U.S. patent application number 13/621670 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-04 for method and system for filing and monitoring electronic claim submissions in multi-claimant lawsuits.
This patent application is currently assigned to The Garden City Group, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is David Isaac Ganz, Shandarese Garr, Gerard E. Hanshe, John Patrick Lennon, II, Neil Lawrence Zola. Invention is credited to David Isaac Ganz, Shandarese Garr, Gerard E. Hanshe, John Patrick Lennon, II, Neil Lawrence Zola.
Application Number | 20130085951 13/621670 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42319986 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130085951 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zola; Neil Lawrence ; et
al. |
April 4, 2013 |
Method and System for Filing and Monitoring Electronic Claim
Submissions in Multi-Claimant Lawsuits
Abstract
The invention relates to systems and methods for filing and
monitoring electronic claim submissions in proceedings involving a
large number of claimants, such as securities class action
lawsuits, estate dissolutions, arbitrations, and bankruptcies. The
systems and methods create an easy-to-use and convenient way for
institutions and individual claimants to register their claim
relief upon judgment or settlement.
Inventors: |
Zola; Neil Lawrence;
(Larchmont, NY) ; Garr; Shandarese; (Huntington
Station, NY) ; Ganz; David Isaac; (Deer Park, NY)
; Hanshe; Gerard E.; (Levittown, NY) ; Lennon, II;
John Patrick; (East Islip, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Zola; Neil Lawrence
Garr; Shandarese
Ganz; David Isaac
Hanshe; Gerard E.
Lennon, II; John Patrick |
Larchmont
Huntington Station
Deer Park
Levittown
East Islip |
NY
NY
NY
NY
NY |
US
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
The Garden City Group, Inc.
Lake Success
NY
|
Family ID: |
42319986 |
Appl. No.: |
13/621670 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12354073 |
Jan 15, 2009 |
8272052 |
|
|
13621670 |
|
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|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/311 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 50/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/311 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 50/18 20060101
G06Q050/18 |
Claims
1. A method for filing and monitoring electronic claim submissions
via a computer server in a multi-claimant proceeding comprising:
receiving a registration request from an institution on a computer
server; registering the institution on the computer server to
create an institutional database record, the institution having a
primary institutional contact; receiving information from the
institution via the primary institutional contact regarding a
plurality of claimants, each claimant having at least one
associated claim, and storing the information regarding the
plurality of claimants and the associated claims on a database
operably associated with the computer server; receiving files
supporting each of the claims associated with the plurality of
claimants on the computer server; and storing the files supporting
each of the claims associated with the plurality of claimants in
the database operably associated with the computer server.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically
transmitting a message containing a request for acceptance of the
institution to one or more designated individuals on an approval
team.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising accepting the
institution.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the message includes the
institutional database record.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising validating the primary
institutional contact.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising allowing the validated
primary institutional contact to monitor the status of each of the
plurality of claimants' at least one associated claim.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising allowing the validated
primary institutional contact to edit the status of each of the
plurality of claimants' at least one associated claim.
8. The method of claim 5, further comprising allowing the validated
primary institutional contact to delete a claim, hold a claim or
accept a claim.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the computer server
transmitting messages to the primary institutional contact, if a
claim is deficient.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer server includes a
transient server located between a first and a second firewall, and
further comprises: uploading the files to the transient server,
storing the uploaded files on the transient database, scanning the
uploaded files for malicious code prior to uploading to an internal
server through the second firewall, and storing the uploaded files
on an internal database.
11. A system for filing and monitoring electronic claim submissions
via a computer server in a multi-claimant proceeding comprising: a
user interface hosted by the computer server directed to
institutions and a primary institutional contact across a
publicly-accessible computer network for displaying information
about a multi-claimant proceeding and facilitating inputting of
information regarding institutions and a plurality of claimants,
each claimant having at least one associated claim, and
facilitating uploading of files by the institution via the primary
institutional; a first database operably connected to the user
interface; and code located on the computer server for associating
pointers with uploaded files supporting each of the claims
associated with the plurality of claimants.
12. The system of claim 11, further comprising: anti-virus code
located on the computer server for scanning the uploaded files for
malicious code by following the respective pointers allowing each
of the files to be scanned by the anti-virus software for malicious
code after being uploaded to the computer server.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer server includes a
transient server operably connected to a transient database, both
located between a first and a second firewall, and an internal
server operably connected to an internal database behind the second
firewall.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the anti-virus code scans the
files while they reside on the transient database, further
comprising code for sweeping scanned files from the transient
database operably through the second firewall to the internal
database.
15. The system of claim 14, further comprising code to accept a
registering institution and validate a primary institutional
contact.
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising code allowing the
validated primary institutional contact to monitor or edit the
status of each of the claims associated with the plurality of
claimants.
