Class Action & Group Claims

Class actions exist for a specific problem: conduct that causes real harm to a large number of people, but not enough harm to any single person to make an individual lawsuit economically rational. Without the class mechanism, that conduct is effectively unaccountable.

Claims that tend to proceed as a class or group

• Defective products — vehicles, components, appliances, medical devices
• Dangerous pharmaceuticals and medical implants
• Data breaches and mishandling of personal information
• Deceptive trade practices and false advertising
• Unlawful fees and billing practices by lenders, insurers and service providers
• Wage and hour violations — unpaid overtime, misclassification
• Environmental releases and industrial contamination affecting a community

Class action, mass tort, MDL — the difference matters

These terms get used interchangeably and they should not be.

• In a class action, one or more named representatives litigate on behalf of everyone in the class. There is a single resolution, and class members typically recover a proportionate share. It suits claims where everyone was harmed in essentially the same way and by the same amount.
• In a mass tort, each person retains their own individual claim and their own damages. Cases are coordinated for efficiency, but they are valued individually. This fits personal injury claims, where one person had a mild reaction and another needed surgery.
• Multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a procedural device that consolidates similar federal cases before one judge for pretrial purposes. Cases can be remanded for trial afterward.

Choosing the wrong structure can badly undercompensate people with serious injuries. If your damages are materially worse than the average class member’s, an individual claim may serve you far better than joining a class — and that is a conversation worth having before you sign anything or cash a settlement check.

What certification requires

A case does not become a class action because a lawyer says so. A court must certify it, and that generally requires showing that the class is numerous enough that joining everyone individually is impractical, that there are questions of law or fact common to the class, that the representative’s claims are typical, and that the representative and counsel will adequately protect the class. Additional requirements apply depending on the type of class sought.

How we evaluate a potential case

We look at whether the conduct is genuinely uniform across the group, whether the harm can be proven with common evidence, whether a viable defendant exists with the means to satisfy a judgment, and whether the class device actually serves the people involved — or whether they would do better with individual claims. Sometimes the honest answer is the latter, and we will tell you so.