Abstract:
The present invention provides a method and system for monitoring a plurality of sources meeting predetermined criteria and providing a user the data meeting the criteria. The method and system are particularly suited for monitoring sources potentially containing information related to class actions and providing the user with data related to class actions.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates generally to providing monitoring and notification services and more particularly to providing a comprehensive, up-to-date, and easily accessible method and system for monitoring legal issues or cases, such as class actions, and notification of related deadlines via a computer network.  
       DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002]     Class action lawsuits are a way for similarly situated individuals and entities to seek legal redress. Class actions often are filed by a single plaintiff on behalf of itself and others. The other members of the purported class may not be aware that the litigation exists. The presiding court will determine whether the plaintiff represents a certifiable “class” of individuals and/or entities and what, specifically, defines the class. A class can be certified for purposes of litigation and settlement. For example, a class may be defined as anyone who purchased products from the defendant during a specified period of time.  
         [0003]     Once a litigation or settlement class is approved, the court directs the plaintiff to provide notice to all members of the class concerning their legal rights as a class member at that juncture of the proceedings. Multiple notices can be mailed to class members over the course of a class action lawsuit. The first notice is designed generally to inform entities of their membership in a class and ability to “opt-out” or exclude themselves from the class. Additional notices may be used to inform class members of various other developments affecting the interests of class members, such as the dates by which objections to settlements must be filed and proofs of claims must be submitted, which are mechanisms employed to allocate and distribute settlement funds among class members. Missing any of the court established deadlines can irrevocably alter a class member&#39;s rights.  
         [0004]     As it can be difficult to initially determine who or what entity is a class member, the type of notice given may vary depending on the circumstances of the case. For example, the court may determine that rather than mailing notices to all customers of a defendant, notice would be more effectively disseminated by simply publishing the notice of the class action in those publications read by potential class members (e.g., local newspapers, industry publications, among others). As a result, many potential class members will often not be aware of the class action and will therefore not be able to adequately protect their rights.  
         [0005]     For many companies, businesses, or even certain individuals, remaining informed about class actions can be difficult. Continually monitoring publications and mailings for notices of class actions is burdensome. Additionally, even if a business, company, or individual receives notice of a class action, it can be time consuming to determine whether or not the particular entity or individual qualifies as a class member. As class membership is often determined by whether or not the company purchased certain products or services from the defendant during a specific time period, the company may be required to comb through its records every time it receives notice of a class action.  
         [0006]     What is needed is a system and method for monitoring and notifying entities and/or individuals of class actions and deadlines related to class actions.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention provides a method and system for monitoring a plurality of sources meeting predetermined criteria and providing a user data gather from the sources meeting the criteria. The method and system are particularly suited for monitoring sources containing information potentially related to class actions and providing the user with data related to class actions. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is flowchart representing the steps in a method for monitoring sources according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  shows a screen display of a user interface for inputting data according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  is flowchart representing the steps in a method for gathering user specific information according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart representing the steps in a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  is an exemplary report of class actions provided to users according to the method of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating the Web site of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0015]      FIGS. 8-12  show screen displays of various pages of the Web site illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which will serve to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description provides sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be used and various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of this invention is defined in part by the appended claims.  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The system  100  is described in connection with monitoring class actions and notifying users of relevant class actions and class action deadlines. The invention, however, is not so limited and can be used to monitor and keep users informed of other information. For example, the invention can be used with respect to bankruptcies or developments in state and/or national laws affecting the rights of and actions required by users (e.g., companies or other entities and individuals), such as laws related to human resources and employment policies, or any communications that are targeted to a class of individuals.  
         [0018]     With the system  100 , a user  121  can access information at a single location in an organized manner. In the illustrated embodiment, the system provides the user  121  with access to information regarding class actions at a single location, so that the user  121  is better informed of class actions that may affect the user&#39;s  121  rights. The user is thereby relieved of the burden of tracking and accessing multiple sources to obtain the information. Additionally, the system  100  can notify the user  121  of class actions likely to be of particular interest to the user  121  as well as new class actions and developments in existing class actions. Accordingly, the system  100  enables the user  121  to be better and more efficiently informed.  