17. The system of claim 16, further comprising code that
facilitates sending messages to the primary institutional contact
relating to deficient claims.
18. The system of claim 17, further comprising code for
automatically transmitting a message for acceptance of the
institution to one or more designated individuals on an approval
team.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the message contains an
institutional database record.
20. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the associated
claims is based upon multiple transactions.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/354,073, entitled "Method and System for
Filing and Monitoring Electronic Claim Submissions in
Multi-Claimant Lawsuits," filed on Jan. 15, 2009, which application
is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF TIM INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to systems and methods for filing and
monitoring electronic claim submissions in proceedings involving a
large number of claimants, such as securities class action
lawsuits, estate dissolutions, arbitrations, and bankruptcies. The
systems and methods create an easy-to-use and convenient way for
institutions and individual claimants to register their claim
relief upon judgment, settlement or other resolution. Although the
present disclosure has applicability beyond securities fraud class
action lawsuits, the present disclosure will describe the use of
the systems and methods in the context of a securities fraud class
action lawsuit with the understanding that those skilled in the art
having the present disclosure before them can apply the teachings
of this invention to other contexts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Securities litigations are frequently filed as class action
lawsuits, a type of lawsuit where one person files a claim or
claims in court on behalf of a large group of similarly situated
people and entities (the "class"). The proposed class must consist
of a group of individuals or entities that have suffered a common
injury or injuries. Typically these cases result from an action,
generally a disclosure, by a business or a particular product
defect or policy that was publicly disclosed and available to the
investing public. Securities fraud or other class action lawsuits
can also result from a company failing to disclose detrimental
information, that resulted in a change in the price of the
company's stock to the detriment of a class of shareholders.
[0004] The identity of all of the members of the class of
plaintiffs is usually unknown at the beginning of a securities
lawsuit. Generally, a complaint is filed by one or more plaintiffs
on behalf of the class. In order to indicate that class action
status is sought, the phrase "and others similarly situated" can be
incorporated into court documents. The number of class members may
increase (or decrease) over time as additional plaintiffs are
identified or the class definition changes. The class members can
be identified during discovery proceedings, or after notices are
distributed and responded to. The class definition also may be
revised by the court, which might alter the size of the class by
excluding or including potential class members.
[0005] Upon application by the plaintiffs or the parties
collectively, the court will certify a class. Thereafter, the
defendant(s) may generate a list of potential claimants. This list
can be used to contact the potential class members to provide
"notice," i.e., advise them of the pendency or settlement of the
action. Notice is then provided to the class by mailing class
notices and/or running advertisements in newspapers, via the
Internet, on radio or television, or through similar communications
outlets.
[0006] When a class action lawsuit is decided in court or is
settled out of court, each eligible claimant will receive relief
according to the judgment or settlement through an administration
process. In the past, administration of a securities class action
lawsuit has been a cumbersome process, in part because classes are
usually very large. These administrations often require claimants
to submit through the mail large volumes of forms and documents to
submit and support their claims. These submissions may be made via
e-mail or regular mail, but in either case, documents and
information would need to be scanned and/or inputted into a
database system by hand.
[0007] The transaction costs associated with processing the tens of
thousands of claims, or more, that are received by mail can be
significant. Although e-mails are less cumbersome than regular mail
and are used in ever growing numbers, receipt of the information
through e-mail has presented the same difficulties as receipt
through the mail--there has been no uniformity, no way of tracking
and no specific method of organization of e-mails or any
attachments without significantly increasing transaction costs.
With both e-mails and paper files, there has been difficulty in
maintaining proper organization of files without the potential of
losing or misplacing information relating to claims. Of course,
where regular mail is used this cost is further increased. Where
e-mails are used, there is the added possibility that malicious
code can be imported into a database inadvertently. Even though
these e-mails pass through a perimeter firewall and virus
protection is used a significant risk of infection still
exists.
[0008] The transaction costs arising from the administration
frequently are paid from the settlement fund. Therefore, the total
distribution in the class action lawsuit, and the amount that each
eligible claimant may recover can be significantly diminished by
the administration costs associated with this mailing procedure,
the costs of other attempts of notifying the class members, and the
costs of the claims processing.
[0009] Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, easy to use
system and method for filing claims relating to a class action
lawsuit, validating the claims, tracking the administrative process
and communicating the status of the claims processing to claimants,
and overseeing disbursement of relief.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The invention relates to a system for filing and monitoring
electronic claim submissions via a computer server in a
multi-claimant proceeding comprising a graphical user interface
hosted by the computer server directed to end user terminals across
the Internet for displaying information about a multi-claimant
proceeding and facilitating inputting of information regarding
institutions, end users and claimants and facilitating uploading of
files from the end user terminals; a first database operably
connected to the graphical user interface; code for associating
pointers with files supporting at least one claim residing on the
end user terminals; and anti-virus code for scanning the files for
malicious code by following the respective pointers allowing each
of the files to be scanned by the anti-virus software for malicious
code after being uploaded to the computer server.
