Is EVERYONE "lawsuit happy"?

As I opened my personal email yesterday I found a notice from Bed Bath & Beyond. As I read through it, I thought - you have GOT to be kidding me? Apparently there is a lawsuit against Bed Bath & Beyond for misrepresenting the thread count on certain products that were sold between 2000 and 2007. I will post below so you can read this and see how ridiculous it seems.

I cannot believe that someone is taking the time, energy, and money to legally pursue this issue. Does it really matter if the thread count in your sheets is off a little or if there was a miscommunication regarding it? I just think of all of the time, money, and energy that is being used towards this lawsuit and settlement, and I think about what good things could have been done with that money. That money could have been put towards any number of charities or it could have been used to buy things like sheets and pillows for kids in third world countries who have never had such a comfort. It is sad to know that there are people in this world who will never know what it is to get a good nights sleep - people who would be thrilled with a 100-thread-count set of sheets, yet here we are with a lawsuit over something so ridiculous.

Here are some excerpts from the notice below:
Attention Bed Bath & Beyond Customers
If you purchased multi-ply bed products from Bed Bath & Beyond between August 1, 2000 and November 9, 2007, this Notice is to inform you of a proposed class action settlement that could affect your legal rights.

A lawsuit is pending in the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey that may affect your rights. This lawsuit alleges that Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as Synergy, Inc., misrepresented the thread count in its two-ply bedding products sold in stores and on its website by stating the number of threads in the warp and filling directions in one square inch of fabric, rather than the number of yarns. Bed Bath & Beyond and Synergy deny any wrongdoing and believe the signage, labeling and product samples available to their customers at the time of purchase provided their customers with complete and accurate information. The parties have reached a proposed settlement of the lawsuit. The settlement and this Notice have been preliminarily approved by the Court. The purpose of this Notice is to explain the settlement and advise you of your legal rights.

Am I a Member of the Class?
The class is identified as “All purchasers between August 1, 2000 and November 9, 2007 of multi-ply sheet sets, pillowcases, down comforters, bedskirts, shams, duvets and down pillows from Bed Bath & Beyond that were labeled as ‘plied,’ ‘two-ply’ or ‘2-ply’ (the ‘Covered Products’). The following persons are excluded from the settlement class: all persons who are officers, agents or directors of Bed Bath & Beyond or its subsidiaries and corporations related to Bed Bath & Beyond by shareholdings or other means of control, as well as the Judges of the Court in which the action is pending.” To obtain complete information regarding the class definition or other details of the settlement, including a list of the specific items that are the subject of the suit, please visit www.BBBThreadCountSettlement.com or call 1-888-271-6719.

What Does the Proposed Settlement Provide?
Subject to final court approval, the parties have agreed to a settlement under which you may be entitled to receive: (a) a refund of the purchase price of the bed products; or (b) a $10.00 gift card from Bed Bath & Beyond; or (c) a 20% discount certificate off any Bed Bath & Beyond purchase up to $250.00 (maximum discount of $50.00). Your eligibility depends upon whether you have a proof of purchase, and whether you wish to keep the bed products that you purchased.Further, as part of this settlement, Bed Bath & Beyond has agreed that for a period of five years, to the extent it knowingly sells multi-ply bed products containing a specific reference to a numerical thread count, those products will be labeled in accordance with the ASTM Standard for determining thread count in multi-ply bed products.

The notice goes on to talk about things such as "What benefits could I receive?", "What are my rights?", "What other lawsuits are involved?" etc. etc. etc.