Class Action Lawsuits Overview

When a group of multiple individuals wish to file an identical complaint, typically regarding product liability against a larger corporation, class action lawsuits are usually the most efficient legal option.

Types of Class Action Claims

Class actions result from a group of individuals suffering from common injuries or damages as a result of illegal business practices, product defects, or similar circumstances. Initially, a complaint is filed on the behalf of the plaintiffs, and then a motion is filed to certify the class.

When one of these lawsuits is filed, any and all possible plaintiffs are notified. This is so that any individual plaintiff who wishes to pursue legal action alone may opt out of the class action. Product liability claims are one of the most common sources of class action lawsuits, but many other scenarios can lead to this type of action, from cases involving personal injury or wrongful death to employment discrimination or insurance bad faith claims.

Advantages of Class Action Lawsuits

Class action lawsuits have several advantages over individual claims. Most notably, because several complaints are resolved at once, class actions allow for efficient judicial action without overloading the legal system with multiple, separate lawsuits. In addition, rulings in class actions prevent disparate decisions between separate filings.

In class actions, any type of verdict and damages agreed upon are split among all plaintiffs involved in the group. Most class actions will divide plaintiffs within the class, according to different degrees of damage. This typically results in separate agreements for each section, with higher degrees of damages awarded to those groups that experienced more hardship or damage as a result of the defendant’s actions.