[0011] The invention also relates to a method for filing and
monitoring electronic claim submissions via a computer server in a
multi-claimant proceeding comprising providing a graphical user
interface on the computer server for access by an end user via the
Internet; registering an institution on the computer server to
create an institutional database record; registering an end user
associated with the registered institution on the computer server
to create an end user profile; receiving information regarding a
claimant via the graphical user interface and storing the
information regarding the claimant on a database associated with
the computer server; and storing files supporting a claim directly
from a registered end user into the database associated with the
computer server. The documentation required to prove eligibility of
a claimant can vary. It may include, but is not limited to, a proof
of claim form, a signature verification document, a data
verification document, and an authorization document. Other
documents that may be required are stock certificates, proof of
purchase, and proof of sales. The potential claimants can be
identified by the defendant, provided to the company administering
the litigation by brokers, or generated by mailings and
advertisements in newspapers, via the Internet, on radio or
television, or through similar communications outlets.
[0012] Through the robustness of the present method, the invention
has application to an institution filing claims in numerous
litigations on behalf of its customers, with each litigation having
potentially hundreds of claimants being managed by that one
institution. In addition, many claimants may have claims based upon
multiple transactions. The present systems and methods support the
institution's ability to track all of the claims filed on behalf of
all of its customers (the claimants), including the underlying
transactions, by presenting a graphical user interface that
provides streamlined interaction and access to this information to
facilitate the record keeping of each institution in regards to its
participation in the administration of the resolution of one or
more lawsuits.
[0013] In an aspect of the invention, the administrator of the
resolution of a lawsuit ("administrator"), an institutional
contact, and an end user may each have the ability to view and
potentially modify information relating to the administration of
claims based upon their authority. The rights to both view and
modify information are dependent upon their status and authority.
Of course, because of the robustness of the method above, an
administrator, an institutional contact, and/or an end user can
easily navigate between multiple lawsuits, multiple claimants,
multiple claims, and multiple transactions, where they may view
input, or modify the records in a single session.
[0014] In general, the claim process as described herein may
comprise six steps. Step 1 provides for users connecting to a
graphical user interface, which may be via a website, through a
secure SSL channel or HTTPS. End users will input information to a
database and may upload files to a web server after being
authenticated or validated against an authentication filter. Step 2
provides for invocation of an anti-virus process that runs on the
web server to check whether uploaded files are infected with any
viruses. If the files are not infected, step 3 provides for the
scanned files to be moved to another location on the web-server,
after encryption using an open source encryption scheme. If
encryption or copying fails at any point for any file, again the
process can be terminated. Step 4 provides for persisting to the
database all of the related user inputs for a current upload
process. This includes saving control totals and file names to the
database. Step 5 provides for a transient, or intermediate, web
server to keep polling a cluster of intermediate web servers for
any new files in the respective folders. If any new files are
found, they are pulled onto a path within itself. Subsequently,
this transient, or intermediate, web server decrypts the files and
copies them to a file server, thereby completing the upload
process. Step 6 provides for a communication mechanism that sends
an automatic notification of receipt of a claim.
[0015] In another aspect of the invention, the end user can log
into the system and monitor the claims that the user had previously
filed. The end user can check for claim status and deficiencies,
and file additional documents as required to prove eligibility of a
particular claimant. However, the end user may only review status
and file additional documents relating to claims initially filed by
that end user. In addition, during the course of the process, the
end user may receive communications from system relating to claims
filed by that end user.
[0016] If the end users are affiliated with an institution, that
institution can be registered with the company administering the
lawsuit. The institution could name one or more individuals as
specific contacts, should any institutional information be
required, or to validate the end users. In one aspect of the
invention, only the institutional contact can modify the
institution's database record. The institution's database record
can comprise administrative information from an institution and the
people authorized to act upon the institution's behalf, or for
those claimants authorizing the institution to act on their behalf.
In contrast to a single end user, the institutional contact(s) may
review status and file documents, edit the institutional database
record, and will receive communications relating to all claimants
whose claims were filed by an end user affiliated with that
institution. The institutional contact can also either preauthorize
an end user or delete an end user if e.g., that end user is no
longer employed by the institution.
[0017] In yet another aspect of the invention, the systems and the
methods of the invention allow for end users being able to modify
their profiles. In one aspect, the end users can be employees of an
institution, which was registered with the company administering
the lawsuit. Alternatively, an individual user may access the
system of the invention after registration and validation and file
his or her own claim.
