Nova Class Action Lawsuit Website

, a member raises a good question: "Are there any details re why they are having to do this [the class action suit]? I thought that it was already decided that NOVA had to refund students for unused lesson points."

As I made reference to earlier, in having to pay for the sudden rush of canceled contracts, Nova is tight for cash, which is why they will have to sell off some assets and look for someone to partner with. Maybe the lawyer are just a bunch of ambulance chasers, or maybe they understand the seriousness of Nova's money problems and figure a class action suit is the best way for students to quickly get their refunds.

After a bit of searching, I found the class action website, the Kyosa NOVA kaiyakukin taisaku bengoshidan （京滋ＮＯＶＡ解約金対策弁護団）, which could be called the Kyoto-Saga (Kyosa) Nova Contract Cancellation Defense Counsel in English.

The website is to the point: if you have contract problems with Nova, they want to help, but the scope of their actions is limited. Their services are restricted to the consultation, mediation, and litigation regarding refunds for consumers who have canceled their contracts, and the consultation, mediation, and litigation concerning requests for refunds via the delivery of documents related to the cooling off period. They will not handle litigation
concerning Nova defaulting on its obligations due to school closures.

All students have to do is fill out a form available on the website and fax or mail it to the defense counsel. From there, a lawyer is chosen and the consultation process begins. The lawyer's fee starts with a 20,000 yen up front payment(not including tax), plus a 20% contingency fee (less the 20,000 yen paid up front), plus expenses (such as printing and postage). Consultations between 30 and 60 minutes cost 5,250 yen.

In the example given on the website, if a students files for and receives a 200,000 yen refund, the costs are:

1. Up front payment of 20,000 yen plus tax= 21,000 yen

2. 20% of the 200,000 yen settlement= 40,000 yen. From this, the above 20,000 payment is deducted= 20,000 yen.

3. The 20,000 yen is taxed, which brings the total amount paid to 21,000 yen plus expenses.

That's seems pretty cheap to me.

P.S.

Perhaps cheap isn't the right word, but it's probably a reasonable price to pay for some peace of mind. If this were a much higher refund, say 800,000 yen, the fees would be 140,000 yen for the lawyers.