|
Consumer Class Action
What Qualifies To Be Certified As A Class Action
Whether a class action is superior to individual litigation depends on the case,
and is determined by the judge's ruling on a motion for class certification. In Federal civil
procedure rules, which nowadays generally govern almost all class action cases, the class action
must have certain characteristics:
-
the class must be so large as to make individual suits impractical
-
there must be legal or factual claims in common
-
the claims or defenses must be typical of the plaintiffs or defendants
-
the representative parties must adequately protect the interests of the class
-
common issues between the class and the defendants will predominate the proceedings, as
opposed to individual fact-specific conflicts between class members and the defendants
-
that the class action, instead of individual litigation, is a superior vehicle for
resolution of the disputes at hand.
Class actions instead seek victims who have been affected in the same or similar
manner. Class treatment may not improve the efficiency of a mass tort because the claims frequently
involve individualized issues of law and fact that will have to be re-tried on an individual
basis.
Lead Plaintiff or Class Representative
If your class action results in a settlement or favorable trial verdict, then as
the lead plaintiff – also known as the class representative -- you may ask the court for an
incentive bonus for your time and effort in representing the class, in addition to receiving
whatever compensation you are entitled to as a class member. Courts often grant these requests in
successful class action cases to encourage individuals to promote justice and further consumer
protection.
Such a bonus may be in the thousands of dollars. Keep in mind, however, at no time
are you entitled to any fee or a bonus. An incentive bonus is strictly up to the discretion of the
court.
Additionally, because you are a class representative, you are seeking to promote
the interests of the class members, i.e. consumers in your situation. This means that you are not
permitted to receive any payments from lawyers or the defendant outside what is approved by the
Court.
This is an important point because class representatives sometimes believe that
they are entitled to more by serving as consumers’ lead representative. Unfortunately, the rules do
not permit this.
Your decision to become lead plaintiff must be motivated by your desire to benefit
other consumers who have been economically injured in the same or similar ways as you.
Basic Procedure For Proceeding As a Class Action
The procedure for filing a class action is to file suit with one or several named
plaintiffs on behalf of a proposed class. The proposed class must consist of a group of individuals
or business entities that have suffered a common injury or injuries, or common loss.
Typically these cases result from an action on the part of a business or a
particular product defect or policy that applied to all proposed class members in a uniform manner.
After the complaint is filed, the plaintiff must file a motion to have the class certified. In some
cases class certification may require additional discovery – information gathering -- in order to
determine if the proposed class meets the standard for class certification.
Upon the motion to certify the class, the defendants may object to whether the
issues are appropriately handled as a class action, to whether the named plaintiffs are
sufficiently representative of the class, and to their relationship with the law firm or firms
handling the case.
The court will also examine the ability of the firm to prosecute the claim for the
plaintiffs, and their resources for dealing with class actions.
Due process requires in most cases that notice describing the class action be sent,
published, or broadcast to class members.
As part of this notice procedure, there may have to be several notices:
-
First, a notice giving class members the opportunity to opt out of the class, i.e.
if individuals wish to proceed with their own litigation they are entitled to do
so, only to the extent that they give timely notice to the class counsel or the
court that they are opting out.
-
Second, if there is a settlement proposal, the court will usually direct the class
counsel to send a settlement notice to all the members of the certified class,
informing them of the details of the proposed settlement.
Class Action Lawsuit
Nowadays, class action lawsuits typically arise under the following
circumstances:
-
employee rights
-
overtime claims
-
wage and hour claims
-
unfair labor practices
-
investor rights
-
investment fraud
-
unfair and deceptive trade practices
-
false and misleading product claims
-
false and misleading service claims
-
credit card fees
-
unfair billing
Under the class action rules, the victim who files in many instances has the best chances of
keeping the case local and being in charge of the litigation, even if other victims follow your
lead and file later. Being first to file, therefore, can be critical to ensuring your rights and
needs are protected.
If you have been the victim of financial loss because of consumer fraud, investment fraud, or
wrongful conduct at the hands of large companies or financial institutions, then contact us today. We work with established consumer class action law firms
which may be able to help you through deceptive business practices, consumer fraud, or other
consumer protection issue.
|