[0018] The invention relates to systems and methods of tracking and
monitoring the administration of class action lawsuit resolutions,
without the need to coordinate significant amounts of paper mail
and documentation and/or electronic mail and documentation each of
which would require an extreme amount of effort to scan in and
manage. In addition, the system of the invention can be accessed
immediately upon end user registration, rather than registering and
having to wait until a later date to begin entering and filing
claims. The only requirement is that the end user, who is filing
the claims, must be associated with a previously registered
institution. In the case of an individual investor, they would need
to register and be validated as an "institution" prior to filing
their claim.
[0019] In one aspect of the invention, the end user does not need
to be validated immediately. Rather, the end user can register and
file one or more claims immediately, and without delay, as these
types of proceedings often have deadlines that must be met. By
validating the end user after the end user has already filed one or
more claims, valuable time can be saved, and court-ordered claims
deadlines are less likely to be missed because of system
requirements.
[0020] In one aspect of the invention, all files inputted by the
end user may be initially associated with pointers to those files
as they sit on the end user's computer. The use of such pointers
thus enables the files to be scanned for malicious code after their
being uploaded across the Internet to a web server. The documents
may first be uploaded via a transient server to a transient
database, after which they may be scanned for malicious code. The
malicious code scanning can be performed at predetermined intervals
to ensure that no malicious code is uploaded from the transient
database through a second firewall onto an internal database via an
internal server. The secure server and firewall can be located with
the company that administers the litigation or can be located at a
remote site. The software used to scan the files for malicious code
can be updated at regular intervals, as well as when new computer
viruses are uncovered.
[0021] These and other objects and advantages of the present
disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
having the present drawings, specifications, and claims before
them. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods,
features, and advantages be included within this description, be
within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the
accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0022] The invention may be better understood by references to the
detailed description when considered in connection with the
accompanying drawings. The components in the figures are not
necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like
reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the
different views.
[0023] FIG. 1 depicts the novel system of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a second aspect of the system of the
invention.
[0025] FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate a flow chart depicting the process of
filing a claim by an institutional end user and the transmission of
messages between the internal server and the internal network, a
registered institution and a registered end user, respectively.
[0026] FIG. 4 is an illustrative view of a graphical user interface
of exemplary institution registration screen.
[0027] FIGS. 5-7 are illustrative views of graphical user
interfaces of exemplary user registration screens.
[0028] FIG. 8 is an illustrative view of instructions for filing a
claim.
[0029] FIG. 9 is an illustrative view of how to select a case,
where cases are listed by letter.
[0030] FIG. 10 is an illustrative view of case information for the
selected case.
[0031] FIG. 11 is an illustrative view of a graphical user
interface for the upload of supporting documentation.
[0032] FIG. 12 is an illustrative view of a confirmation page.
[0033] FIG. 13 is an illustrative view of how transaction files can
be uploaded.
[0034] FIG. 14 is an illustrative view relating to formatting
specifications.
[0035] FIG. 15 is an illustrative view of how control totals can be
entered.
[0036] FIGS. 16-17 are illustrative views of the history and status
of previously filed claims.
[0037] FIGS. 18A-18B and 19A-19B are illustrative views depicting
how case data is entered into a new database.
[0038] FIGS. 20A-20H are illustrative of database architecture for
a system as exemplified herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0039] While the present disclosure may be embodied in many
different forms, the drawings and discussions are presented with
the understanding that the present disclosure is an exemplification
of the principles of one or more inventions and is not intended to
limit any one of the inventions to the embodiments illustrated.
[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates the novel system 100 of the invention.
Specifically, institutions 105a, 105b, 105x and individual users
110 can submit claims and supporting documentation to a company
overseeing the administration of a class action lawsuit via the
Internet 120 from end user, or client, terminals 115a, 115b, 115x.
The Internet 120 as used herein is intended to convey the meaning
of a generally available network that is not confined to access by
a single specific company. This includes a virtual private network
between an end user and an administrator, as well as a connection
over a private cable TV IP network.
[0041] The end user terminals 115a, 115b, 115x may be general
purpose computers that may have, among other elements, a
microprocessor (such as from the Intel Corporation or AMD);
volatile and non-volatile memory; one or more mass storage devices
(i.e., a hard drive); various user input devices, such as a mouse,
a keyboard, or a microphone; and a video display system. In one
aspect, the general-purpose computer may be controlled by the
WINDOWS XP operating system. It is contemplated, however, that the
present system would work equally well using a MACINTOSH computer
or even another operating system such as a WINDOWS VISTA, UNIX,
LINUX or a JAVA based operating system, to name a few.
[0042] It is contemplated that each of the end user terminals 115
may be connected via the Internet to the web server of a
multi-claimant administration system. FIG. 1 illustrates the web
server as having a transient server 150, an internal server 170, a
transient database 155, and an internal database 180. The transient
server 150 and the transient database 155 are so named because the
files, information documents that are being uploaded are generally
only resident for a relatively short and essentially predetermined
time. After the files, information, and documentation are
ultimately uploaded to the internal database 180, they may be
deleted from the transient web server and the transient database.
