Vassilios Kukorinis, the plaintiff in a putative class-action lawsuit against Walmart, Inc. which had a proposed settlement filed in early August, claimed in a declaration filed on Friday that he had no knowledge of the settlement’s preliminary approval and that, contrary to the document submitted by his lawyers, Morgan & Morgan, they had not discussed or asked for his approval. Kukorinis claimed he was not able to fulfill his duties as a class representative because of the actions of his lawyers who did not keep him informed.
The class-action complaint claimed that Wal-Mart inaccurately priced its discounted items, it cited specific instances where the plaintiff purchased discounted meat but the discounted amount was not calculated correctly based on the expected percentage. The plaintiff claimed he was overcharged multiple times.
The plaintiff said in his declaration that he was involved in the drafting of the initial complaint, but that his attorneys did not respond to his requests that he include “countless digital and printed … evidences” which he sent to them, and that they turned down a meeting with him about the subject. He reported that the lawyer said he “didn’t want to risk for a judge to view it as sensationalism” and that the evidence would be useful in a trial not in a complaint. The plaintiff, however, said now the trial will not take place and he included the evidence in his declaration.
Kukorinis said he was last contacted by his attorneys on January 21, and found out about the recent proposed settlement because he purchased and downloaded court documents. The declaration stated “surprisingly I discovered that all the developments took place after January 2020, happened without the Class Action Representative being informed…” Since January, the plaintiff reportedly thought they were waiting for Walmart to provide national data in an effort to settle a broader nation-wide complaint.
The plaintiff said he was “refusing to accept the agreed Service Award money,” which was reportedly $25,000, because he did not want to participate in a “betrayal to all class action members.” He said he was “furious and disappointed” because his efforts to stop Walmart’s deceptive practices failed. He said he personally visited “hundreds of Walmart stores” and in under ten minutes would find evidence of overcharging on discounted items.
The Florida Southern District Court filed an order on Monday striking the plaintiff’s former declaration and set a status conference for October 7.
