What is a Class Action?
In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives (in this case Teri Paul and Teri Carl), sue on behalf of all other people, the “Class,” who have similar legal claims. All of these people with similar legal claims are members of the class. One court resolves the issues in the case for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. California Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman of the Alameda County Superior Court is the judge assigned to this class action.
A class action is a type of civil lawsuit where people with comparable grievances combine together as a group, or a “class,” to sue another party or group of parties. One or more representative plaintiffs are named in the complaint that is filed with the court. These representative plaintiffs along with class counsel pursue the case for themselves and for the class as a whole against one or more defendants. The claims of these “class representatives” must arise from facts or law common to all members of the class. When ordinary citizens with common issues pool their resources in this manner the class action becomes a powerful tool to fight injustice.
A class action is a type of lawsuit that allows a person or entity to initiate and prosecute a representative lawsuit on behalf of other similarly situated persons or entities. It is frequently used when numerous people have been similarly affected by a company’s unlawful conduct. Class actions may be especially useful for people with relatively small economic losses that would not justify the hiring of a lawyer to pursue only their own claim. A class action cannot be prosecuted unless at least one person harmed by the conduct decides to act as a class representative.
Related Questions
- With the GAO report, congressional hearings, the DOL 408 project and class action suits on revenue sharing with mutual funds, what advantage do ETFs have?
- Is formal action of the board of education required for student-funded programs such as yearbooks, class rings and gifts?
- What is a class action settlement?