The transient server 150 may include a first graphical user
interface 140 that may be operably connected to the transient
database 155.
[0043] In one aspect of the invention, both the transient 150 and
internal 170 web servers and transient and internal databases of
the system can be remote web servers and databases. Alternatively,
the web servers and databases can be onsite at the system's place
of business. The web servers can be one of many commercially
available web servers including, but not limited to Tomcat web
servers, Apache web servers, Microsoft, web servers. Google web
servers, lighttpd web servers, and nginx web servers. The web
servers can be based on one of many operating systems including,
but not limited to UNIX, LINUX, MAC OS, or Windows (XP, VISTA,
etc.). It is contemplated, however, that any suitable web server
may be used for the present invention.
[0044] In one aspect of the invention shown in FIG. 2, the system
can be hosted on a cluster of web servers, which may be LINUX
based. Each request can be routed to a specific server by a load
balancer. The load balancer decides which server should process a
request based upon the current request-load of the available
server(s). The database(s) can be, but are not limited to, SQL
databases (by Microsoft and others), Oracle databases, 4.sup.th
Dimension databases, InterBase databases, and Apache databases. It
is contemplated, however, that any suitable database may be used
for the present invention.
[0045] In one aspect of the invention, the uploaded files are
initially stored on the web server itself. A LINUX based
intermediate server pulls these uploaded files from the web server
and places them within a path in itself. A separate process that
runs on the intermediate server can copy these files to a LINUX
based file server.
[0046] Applications of this type can be built and programmed using
one of many different types of architecture including, but not
limited to J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) and Microsoft
.NET platform, UNIX Daemon platform, and CORBA platform. It is
contemplated, however, that any suitable platform can be used to
build the code of the present system.
[0047] Connection to the web server on end user terminals 115 would
use one of many available internet browsers including, but not
limited to, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Apple's Safari, and
Mozilla's Firefox. Via the Internet 120, the end users access the
first graphical user interface 140, which may be an http-based
website, although other graphical user interfaces can be used with
the present system. The first the graphical user interface 140 is
accessed by an end user and is used to input information regarding
one or more claims (some specifics of which are discussed
below).
[0048] The information entered by an end user via the first
graphical user interface 140 can be encrypted before transmission
over the Internet for additional security. There are several
commercially available encryption programs or algorithms available
including, but not limited to, PC1 Encryption Algorithm, TrueCrypt,
a Symantec encryption program, Blowfish, and Guardian Edge. In one
aspect of the invention, the encryption algorithm can be a free to
use open source 128-bit encryption algorithm. Symmetric algorithms
can be used to encrypt the data. These can use key lengths of 40,
56, 64, 80, 128, or 256 bits. In one aspect of the invention, a
password of 128 bits can be used (i.e., a password consisting of 16
characters to encrypt/decrypt the file that is being uploaded). It
is contemplated, however, that any suitable encryption algorithm or
program can be used in the present system. The information can be
decrypted by the transient, or intermediate server 150 and moved to
the internal server 170, prior to storage on the internal database
180.
[0049] The graphical user interface 140 also facilitates the
uploading of files. When files are identified for upload, they are
each tagged with pointers via pointer code 130, so that, after the
files are actually physically uploaded to the web server, the
documentation can be scanned for malicious code on the end user
terminal 115 by anti-virus code 135. Anti-virus code 135 can detect
and remove or repair malicious code. Alternatively, if malicious
code is detected, the entire process can be terminated. In one
aspect, the Clam Antivirus code is an open source (GPL) anti-virus
toolkit for UNIX, and designed especially for e-mail scanning and
document scanning on mail gateways. It provides a number of
utilities including a flexible and scalable multi-threaded daemon,
a command line scanner and an advanced tool for automatic database
uploads. The core of the package is an anti-virus engine, which is
available in the form of a shared library. It is contemplated,
however, that any suitable antivirus software program can be used
by the system of the invention, including, but not limited to,
McAfee, Symantec's Norton Antivirus, CA Antivirus, BitDefender
Antivirus, and Frisk Software's F-Prot. After determining that the
files do not contain malicious code, the documents can be saved to
the transient web server 150 and stored on the transient database
155, through a firewall 125.
[0050] It is contemplated that any suitable firewall can be used in
the present system. Firewall 125 may be, but is not limited to,
network layer (or packet filter) firewalls, stateless firewalls or
firewalls that filter information based on one of many parameters.
The firewall may be one of many commercially available firewalls
including, but not limited to, a Cisco firewall, a Microsoft
firewall, Norton Internet Security, and Comodo Firewall Pro. In one
aspect of the invention, the web servers are available behind the
first firewall 125, which adds to the security of the server
environment. All information that is transacted through the
firewall can be ensured to be reasonably secure.
[0051] A second firewall 160, which may be the same or different
type as the first firewall 125, may be operably placed between the
internal web server 170 and the transient web server 150.
