What types of cases are appropriate for litigation as a class action?
In the 1960’s, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to allow for class actions. The new Rules were promulgated with an eye toward strengthening the hands of government agencies seeking to uphold and enforce the recently enacted civil rights legislation by the empowerment of private attorneys. Class action law has evolved over time and is now used to seek money damages and other relief arising out of securities law violations, consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices, antitrust violations, wage and hour violations, human and civil rights violations, employment discrimination and employee benefits disputes. In order for a claim to be prosecutable as a class action, any common issues of fact or law must substantially outweigh any individual issues. Because of this requirement, there are certain types of litigation that are typically not appropriate for resolution on a class-wide basis. These include personal injury and fraud claims, which frequently include highly individ