         [0019]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , system  100  includes at least one data storage device  102 , such as a database, and at least one server  101 . The system  100  also includes a monitoring module  170  and a notification module  160 . The modules  160 ,  170  can be computer program applications running on the server  101 . Alternatively, they can be installed as computer programs or other hardware logic devices or any processor-based platform, including a PDA, laptop or desktop microprocessor or a suitable communications device having processor capability (e.g., router, fax, among others), among others. The monitoring module  170  monitors various data sources and selects data to be saved to the database  102  according to a predetermined set of criteria as described in more detail below. The notification module  160  creates reports of the stored data and sends the report to users as described in more detail below. The system  100  is managed by a system manager  180  that configures and controls the components of the system  100 .  
         [0020]     A Web site  150  is also hosted by the server  101 . Alternatively, the Web site  150  can be hosted by another server (not shown). The Web site  150  provides a user interface by which a user  121  can interact with the system  100  to access the data stored in the database  102 . In the exemplified embodiment, the user  121  uses a client computer  120  to access the system via the Internet  110 . Alternatively, the client computer  120  can be part of the same computer network as the system  100 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart depicting a method for gathering data for storage in the database  102 . Steps  201 - 204  illustrate an exemplary method by which the monitoring module  170  gathers data to be stored in the database  102 . A predetermined group of sources is monitored by the monitoring module  170  in step  201 . Typically the sources are chosen by the system manager  180 . In the illustrated embodiment, the monitored sources are Internet-based legal news publications related to class actions, on-line newspapers, claims administrators&#39; Web sites, plaintiffs&#39; bar Web sites and other Internet-based sources. Examples of web-based legal news publications include Mealey&#39;s Litigation Report: Class Actions, BNA: Class Action Litigation Report, Andrews: Class Action Litigation Reporter, and Class Action Law Monitor (Strafford Publishing). On-line newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and USA Today, are monitored. Claims administrators and their respective Web sites include The Garden City Group, Inc.: www.gardencitygroup.com, Gilardi &amp; Co., LLC: www.gilardi.com, HR&amp;S Claims Administrator: www.hrsclaimsadministration.com, Berdon &amp; Co.: www.berdonllp.com, and Complete Claim Solutions: www.completeclaimsolutions.com. Certain pages of Web sites of the Plaintiffs&#39; Bar are monitored, for example, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld &amp; Toll: www.cmht.com (cmh&amp;t news), Milberg Weiss Bershad &amp; Schulman LLP: www.milbergweiss.com (current settlements), Hagens &amp; Berman: www.hagens-berman.com (featured cases, recent developments), Lieff Cabraser Heimann &amp; Bernstein: www.lieffcabraser.com (news, class notices, newsletter), Bernstein Litowitz Berger &amp; Grossmann LLP: www.blbglaw.com (cases: recent settlements), Barrack Rodos &amp; Bacine: www.barrack.com (antitrust: recent news; new and noteworthy). Other Internet-based sources, such as http://lawyersandsettlements.com, http://securities.stanford.com (current settlement news), www.LitWatch.com Google Alert (automated news tracking), www.Lexis.com (“Publisher” software automated news tracking), and www.securitiesclassaction.com also can be monitored. The invention, however, is not limited to these sources and other sources may also be monitored, such as, for example court Web sites, such as the Pacer litigation tracking system, among others. Additionally, manual monitoring can also be conducted to gather data from, for example, print or other non-electronic sources.  
         [0022]     In step  202 , a predetermined set of criteria is applied to the data within each source to extract data for storage on the database  102 . In the exemplified embodiment, the data must meet the following criteria in order to be selected for storage on the database  102 : 1) it must pertain to a class action and 2) the class action must involve a securities, antirust, or deceptive practices claim. Additional criteria can be applied for purposes of selecting data for storage on database  102 . Additional criteria include, for example, a class action valued at a pre-defined dollar amount, e.g., more than $10 million; and/or a class action for which an event affecting the rights or status of class members has occurred. Examples of events affecting the status or rights of class members include, among others, court certification of a litigation or settlement class, and the entry of orders setting deadlines by which class members must exclude themselves from a class, file a written objection to a settlement, inform the court of its intention to attend a particular hearing, or submit a proof of claim.  
         [0023]     There are multiple ways in which the criteria can be applied. In one embodiment, the criteria can be configured as search terms and applied to the data using a search capability of the monitoring module  170 . The search capability can be a search engine internal to module  170 , a third party engine or an external engine accessed by the module  170 . For print sources, an electronic copy of the source can be created, for example, by a scanner or manually entered into a computer and stored on a computer readable medium. The electronic copy can be converted to a format in which the processor can recognize words. Alternatively, data to be stored on database  102  can be manually selected according to the criteria. Other possible methods for applying criteria include using data mining techniques known in the art.  