Anti-virus code 135 may perform scans of the incoming files on the
transient server 150 prior to further transferring the files to an
internal web server 170. The internal web server 170 may be
operably connected to an internal database 180. The internal
database 180 may comprise one or more physical databases. The
internal database 180 provides storage of information and files
relating to the multi-claimant cases, the claimants, and any
settlement or judgment that affects the relief afforded to the
eligible claimants. In addition, the internal database 180 provides
storage for information relating to institutions, and end
users.
[0052] The company coordinating the claim databases relating to the
administration of the class action lawsuit resolution and the
disbursement of relief can maintain a second user graphical
interface 175 and an internal network 185, to which internal users'
terminals 190a, 190b, 190x may be connected. The internal network
can be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) and
can use a wide variety of operating systems, including, but not
limited to, UNIX, LINUX, MAC OS, or Windows (XP, VISTA, etc.) The
internal network 185 is operably connected to the internal web
server 170, which is in turn, operably connected to the internal
database 180, Information regarding the pending and completed
administrations, as well as claimant, end user, and institution
information is stored on the internal database 180.
[0053] As shown in FIG. 1, the pointer code 130, the anti-virus
code 135, and the first graphical user interface 140 may be located
on the transient server 150. It is contemplated, however, that the
pointer code 130, the anti-virus code 135, and the first graphical
user interface 140 may be located on the internal server 170
instead, on both the transient server 150 and the internal server
170, or on a remote server (not shown), as long as the system and
method are functional in substantially the manner described
herein.
[0054] The figure also depicts the second graphical user interface
175 as being located on the internal server 170. As above, however,
the second graphical user interface may be located on the transient
server 150, both the transient server 150 and the internal server
170, or on a remote server (not shown).
[0055] The placement of the pointer code 130, the anti-virus code
135, the first graphical user interface 140 and the second
graphical user interface may be determined by several parameters.
There is, however, a greater security risk to the system if these
objects are located outside of the firewalls. Conversely, if these
objects are all placed within both firewalls, either larger and
more costly firewalls would be required, or the system would be
slower.
[0056] The system may also contain other code 145, and as before,
the other code 145 can be located on the transient server 150, the
internal server 170, both the transient server 150 and the internal
server 170, or a remote server (not shown). This other code can
include, but is not limited to, code for validating a registering
institution and institutional contact; code for transmitting
information identifying a registering end user to the institutional
contact; code to provide links to the institutional contact that
indicate acceptance or rejection of the registering end user; code
to provide options selected from deleting the claim, holding the
claim, or accepting the claim to the institutional contact; code
allowing a registered end user to monitor the status of at least
one claim; code allowing the institutional contact to monitor the
status of at least one claim; code that facilitates sending
messages relating to deficient claims; code that facilitates
completing a claim; code for transmitting a message to the
institutional contact if a claim is not completed within a
predetermined time period; code for automatically transmitting a
message containing the institutional database record to one or more
predesignated individuals for review; code providing links
indicating acceptance or rejection of the institution; code for
providing notice to the one or more predesignated individuals that
the institutional database record has been reviewed; and code for
notifying the institution of acceptance or rejection.
[0057] FIG. 1 illustrates only one particularized deployment of the
invention, without showing all possible permutations of the system.
For example, the web server may be implemented as one physical web
server or two or more physical web servers that are interconnected
via a load balancer to the client, or end user, machines, as shown
in FIG. 2. The load balancer may be, but is not limited to, a Cisco
load balancer, a Barracuda load balancer, a Kemp Technologies load
balancer, or any other suitable load balancer.
[0058] FIG. 3A is a flow chart depicting the process of filing a
claim by an institutional end user. When an end user accesses the
system of the invention, a website home page (not shown) welcomes
the end user to the class action lawsuit claim system of the
invention. If the end user has not yet registered, he or she is
prompted to select an institution to which the end user is
affiliated. The end user will enter the name of the institution
and/or select from a list of institution names. These steps are
illustrated by FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 7 illustrates the entry of end
user information. First, an end user associated with an institution
105 or as an individual investor 110 accesses the graphical user
interface 140, which may be a website 305, via the Internet 120
using a client terminal 115. The end user will then be prompted to
register 310 or log in 315. If the end user is a new end user, he
or she may register 310 by associating their information with an
institution that has been previously registered 320 and validated
325 with the company that is administering the multi-claimant
proceeding. As exemplified in FIGS. 5-7, the end user can then be
prompted to enter information for use in user validation at a later
time. Here, an end user can create a profile and/or enter user
information, and associate with his or her institution.
