WO2001048667A1

WO2001048667A1 - System and method for determining the rights of a party under an agreement

Info

Publication number: WO2001048667A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/035447
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lawrence E. Feldman
Original assignee: Feldman Lawrence E
Priority date: 1999-12-29
Filing date: 2000-12-28
Publication date: 2001-07-05
Also published as: AU2914301A

Abstract

A system (Figure 1) and method (Figure 2) for determining the rights of a party under an agreement, wherein the party is repeatedly prompted with a screening question (312, 322, 323, 342), the party is provided with a plurality of answer links (314a-d, 324a-d, 334a-d, 344a-d), and a target of an answer link (314a-d, 324a-d, 334a-d, 344a-d) selected by the party is navigated to until the target is a computed result (352), which computed result (352) is displayed to the party.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING

THE RIGHTS OF A PARTY UNDER AN AGREEMENT

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to determining the rights of parties under agreements. More particularly, it relates to determining the rights of a specific party under an agreement .

Background Legal documents are technical by nature and often incomprehensible to the layman. When the subject matter to which they relate is complex, their interpretation and application to specific cases can be daunting even to attorneys. Some legal documents, such as proposed settlement agreements relating to class action lawsuits affect a great number of people, each of whom must determine the meaning of the applicable document and how such document affects him or her. Many such persons fail to obtain adequate explanations of such documents and fail to protect their interests effectively. Others obtain explanations at considerable expense from attorneys unfamiliar with the applicable documents. It would be desirable for each affected person to be able to access an explanation prepared by a single attorney or other expert of how the person would be affected individually. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for automatically determining the benefits to which a person is entitled under an agreement. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for obtaining a determination of the benefits to which a person is entitled under an agreement over the Internet .

Summary of the Invention

A system and method for determining the rights of a party under an agreement, wherein the party is repeatedly prompted with a screening question, the party is provided with a plurality of answer links, and a target of an answer link selected by the party is navigated to until the target is a computed result, which computed result is displayed to the party.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a block diagram of a computerized system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3A is a schematic representation of an exemplary Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3B is a schematic representation of an exemplary Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3C is a schematic representation of an exemplary

Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3D is a schematic representation of an exemplary Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3E is a schematic representation of an exemplary Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3F is a schematic representation of an exemplary Web page used in implementing a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The following definitions are provided to aid in construing the claims of the present application:

Agreement. A contract or proposed contract of any form, including a settlement agreement, such as a class action settlement agreement, or a merger or conversion agreement.

Answer link. A selectable answer to a screening question. In certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, an answer link is the combination of a textual answer to a screening question and an associated hyperlink. In other embodiments of the present invention, however, an answer link may be one of a plurality of choices in a drop down list box or menu or the combination of a textual answer to a screening question and a command line prompt for indicating the selected answer. Business entity. A corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, trust, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or other entity organized to carry on business .

Computed result. A party's rights and obligations under an agreement, whether to receive or pay a specific monetary sum or a monetary range, or to receive or confer other intangible or tangible benefits, such as free services or goods .

Hyperlink. A region of a Web page (or other document, such as a file generated by a word processor, or screen of a computer program) viewable on a computer display that when clicked upon (or otherwise selected by an input device) will result in a predetermined screen, page, document, or portion of a screen, page or document being displayed. The term hyperlink includes, but is not limited to, uniform resource locators . Party. Any person or entity with rights or obligations under an agreement .

Screening question. A question, the answer to which affects a party's rights under an agreement.

Target. A screening question or a computed result. In certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a target is represented by a uniform resource locator (hereinafter referred to as a "URL") .

