan Lawyers Weekly in 2001 as one of five "Up & Coming Lawyers." Thompson grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Metro Detroit area, nearly completely surrounded by Bloomfield Township; it also borders the city of Birmingham. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,940. , and currently lives in Clarkston with his wife and two children. |
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