Alternatively, if an end user is already registered, he or she can
log into the system directly and begin filing claims or reviewing
claim status and history. End users can edit their profiles on
website pages (not shown). It is contemplated that an end user may
view and modify information related only to that information
entered into the database by that end user. In addition, there is
an option to edit an institution database record that can be
selected (not shown). However, this action can only be performed by
a person affiliated with the institution and designated as the
institutional contact. It is contemplated that there may be more
than one institutional contact designated. The institutional
contact may view and modify information entered by end users
associated with that institution. However, while the institutional
contact may view all information, he or she might not have the
right or ability to modify all the information, depending upon the
rights of access granted by an administrator.
[0059] The administrator will have the ability to view and modify
all information relating to the lawsuit resolution. This
information includes, but is not limited to, institutional
information, lawsuit information, end user information, claimant
information, transaction information, and lawsuit resolution
information.
[0060] Of course, because of the robustness of the method, an
administrator, an institutional contact, and/or an end user can
easily navigate between multiple lawsuit, multiple claimants, and
multiple transactions, where they may view input, or modify the
records in a single session, depending upon their authority and the
rights granted to them.
[0061] The institution information comprises an institutional
database record that contains institutional contact information.
The institutional contact can log in to the website 330, monitor
claim status 335, edit the institutional database record 340, as
well as enter and file claims 345. As shown in FIG. 4, the
institutional database record may include the institution's name
and address, institutional contact, and additional information
regarding the institution.
[0062] When an institution 105 registers (e.g., a bank named Rock
Solid Bank), a message 210 containing links to the institutional
database record 213 and supporting documents 215 can be
automatically transmitted a message to one or more predesignated
individuals for review. The supporting documents can include, but
are not limited to tax forms, SEC forms, and institutional records
relating to the lawsuit. As shown in FIG. 3B, the message may
contain links 220 and 225 indicating acceptance or rejection of the
institution. After one of the predesignated individuals reviews the
institutional database record and accepts or rejects the
institution 105, notice 230 can be provided automatically to the
other individuals that the institutional database record has
already been reviewed 235. A message 236 to the institutional
contact can also be sent, informing the institutional contact of
the status of the registration request 237.
[0063] FIG. 3C illustrates messages that are transmitted to an
institutional contact from the system relating to the approval of
an end user registration. The internal server 170, transmits data
to an internal database 180 end user data 241, 242, 243 is stored.
When an end user requests affiliation with an institution (e.g.,
Rock Solid Bank), the system will automatically send a message 245
to the institutional contact at Rock Solid Bank asking for approval
or rejection of the end user, e.g., Joe User 242. The message 245
can contain links to either accept 250 or reject 255 Joe User 242
as a registered end user, which would send information regarding
that acceptance or rejection back to the web server (perhaps via
the firewalls and intermediate server). In one aspect, if an end
user is rejected, the profile relating to that end user may be
deleted, as also illustrated in FIG. 3C. Alternatively, if an end
user is not approved, the database will retain the end user
information and his or her unapproved status (not shown).
[0064] In this aspect, the system and method as described allow an
end user to register and immediately access information and file
claims. There is no wait period necessary where the end user must
be validated. Rather, validation of the end user can be performed
after the initial registration. In the event that an institution or
the administrating company cannot validate an end user, the
administrating company can either delete the files inputted by the
non-validated end user, or give an institution options regarding
the files. For example, the institution can request that the
administrating company hold the information for a specified period
of time, or until the end user (the same or a different one) can be
validated and the claims processed correctly.
[0065] After the user logs in 315 to the website 305, he or she can
be brought to the home page for filing claims 345. At this stage,
if the user needs help with filing claims, he or she can either
access a contact page 350 for information on how to contact the
lawsuit administrators or access a help page 355 that houses a
frequently asked question information source. The end user can also
modify their profile 318. At this point, an end user can be
prompted to select between filing a claim or reviewing the history
and status of a previously filed claim (not shown). FIG. 8
exemplifies a screen that gives the end user access to FAQs,
contact information, and help pages. FIG. 8 also illustrates end
user instructions for the filing of a claim or claims.
[0066] Prior to filing one or more claims, the end user is prompted
to select a case 360. As shown in FIG. 9, cases can be selected by
entering the name of the case directly or by searching via the
alphabet. Once the end user has navigated the graphical user
interface 140 to a specific case (see FIG. 10), the end user can
then file claims by inputting case information 365 relating to that
particular lawsuit. This information may include, but is not
limited to the case status, case due dates, the defendant and
plaintiff information, when the ease was filed and in which court,
as well as any settlement or judgment amount. It is contemplated
that the case information can include any information deemed
pertinent to the lawsuit.
[0067] After entering the information relating to the claim, as
depicted in FIG. 11, the end user can then attach the supporting
documentation files 370. Here, there are four supporting documents
required, although this number may vary by the case. The supporting
documents can include, but are not limited to a signed proof of
claim form, a signature verification document, a data verification
document and an authorization document. Other documents that may be
required include, but are not limited to, stock certificates,
verification of sales and purchases. It is contemplated that any
supporting documents required by the specific lawsuit can be filed.
