What Are Class Action Lawsuits?

Find out about class action cases and see if you have a class action lawsuit and determine whether or not you may be entitled to compensation. A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit brought by one or more Plaintiffs ("Representative Plaintiffs") on behalf of a larger group of others who have a common interest. These large groups can be businesses, consumers or injured people.

Representative Plaintiffs are required to file a motion requesting the action be class certified. If class certification is granted, they are allowed to proceed with the claim. If the Representative Plaintiffs are successful in the lawsuit, they are permitted to settle the claims of each person in the larger group.

Federal law states a class action suit must have certain specific characteristics. The group of members in the class must be of such a size that lawsuits on behalf of each individual would be impractical. All members must have common legal or factual claims. The claims of the class must be typical. Representative Plaintiffs must protect the claims of the other members of the class. In addition, the Representative Plaintiffs may be required to show that the common issues will dominate the proceeding, rather than facts pertaining to individual claims. They must also demonstrate a class action lawsuit is the most effective method to deal with the claims rather than individual lawsuits. Class action lawsuits can be filed in either Federal Court or State Court. Many states have rules that are similar to the federal rules, however, some states limit the types of claims permitted or do not provide for class action lawsuits. Other states have instituted regulations which vary from the federal rules. There are many forms of class action lawsuits. Some of the circumstances for which class action lawsuits are suitable are:

* Anti-trust claims: Brought on by consumers who suffer financial losses due to illegal overpricing of products and services;
* Consumer Actions: Brought on by consumers who are injured by a company's illegal or unethical practices;
* Consumer Produce Claims: Brought against a manufacturer, designer, distributor or retailer when consumers are injured by a faulty or defective product;
* Breach of Warranty: Brought on by consumers if a warranty on a product is misrepresented or false ;
* Employment Claims: Brought on by employees of a large company against the company for a range of claims;
* Employee Benefits: Brought on by employees of a single employer for benefit violations;
* Insurance Claims: Brought on by insurance holders who have policies where the insurance company does not investigate or pay claims or when the insurance company denies a certain class of individuals coverage;
* Medical Devices: Brought on by individuals, or their families members, who suffered injuries from a malfunctioning medical device;
* Pharmaceutical Litigation: Brought on by patients, or family members, who have suffered injury or death by an over-the-counter or prescription medication;
* Securities Class Action: Brought on by investors against a company or financial advisors for losses sustained as a result of improper conduct.