Ask TheStreet: Shareholder Suits

And nowadays, the class-action lawyers can also wring money from the offending company's directors. In January 2005 a group of former Enron directors agreed to a $168 million settlement of their portion of a class-action securities lawsuit.

The bigger bucks in the Enron class-action suit, which was led by the University of California, came from the likes of Lehman Brothers(LEH - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), with a $222.5 million settlement; Bank of America(BAC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), $69 million; and the international unit of now-defunct accountant Arthur Andersen, $40 million.

But while these settlement amounts seem mammoth to ordinary investors waiting for their fair shake, at the end of the day they mean very little to those taking part in the suit.

The lawyers take a substantial cut for their efforts, usually around a third of the award. Anything left over will be spread among thousands and thousands of ticked-off shareholders who took part in the suit. That means, in the best of cases, you will only receive a few pennies on the dollar for all your troubles.

Also, class-action suits can take several years to settle. Therefore, it's really not worth a big emotional investment.

Nevertheless, if you don't take those pennies to which you are entitled, then somebody else will. And maybe you'll get some satisfaction in getting something -- anything -- back.

So if you are an aggrieved investor and want to participate in a class-action lawsuit, then your first job is to sign up with a law firm involved in the action. There is no charge for enrolling with a law firm, and it can be done online for free on certain Web sites.