Dozens of people who have accused Hertz Corp. of having them wrongly arrested filed a new lawsuit against the rental car giant on Thursday, exposing the company to potentially higher court losses.
The new lawsuit, seen by Bloomberg, is based on allegations that had been bogged down in federal bankruptcy court, where there are are no juries and where it can be more difficult to win punitive damages against a corporation.
The rental car customers filed their lawsuit against Hertz in state court in Delaware on the same day that a federal judge issued an order letting several dozen claimants try to prove their allegations in front of a jury instead of seeking compensation in bankruptcy.
“In the last two years in bankruptcy, our hands were tied behind our back and our foot was stapled to the floor,” said attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, the Philadelphia lawyer who has spent years fighting Hertz in court. “Now the gloves come off.”
Hertz has appealed the ruling to allow certain claims to be resolved outside of bankruptcy, the company said in an emailed statement. Company officials have offered to settle dozens of the claims while it continues to fight others in bankruptcy court.
“We are reviewing and considering each claim brought against Hertz on its individual merits,” the company said. “In furtherance of our stated commitment to resolve situations in which customers have been harmed by our actions, we have begun extending settlement offers to dozens of claimants and will...
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