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What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?
By Attorneys.org Editor
When a large group of people come together to file a lawsuit that represents all of them regarding the same issue against a class of defendants it’s known as a class action lawsuit. Also known as a “class action suit,” this collective type of lawsuit originated in the United States. While class action lawsuits exist to a degree in Europe, mostly on behalf of consumer organizations, they remain predominantly a United States phenomenon.
Class action lawsuits are often filed as the result of illegal or injurious company practices that have resulted in harm, damage or negligence. This type of collective lawsuit can also be filed against prescription drug companies who’ve made false and illegal claims about the products they’ve produced that have resulted in personal injury or death.
Once a class action lawsuit is initiated, those who might be involved are contacted and must sign papers to join the class action suit, thus giving up the right to sue the company involved as an individual. When a class action lawsuit is successful, the group of plaintiffs is awarded damages according to the greatest amount of damage done. Occasionally, not all participants in the suit are rewarded damages but those who are split them equally after the attorney receives their fee of 30 to 50 percent of the total reward.
A class action lawsuit may go to a jury trial or be settled before a trial begins. Awards against the defendant are divided into punitive and compensatory damages. Punitive damages area type of punishment demonstrating the disregard shown by the company against the plaintiffs’ well-being. Compensatory damages involve funds or compensation given the plaintiffs in response to their loss.
One of the most well-known class action lawsuits is depicted in the film Erin Brockovich regarding one gas company’s attempt to cover up chemical contamination of a town’s water supply that led many people to develop cancer.
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action
http://www.web-access.net/~aclark/frames45.htm