         [0024]     If the data does not meet the criteria, it is discarded in step  203 . If data does meet the criteria, it is uploaded to the database  102  in step  204 . Data can be uploaded to the database in any manner desired. In the illustrated embodiment, the monitoring module  170  allows data to be entered into an on-line form  301  via Web site  150 . Each form is saved as a database record and contains pre-defined fields.  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a screen shot of the user interface with the Web form  301 . In the illustrated embodiment, each database record corresponds to a particular class action and contains the following fields: summary, class action short name, class action type, case name, defendant(s), settlement amount, product or service, deadline type(s), deadline date(s), class definition, and documents. The “documents” field allows for images or electronic copies of documents related to the respective class action (e.g., notices, proof of claim forms, settlements, among others) to be stored within the record. Other fields can be used and are chosen to accommodate the data desired for storage in the storage device  102 .  
         [0026]     Data can be entered into the Web form  301  manually. Alternatively, the monitoring module  170  can include a data mining functionality to at least partially automate the process for uploading data meeting the criteria into the database  102 .  
         [0027]     The database  102  can also include user specific data. In the illustrated embodiment, the user specific data is chosen so that the system  100  can determine what class action data would likely be of interest to a particular user  121 . For example, the user specific information can be the goods and services purchased by the user  121  and the time period in which the user  121  made the purchases. By comparing goods and services referenced in a class action and identified by the monitoring module  170  with goods and services identified by the user  121 , the system  100  can determine whether a particular class action is related to goods and services purchased by the user  121  as described in more detail below. Where a class action is related to goods and services purchased by the user  121 , the class action is likely of interest to the user  121  primarily because the user  121  may be a member of the class in the monitored class action.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary method for gathering user specific data and storing the data on the database  102 . In step  401 , the monitoring module forwards a user information survey to each user  121  by email. In the illustrated embodiment, the user information survey requests the user  121  to identify the products and services purchased by the user  121 , the time period the products and services were purchased by the user  121 , and the person(s) from whom the user  121  purchased the products and services.  
         [0029]     Alternatively, the user information survey can be generated by the module  170  and printed and mailed, or communicated to each user  121  by any other known means. For example, the module  170  could send an email notice to each user  121  prompting the user to enter the Web site  150  and complete the user information survey as a Web form.  
         [0030]     Once a user  121  completes a user information survey, the module  170  receives the completed survey in step  402 . For this, the user  121  can forward the complete survey by email, mail or any other known means, for example, where the survey is a Web form, by indicating the survey is complete on the Web site  150 .  
         [0031]     In step  403 , the module  170  formats the user specific data from the user information survey. For example, where the user information survey is in electronic format, data from specific locations or in specific fields of the survey can be automatically entered into predetermined fields of a database record. Additionally, the information on the survey can be checked for errors, such as missing information, among others. If missing information is detected, notice via the module  170  or otherwise (e.g., email) is sent.  
         [0032]     Once the data from the user information survey is properly formatted, it is stored in the database  102  by the monitoring module  170  at step  404 . Alternatively, the system manager  180  can manually enter the user specific data from the user information survey into the database  102 .  
         [0033]     The user specific data can be used to better enable a user  121  to identify class actions of interest from the class actions that are monitored by the monitoring module  170 .  FIG. 5  is a flow chart depicting an exemplary method for reporting class actions of interest to a user  121 . In step  501 , the notification module  160  compares user specific data to class action data stored in the database  102 . The user data serves as criteria that are applied to the class action data. If class action data meets the criteria, the notification module  160  notifies the user  121  of the class action in step  503 . If class action data does not meet the criteria, in step  502  the user  121  is not notified of the class action.  