As discussed above, the file paths entered into the system via the
end user terminal 115 actually will have pointers associated with
them by pointer code 130, which then may be used to scan the
information and documentation for malicious code after uploading to
the web server and database. As shown in FIG. 12, after the end
user enters the information and uploads the supporting files, the
user can receive confirmation that the claim filing and supporting
files were received 380. The end user can then log out 385 of the
system.
[0068] By way of example, and not of limitation, it is not unusual
for an institution to file claims on behalf of tens or even
hundreds of claimants in numerous lawsuit resolutions. In addition,
for many claimants, their claims may be based upon multiple
transactions, i.e., there is no technical limit to the number of
transaction upon which a claim can be based, nor to the number of
claimants. Table 1 is a tree showing potential relationships
between institutions and claimants and their transactions for class
action lawsuits. The present systems and methods support the
institution's ability to track all of the claims filed on behalf of
all of its customers (the claimants), including the underlying
transactions, by presenting a graphical user interface that
provides streamlined interaction and access to this information to
facilitate the record keeping of each institution in regards to its
participation in the administration of the resolution of one or
more lawsuits. The institution may file claims in two or more
lawsuit resolutions and manage these claims in each lawsuit
resolution for multiple claimants.
[0069] As shown in FIGS. 13-15, the claimant information may be
uploaded to the system 100 as batch transaction files. FIG. 13
depicts the screen where file path to the batch file may be
indicated for upload as batch transaction files. The batch file to
be uploaded can be located by browsing the end user's computer to
locate the desired document or file. FIG. 14 depicts one interface
for providing the formatting of that batch transaction file so the
system can correctly load the files. FIG. 15 depicts how control
totals for the batch files are uploaded.
[0070] Once the claim files are fully uploaded to the transient
database through the first firewall, they can be moved to a folder
for scanning and uploading through the second firewall. After the
files are copied to the internal database, they can be verified to
have migrated through the first and second firewalls safely and
completely. Once the verification is performed, the files can then
be deleted from the transient database.
[0071] Returning to FIG. 3A, after selecting a case 345, the end
user can access previously filed claim information, including the
claim history and status 390, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Each
specific submission should contain case information, status
details, claim numbers, transaction information, supporting
documentation and files, and deficiencies (if any). Here, an end
user can provide any information that is missing from a deficient
claim to complete the claims 395. After reviewing the information
and updating the same, the end user can then, as above, log out
385.
[0072] After a registered end user has completed at least the
initial filing of at least one claim, the system may transmit one
or more messages requesting additional information, or impending
deadlines relating to the lawsuit. FIG. 3D illustrates two of the
potential messages that may be sent. Message 260 informs a
registered end user (Joe User 242) that certain claims are missing
documents. Message 265 informs a registered end user that the
deadline for filing and completing claims is approaching. If the
claim is not completed within a predetermined time period, a
message 270 can be transmitted to the institutional contact. It is
contemplated that these messages may include legal disclaimers, as
well as other terms and conditions relating to those messages.
[0073] If a registered user has forgotten a password during
subsequent log-ins, a "forgot password" system can be incorporated
into the system. The system of the invention comprises a help
section. Information related to the system can be located by using
the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section (not shown). If
additional help is needed, a section with contact information is
also included (not shown). After completing all the necessary
procedures, an end user will log out of the system of the
invention, which will then note that the user has been logged out
(not shown).
[0074] As illustrated in FIGS. 18A-18B and 19A-19B, when the
company coordinating a multi-claimant proceeding sets up a specific
case file relating to a class action lawsuit, an internal user will
begin a new project. Information relating to the class action
lawsuit is entered into the internal database. This information can
include, but is not limited to, the court, the case number, the
lead plaintiff, the plaintiff and defense counsels, court
documents, the judge, important case dates, and any settlement or
judgment information.
[0075] FIGS. 20A-20H illustrate a sample database record for the
system and method of the invention. Included are data collection
records, factsheet data records, staging tables on a scheduler for
data collection, initialization tables on a scheduler for data
collection, final transfer tables on a scheduler for data
collection, and tables used in a web portal.
[0076] The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and
illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto.
While the specification in this invention is described in relation
to certain implementation or embodiments, many details are set
forth for the purpose of illustration. Thus, the foregoing merely
illustrates the principles of the invention. For example, the
invention may have other specific forms without departing from its
spirit or essential characteristic. The described arrangements are
illustrative and not restrictive. To those skilled in the art, the
invention is susceptible to additional implementations or
embodiments and certain of these details described in this
application may be varied considerably without departing from the
basic principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that
those skilled in the art will be able to devise various
arrangements, which, although not explicitly described or shown
herein, embody the principles of the invention and, thus, are
within its scope and spirit.
* * * * *