Referring to figure 1, a preferred embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. Web server 100 may be a mainframe, minicomputer, microcomputer, or other type of computer (or may be composed of a plurality of computers connected by a network or other means) , but is preferably a Windows NT or Unix server, including at least processor 102, such as a Pentium family processor, and memory 104 connected thereto. Memory 104 may be temporary memory, such as random access memory, or permanent storage, such as a hard drive, but is preferably a combination of temporary memory and permanent storage. Matrix software 106, stored in memory 104, may be a collection of linked Web pages written in html. In an html embodiment, a Web page (1) may include a screening question and a plurality of answer links, each answer link being a hyperlink to another Web page, (2) may contain a computed result, or (3) may contain neither a screening question nor a computed result. Optionally, Web pages falling within the third class of Web pages may include hyperlinks to Web pages falling within the first two classes of Web pages . Alternatively, Matrix software 106 may be a platform dependent or platform independent application written in any programming language for use in a command line, menu based, or graphical environment. In such an embodiment, each answer link might be the combination of a displayed textual answer and code sufficient to cause an appropriate other screening question, computed result, or other text to be displayed upon the selection of the displayed textual answer by whatever means are supported in the applicable user environment.

Web server 100 is connected by Internet connection 108 to the Internet 110. User terminal 114 is similarly connected to the Internet 110 by Internet connection 112. Internet connections 108 and 112 may be direct connections, such as T-l lines or indirect connections, such as modem-to-modem connections over telephone lines, or any other sort of connection to the Internet, and Internet connections 108 and 112 may be of different types.

User terminal 114 may be a dumb terminal or a computer, such as a mainframe computer, a minicomputer, or a microcomputer. User terminal 114 is most typically a personal computer with a Pentium family processor running a Windows operating system. User terminal 114 is connected to display 116, which may be a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display monitor, although in some cases user terminal 114 may be integrated with display 116 in a single unit. User terminal 114 is also connected to at least one of keyboard 118 and pointing device 120, which may be a mouse or trackball. In some cases keyboard 118 and pointing device 120 may also be integrated into user terminal 114.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a user accesses the Web pages constituting the Matrix software located on Web server 100 using a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator or Communicator, from user terminal 114. In other embodiments of the present invention, however, the Matrix software may be stored on the user's computer, or on a computer readable medium insertable into the user's computer, in the form of Web pages or otherwise. Moreover, the Matrix software need not be in the form of Web pages. It may be, for example, an application located on the user's computer, on a server connected to the user's computer by a local area network, or on a remote server connected to the user ' s computer through a modem to modem connection over a telephone line or otherwise.

In any event, the Matrix software contains logic sufficient to determine the benefits and obligations of each party to an agreement. The agreement may be a settlement (or proposed settlement) of a lawsuit, such as a class action, a contract, letter of understanding, or other agreement relating to the merger of two business entities, a corporate reorganization, a corporate acquisition or takeover, or a document relating to the distribution of a debtor's assets in a bankruptcy. The agreement may also be a form contract, such as an insurance policy, or a contractual provision, such as a warranty. The agreement may also be a document relating to one or more trusts and estates, such as a will, deed of trust, petition to a court for distribution of assets, or out of court settlement agreement.

The logic of the Matrix software is prepared by first determining all of the factors that affect a party's rights under an agreement. To the extent possible, each factor is embodied in a question with a discrete number of possible answers that may be used to separate the parties into a set of classes of parties. Other factors are then embodied in subsequent questions used to further categorize the parties. Finally, if necessary, the remaining factors are embodied in questions without discrete answers, which answers may be inserted into formulae to determine each party's benefits and obligations under the agreement . A relatively simple set of questions is discussed below with respect to figures 3A through 3F.

The preparation of the logic of the Matrix software for a particular agreement thus is the product of the preparer's interpretation of the agreement at issue. Accordingly, the Matrix software's determination of a party's rights and obligations under an agreement is not ordinarily binding. However, the preparer of the Matrix software may be a person particularly knowledgeable about the agreement (such as one of its drafters) and less likely to err regarding its meaning. Moreover, an agreement may be written so as to simplify translation of the provisions of the agreement to the Matrix software .

Referring to figure 2, a method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In step 200, a party logs in to a Web site made up of the Web pages constituting the Matrix software. In some Web-based embodiments of the present invention, step 200 may be completed simply by navigating to the home page of the Web site. In the preferred embodiment, however, the party must supply a username and password to gain admittance to the other pages of the Web site. If the user does not already have a username and a password, the user may be prompted to obtain or select a username and a password.

