"I regret having to write this opinion"

That is the first sentence in Vice-Chancellor Leo Strine's recent opinion in Beck v. Atlantic Coast PLC. While the Delaware courts may not lose much business as a result of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, Beck is the sort of case every court hates. According to Leo:

[T]his lawsuit was filed as a class action. The proposed plaintiff, Heinrich Beck, was, the complaint suggests, an unsophisticated computer user duped into buying a software product that he thought would improve the operational efficiency of his computer, but which, in reality, did not. Although Beck did not reside in Delaware, suit was filed here and the certification of a nationwide class of similarly situated consumers was sought....

In the course of discovery and briefing, it became clear that, contrary to representations in the original and proposed amended complaints, Beck had not been deceived and had never purchased the product in question, "Window Power Tools." In actuality, Beck observed an Internet popup ad for the product, believed the product did not work, and initiated a lengthy series of e-mail communications with the software developer in which he made numerous misrepresentations in order to elicit responses on, among other premises, the false basis that he could influence a school district's bulk purchase of the product. Beck waxed eloquent on his personal Internet web page about his triumph in duping the developer.

Recognizing that this is the sort of case that "can be cited by those who believe that class action suits should be curtailed because of the potential misuse that may be made of those suits," Leo not only dismissed the case and enjoined the plaintiff's attorneys from participating in any future lawsuits against the defendants with respect to Window Power Tools, but he also assessed costs of $27,500 and required them "to submit a copy of this decision with any motion for pro hac vice filed by any of them." In other words, if the plaintiff's lawyers want to appear before a Delaware court again, they must submit Leo's scathing opinion with their application as a reminder to future courts of their bad behavior. Well done!