         [0034]     The notification module  160  is configured to report class actions of interest when the class actions are identified, or at pre-determined intervals of time, for example, weekly or bimonthly. Much like the monitoring module  170 , the notification module  160  can be implemented as software or a hardware device. The intervals can be selected by the user  121  or the system manager  180 . Additionally, the notification module  160  can instead be configured to report all class actions that are monitored by the monitoring module  170  to each user  121 . In such a case, the method described in connection with  FIG. 5  need not be performed. The notification module  160  can also be configured to report information related to the class actions to keep the user  121  informed of the progress and status of the class actions. For example, module  160  can be configured to report approaching deadlines in class actions of interest or all class actions monitored by the monitoring module  170 ; class actions detected by the monitoring module  170  within a specified time period; and/or developments (e.g., class certification, settlement, set deadlines, among others) occurring within a specified time period in class actions of interest or all class actions monitored by the monitoring module  170 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is an example of a report  600  sent to a user  121  by the notification module  160 . Reports can be sent to any type of entity, individual, law firm or even another web-site/database for further use or reference. The exemplified report  600  is an email report containing a list  601  of class actions previously identified approaching deadlines expiring within a set period of time from the date of the email report. The report also contains a list  602  of class actions with approaching deadlines not previously identified. The report  600  may also includes news  603  about developing class actions in which no deadlines affecting class members have occurred, or matters that may become class actions. The report  600  need not be an email and can be communicated to the user  121  in any suitable manner, for example, by sending a link to a web page containing the report  600 , or by mailing a printed copy of the report  600 , among others.  
         [0036]     Users  121  ( FIG. 1 ) can also access data stored in the database  102  via the internet  110  using the Web site  150 . The Web site  150  provides at least one user interface that enables the user  121  to access data stored in the database  102  and, optionally, to input user specific data for storage to the database  102 . Additionally, the Web site  150  includes a user interface that enables the system administrator  180  to edit or modify data in the storage device  102 .  FIG. 7  is a block diagram depicting the configuration of Web site  150  according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the user  121  enters the Web site  150  through a login page  701 . The user  121  can be required to enter valid login information to gain access to any other portions of the Web site  150 . In one exemplary embodiment, the login information entered by the user  121  defines the data within the storage device  102  that the user  121  can access. A screen shot of an exemplary login page  701  is shown in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0038]     The system manager  180  can also login to the Web site  150  via the login page  701 . The system manager&#39;s login formation is configured to provide the system manager with access to the control segment  780 . The control segment  780  provides a user interface through which the system manager  180  can, for example, edit data stored in the storage device  102 , configure portions of the Web site  150 , and otherwise control the content, format and functionality of the Web site  150 .  
         [0039]     Once a user  121  is logged into the site  150 , the user is taken to a home page  702 . From the home page  702 , the user can navigate through segments of the Web site  150 . Hyperlinks, or other means known in the art, can be used to allow the user  121  to navigate within the Web site  150 .  
         [0040]     From the home page  702 , the user  121  can access current news regarding class actions or potential class actions on the in-the-news segment  703 . The data contained in this segment is similar to that found in the news  603  section of the report  600  ( FIG. 6 ). Thereby, the user  121  is informed of current news regarding class actions for which events affecting the rights of class members have yet to occur and can gain insight into matters that may develop into class actions. The user can also view approaching deadlines in class actions in segment  704 , view class actions with matured or aged deadlines in the archived cases segment  705 , search for class actions meeting specified criteria in the search segment  706 , and view only the class actions of interest to the user  121  in segment  707 . Optionally, the Web site  150  includes survey segment  711 , which includes a user interface through which the user  121  can provide user specific data according to the method described above in connection with  FIG. 4 .  
         [0041]      FIG. 9  is a screen view of an example of the approaching deadlines segment  704  user interface. As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , in the approaching deadlines segment  704 , the user  121  is provided with a class actions summary list  709  identifying deadlines by which class members must make a class member decision  903  that can modify or otherwise affect the rights of members of a defined class in a specified class action  901 . The summary list  709  is arranged in table format, but could be arranged in other formats.  
         [0042]     The summary list  709  provides the case name  901 , the type of class action  902 , the next decision  903  that is required by class members and the deadline  904  for the decision. There is also a notes segment  708 , through which the user  121  can add notes associated with a class action. The notes are stored in the database  102 . If the user  121  has added notes associated with a class action, a notes icon  905  is associated with the notes segment  708  for that class action in the summary list  709 .  
         [0043]     As noted above, where multiple users  121  have access to the system  100  via the Web site  150 , the user login information serves to define what data a particular user  121  can access. For example, where multiple users  121  have entered notes associated with the same class action, the login information can be used to determine which notes a particular user  121  can access and can prevent the user  121  from accessing other users&#39;  121  notes. Additionally, the system  100  can be configured so that a group of users  121  has access to certain information in the database  102 , but not other information.  