The user may also be prompted for payment information in step 200. In some embodiments, the user may pay a one time fee for unlimited access to the Matrix software, while in other embodiments the user may pay a fee for each session or each inquiry making use of the Matrix software. Furthermore, certain users may be given free usage of the Matrix software, such as clients or prospective clients who desire representation or advice with regard to the applicable agreement. The payment information may include one or more of a name and billing address, a credit card number, bank account number, or other account number, or data relating to electronic currency, such as electronic cash.

In step 202, the party is prompted with a screening question. Screening questions may be used to categorize the party so as to determine which provisions of the agreement apply to the party. Typical questions of this type in a products liability class action lawsuit may relate to products used by the party, the party's age, and the party's medical diagnosis. In a corporate reorganization or merger, such questions might relate to the party's interest in the corporation (e.g., common shareholder, preferred shareholder, or holder of a particular class of debt obligation) . In other embodiments, such questions might relate to the party's interest in a trust or a fund, inter alia. Screening questions may also be used to help compute the party's benefits (or obligations) without categorizing the party. For example, with regard to an agreement relating to a bankruptcy, categorizing screening questions might first be presented to the party to determine the class of creditor to which the party belongs, followed by non-categorizing screening questions relating to the amount owed to the party. In step 204, multiple answer links may be provided to the party. Such answer links are generally provided in connection with each categorizing screening question, but not in connection with non-categorizing screening questions (as to which some other feedback mechanism may be provided, such as an edit box into which a number may be entered) . In the preferred embodiment, each answer link is a hyperlink to another Web page on which a screening question or a computed result may be displayed and the label of each answer link is a possible answer to the screening question. (In certain cases, the hyperlink may lead to a Web page containing neither a screening question nor a computed result. In such cases, however, the hyperlink does lead indirectly to a Web page containing either a screening question or a computed result.) In the preferred embodiment, steps 202 and 204 are performed simultaneously. Both a screening question and answer links pertaining to it are displayed on the same Web page. In other embodiments, however, the screening question may be displayed before the answer links are provided. One could also provide the answer links prior to displaying the screening question. This last method would typically be applicable where answer links having a similar appearance (i.e. text) are used for multiple questions.

In step 206, the system navigates to the target of the answer link chosen by the party. In Web-based embodiments of the present invention, the party's Web browser performs this navigation automatically upon selection of the chosen answer link by the party. In other embodiments, however, application code may be needed to display an appropriate screen to the party.

In step 208, the system determines whether the target is a computed result. If it is, the system displays the computed result in step 210. If not, the system returns to step 202 and displays another screening question. In the preferred embodiment, step 208 need not be explicitly performed because either a screening question or a computed result will be displayed automatically when the party selects an answer link. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, application code may be needed to distinguish between targets that are screening questions and targets that are computed results and to display the appropriate screens.

The computed result that is displayed in step 210 is most commonly a fixed dollar amount to which a party is entitled under the applicable agreement. The computed result may, however, be a dollar range where, for example, the actual sums to be distributed depend on factors not yet determined (such as a company's operating results through a future date) . The computed result may also be a fractional or percentage interest in a fund, such as a trust or a debtor's assets. In a corporate reorganization, merger, acquisition, or takeover, the computed result may be a number or range of shares of a specific class of stock of a corporation or an amount or range of a class of debt in a corporation. The computed result may also be some other benefit, such as free or discounted services or products (such as free medical treatment for injured plaintiffs or an amount of free Internet access for plaintiffs deprived of purchased Internet access) . The computed result may also be an obligation of a party, such as to pay a sum of money or to provide certain services or to refrain from taking certain actions. Finally, the computed result may be a combination of any of the above benefits or obligations.

