What Is The Purpose Of A Class Action Lawsuit?
If you pay much attention to the news, especially from the world of big corporations and the lawsuits they face, you've likely heard reference to class actions. These are cases where a group of people band together and hire a class actions lawyer to sue another person or an organization. Collectively, these plaintiffs in a single case are known as the class.
Rightly, you might be curious what the purpose of this sort of suit is versus going it alone. Here's what potential participants in a suit should know about the purpose of class actions.
Mass
More than anything, a corporation facing the threat of being slammed with one large settlement or judgment has to respond. It's easy to ignore individuals and make them go through the pains of a lawsuit. They might bury one plaintiff in a toxic exposure case with demands for evidence of their medical concerns, for example.
A class actions attorney working with many plaintiffs, however, will know how to quickly document the issues that each one has. They meet with people who represent the most significant cases of problems. For example, they'd discuss mechanical failures from a product liability case for a car with the folks who experienced the most dramatic wrecks.
You'll note that someone still has to be the kernel that grows into the bigger lawsuit. Every case starts with one person contacting a law firm and asking just how big this might get. Frequently, cases start small until an injury attorney realizes that many people have suffered. That lawyer may then recommend that the client consider pursuing a class action and working with an attorney who handles those cases.
Patterns
Plenty of lawsuits are about proving patterns. If one car has a braking failure, for example, that's just an accident. If thousands of other cars do, that's a pattern.
A class actions attorney can look at the most dramatic cases and establish the pattern. They can then present the evidence of the pattern to the court to initiate the discovery process. A judge will likely order the car's manufacturer to provide the registration information for every driver in America who has that model of car.
Notification and Growing the Class
The law firm will send notifications to every person who might be an eligible member of the class. It will inform them of the circumstances and how to join the lawsuit.
Ideally, the defendant will get the point by now and seek to settle out of court. However, it may be necessary to go to trial.