Group claims that allow many people to sue together.
Class action lawsuits let large groups of people with similar legal claims pursue them together in a single lawsuit. They cover consumer, securities, employment, antitrust, privacy and product liability disputes that affect many people in similar ways.
What is a class action.
A class action is a procedural device that lets one or more named plaintiffs sue on behalf of a larger group of similarly situated people. Federal class actions proceed under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; states have their own class action rules.
Class actions are useful when individual claims are too small to litigate separately but together represent significant alleged harm. They also allow consistent treatment of similar claims and can resolve disputes that affect thousands or millions of people in a single proceeding.
Class certification.
A court must certify a class before a case can proceed as a class action. Certification typically requires four things. The class must be too large to join individually, and its members must share questions of law or fact. The named plaintiffs' claims must be typical of the class. The named plaintiffs and their lawyers must fairly represent everyone else.
Some classes also require that common issues predominate over individual ones and that a class action is the superior method of resolving the dispute. Class certification is often the most contested stage of a class action.
Common categories.
Common class action types include consumer protection cases (false advertising, hidden fees, defective products), securities fraud, antitrust, employment (wage and hour, discrimination), data breach and privacy, and product liability.
Some product liability cases proceed as class actions. Where individual injuries vary widely, they proceed as multidistrict litigation (MDL) instead. An MDL combines the work before trial while keeping each person's case separate for trial.
Class notice and opt-out.
Class members typically receive notice of the lawsuit and have the right to opt out and pursue individual claims. Notice may come by mail, email, publication, or website depending on the type of class and what records the defendant has.
After settlement or judgment, class members may receive a share of the recovery — sometimes by submitting a claim form, sometimes automatically based on records. Settlement notices typically explain the proposed terms, deadlines, and rights of class members to object or opt out.