         [0044]     The summary list  709  is an interactive user interface that allows the user  121  to further navigate within the Web site  150 . By selecting a notes icon  905  within the notes segment  708  for a class action  901 , the user can view, delete or add notes associated with the respective class action. By selecting a particular class action from the summary list  709 , the user is taken to a class action details segment  710  for the selected class action ( FIG. 12 ). For example, by selecting the NBR class action  906 , the user is taken to a details segment  710  that provides detailed information about the NBR class action  906 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 12  is an exemplary illustration of a screen display of the class action details segment  710  user interface for the NBR class action  906 . The  FIG. 12  details segment  710  provides the data gathered by the monitoring module  170  and stored in the database  102  related to the NBR class action  906 . The details segment  710  provides a summary of the class action, the case name, the product or service at issue in the class action, a decisions that need to be made and the deadlines for those decisions, the class definition and selected documents associated with the case (e.g., proof of claim forms, settlement agreements, court notices). The documents can be selected as desired, and preferably include at least all notices provided in the class action. As the details segment  710  is an interactive user interface, the user  121  can access, view and copy a complete version of each document by selecting the document. Additionally, the user  121  can add, delete and view the notes  708  associated with the class action  906  by selecting the notes. Where no notes have been added to a class action, an “add notes” link appears to allow the user  121  to add initial notes to the class action.  
         [0046]     If a defendant in the NBR class action  906  has settled, the details segment  710  provides the name of the settling defendant(s) and the settlement amount. As new data related to the NBR class action  906  is stored in the database  102 , the details segment  710  changes accordingly.  
         [0047]     Referring again to  FIG. 7 , the archived cases segment  705  allows a user to access class actions for which deadlines have passed and there are no known approaching deadlines. A summary list  709  is also provided for the archived cases segment  705 .  FIG. 10  is a screen shot of the archived cases segment  705  user interface including the summary list  709 . The summary list  709  shown in  FIG. 10  is similar to the summary list  709  shown in  FIG. 9 , except that it lists only archived cases. Accordingly, no deadlines are shown and the class member decision  903  displayed is the last decision that the court asked class members to make in the class action  901 . The user  121  can select a details segment  710  for any of the listed class actions, and add, delete or view any notes associated with any of the listed class actions, as well as use the interactive user interface, among other things, to view and print copies of pertinent documents displayed in the details segment  710 .  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the search segment  706  of the Web site  150  enables a user to search for a class action that meets user defined criteria.  FIG. 11  is a screen shot of the search segment  706  user interface. As shown in  FIG. 11 , in the illustrated embodiment, the user  121  can search for class actions based on any one or more of the following: case name, settling defendants, product and/or services, decision deadline date, class definition and/or class type. The search segment  706  can instead be configured to allow the user  121  to search data stored in the database  102  based on other criteria or to conduct a natural language or Boolean-type search as is known in the art.  
         [0049]     Once the user  121  has entered search criteria and selected the search button  1111 , the system  100  searches the database  102  for class actions meeting the one or more entered search criteria, those class actions are listed. The user  121  can select a particular class action and access a class action details segment  710  for the selected class action, and add, delete or view any notes associated with the selected class action.  
         [0050]     Referring again to  FIG. 7 , the class actions of interest segment  707  allows a user to access class actions of interest to the particular user. When the user  121  accesses to class actions of interest segment  707 , the system  100  produces a report according to the method described above in connection with  FIG. 5 . The system  100  applies the user data for the user  121  based on the login information entered by the user  121 . In the illustrated embodiment, the report is presented to the user  121  in the segment  707  as a summary list  709 . The summary list  709  presented in the class actions of interest segment  707  is similar to the summary list  709  shown in  FIG. 9 , except that only class actions meeting the user data criteria are listed. Accordingly, the user  121  can select a particular class action and access a class action details segment  710  for the selected class action, and add, delete or view any notes associated with the selected class action.  
         [0051]     Referring again to  FIG. 7 , when the user  121  accesses the in-the-news segment  703 , the user  121  is presented with data regarding new class actions, and, if desired, data regarding potential class actions. The information provided by the in-the-news segment  703  is similar to that provided in the news watch  603  shown in  FIG. 6 . Thus, the user  121  is provided general information on class actions that have yet to be settled or certified for class purposes, as well as matters (e.g., government investigations) for which class actions may be filed.  
         [0052]     It should be readily understood that the present invention can be modified in the manners set forth herein as well as to any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention in order to obtain a desired memory functionality.