How is a judgment distributed?
Assuming the representative plaintiffs were successful at the common trial, there should be an award to be distributed to all of the class members who enrolled and did not opt-out, whether or not they actually participated in the common trial. Money can be distributed to class members in a number of ways. It may be that a class member can simply submit a claim form to the plaintiff’s lawyers, in order to be re-imbursed. It may be that certain class members will need to go to a lawyer’s office to give sworn evidence, or attend a mediation or arbitration, or even a mini-trial, before getting re-imbursed. In the end, how the money will be distributed, will depend on the type of case that was brought, and the number of people who are entitled to compensation.
