Class Action Lawsuit Information
We have all heard of it, from time to time — the class action lawsuit. Usually, when those words are uttered, or show up in print, they are attached to the story of a company or a commercial or government entity that has a product or service that caused a lot of damage or injury to a lot of different people.
We have all heard of it, from time to time — the class action lawsuit. Usually, when those words are uttered, or show up in print, they are attached to the story of a company or a commercial or government entity that has a product or service that caused a lot of damage or injury to a lot of different people.
From a legal standpoint, a class action lawsuit is like a Stage 5 civil disturbance – it makes a lot of headlines and essentially destroys the reputations of the people behind the cause of the disturbance. A class action suit is the legal, courtroom equivalent of protestors taking to the streets, demanding redress of grievances.
Here is the basic structure of a class action lawsuit, and why it differs from a conventional lawsuit.
Class Actions Lawsuits Offer Nearly Limitless Numbers of Plaintiffs
It is actually not easy for a plaintiff to have a suit certified as a class action lawsuit. It takes the lawyer representing the plaintiff to do an initial investigation, make all proper motions for discovery and conduct depositions. Then, it is a complicated matter of requesting class action certification from the presiding judge.
However, what are the benefits of making a suit a class action suit? Chiefly, it is to pressure the defendants into settling through legal pressure and media pressure. It can also open a path to an extended period of pretrial motions, which are an opportune time to strike a settlement bargain.
Class Action Suits Can Negate the Cost Advantage of Big Corporations
In addition, by organizing a class action suit, it gives lawyers for the plaintiff many more cases, depositions and testimony to work with in order to make their case, all of which lead to a financial advantage to the plaintiff. When the legal team for a corporation is only contending with one defendant in a particular lawsuit, it can be easy for them to overwhelm the proceedings and characterize the plaintiff’s claims as an isolated incident.
With a class action lawsuit, any such claims are rendered invalid, and the pressure mounts for the defendant to reach a settlement agreement out of court. When a case gets to class action status, it is often a de facto vote of no confidence by the presiding judge in the defendant’s claims.
Class Action Suits Can Be Beneficial To Defendants in Certain Cases
That being said, though, class action lawsuits can be ultimately beneficial to defendants in these types of cases, because they condense all possible litigants into a single case, with one settlement offer. Chances are that each and every co-plaintiff will receive a relatively small share of the settlement agreement when it is all said and done.
Moreover, with a class action lawsuit, potential plaintiffs must formally and actively opt out of the class action motion if they intend on pursuing their own legal recompense. Most often, potential litigants do not bother with class action notices. As such, they surrender all rights to file their own suit on the matter.
Resources:
John Larson is the author of this article on Lawsuit Settlement Amounts.
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