Referring to figures 3A through 3F, six Web pages from an exemplary (simplified) Web site implementing the preferred embodiment of the present invention with respect to an agreement relating to the settlement of a products liability class action lawsuit are illustrated. Web page 300, illustrated in figure 3A, includes an explanation of and introduction to the Web site in region 302, text boxes 304 for entering a registered user's name and password, login button 306, and new user button 308. By pressing button 308, a new user may access a screen for obtaining a username and password and supplying payment information (not shown) . By appropriately entering the user's username and password into text boxes 304 and pressing button 306, a user may navigate to Web page 310, shown in figure 3B. Web page 310 includes screening question 312 relating to the product or products used by the party and answer links 314a through 314d. If the party clicks on answer link 314a, Web page 320, illustrated in figure 3C is displayed. (Similar Web pages might be displayed if the party clicked on any of the other answer links, but only one possible path is illustrated for reasons of brevity and to avoid obscuring the inventive concept . ) Web page 320 includes screening question 322 relating to the length of use of the product or products by the party and answer links 324a through 324d. If the party clicks on answer link 324a, Web page 330, illustrated in figure 3D is displayed. Web page 330 includes screening question 332 relating to the nature of the party's injuries and answer links 334a through 334e. If the party clicks on answer link 334a, Web page 340, illustrated in figure 3E is displayed.

Web page 340 includes screening question 342 relating to the severity of the party's injuries and answer links 344a through 344d. If the party clicks on answer link 344a, Web page 350, illustrated in figure 3F is displayed.

Web page 350, illustrated in figure 3F displays computed result 352, which is hard-coded into the Web page in the preferred embodiment. Thus, a separate Web page is necessary for each possible computed result . In cases where the number of possible computed results renders this approach unmanageable, a function written in JavaScript, for example, may be used to determine and display the computed result without the need for the creation of a separate Web page for each possible computed result. Optionally, a database located in Web server 100 or cookies stored in user terminal 114 may be used to store data supplied by the user prior to calculation of the computed result. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

Claims

That which is claimed is:

1. A method of determining the rights of a party under an agreement, comprising the steps of:

(A) prompting a party with a screening question;

(B) providing a plurality of answer links; (C) navigating to a target of an answer link selected by the party;

(D) repeating steps (A) through (C) until the target is a computed result ; and

(E) displaying the computed result to the party.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a class action lawsuit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computed result comprises a sum of money to which the party is entitled.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of answer links comprises an answer link that is a hyperlink.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of answer links comprises an answer link that is a uniform resource locator ("URL") .

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of answer links comprises an answer link that comprises a hyperlink.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each answer link is a uniform resource locator ("URL").

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each answer link comprises a uniform resource locator ("URL") .

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of answer links comprises an answer link the target of which is a Web page .

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each target of each answer link is a Web page.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each target of each answer link is located within the same Web site.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each answer link is a menu choice.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein each answer link is an entry in a drop down list.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's medical condition.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's age.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's use of a product.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's interest in a corporation.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's interest in a trust.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the screening question relates to the party's claim against a fund.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a merger of two business entities.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a conversion of ownership rights in a business entity.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a corporate reorganization.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a bankruptcy.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a policy of insurance.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a warranty.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a trust.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to a plurality of trusts.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the agreement relates to an estate.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the computed result comprises a percentage interest to which the party is entitled in a fund .

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the computed result comprises a number of shares to which the party is entitled of a stock.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: prompting the party for a password.

32. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: prompting the party to supply payment information.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the payment information comprises a credit card number.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the payment information comprises data representing electronic currency.

35. A system for determining the rights of a party under an agreement, comprising: a processor; a memory in communication with said processor; a display in communication with said processor; and an input device in communication with said processor, wherein said processor causes a party to be prompted with a screening question; wherein said processor causes a plurality of answer links to be displayed on said display; wherein said processor navigates to a target of an answer link selected by the party; wherein said processor repeatedly causes the party to be prompted with a screening question, causes answer links to be displayed on said display, and navigates to a target of an answer link selected by the party until the target is a computed result; and wherein said processor causes the computed result to be displayed to the party.

36. A system for determining the rights of a party under an agreement, comprising: means for prompting a party with a screening question; means for providing a plurality of answer links; means for navigating to a target of an answer link selected by the party; and means for displaying the computed result to the party, wherein said means for prompting, said means for providing, and said means for navigating repeatedly prompt a party with a screening question, provide a plurality of answer links, and navigate to a target of an answer link selected by the party until the target is a computed result.

37. A computer-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement a process comprising the steps of :

(A) prompting a party with a screening question;

(D) repeating steps (A) through (C) until the target is a computed result; and

(E) displaying the computed result to the party.