A “class action” lawsuit is one in which a group of people with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the defendant as a group. Other names for lawsuits brought by a number of people who suffered similar harm or losses are “mass tort litigation” and “multi-district litigation” (“MDL”).
In a class action lawsuit, one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member of that group. The concept of a class action originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon; however, Canada, as well as several European countries, made changes in recent years to allow consumer organizations to bring claims on behalf of consumers.
In a typical class action, the plaintiff sues the defendant or a number of defendants on behalf of a group, or class, of absent parties. This differs from a traditional lawsuit, where one party sues another party for redress of a wrong, and all of the parties are directly in court. Although standards differ between states and countries, class actions are most common where the allegations involve a large number of people (usually 40 or more) who have been injured by the same defendant in the same way. Instead of each damaged person bringing his or her own lawsuit, the class action allows all the claims of all class members—whether they know they have been damaged or not—to be resolved in a single proceeding, through the efforts of the representative plaintiff(s) and appointed class counsel.
If you have been injured by a dangerous product, an environmental catastrophe, a discriminatory policy of your employer, or some other civil wrong that has affected multiple people, the best means of redress may be a class action. You may wish to consult with an attorney familiar with the class action process.
Do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Tishkoff, located in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their contact information is available at Tishkoff’s web site: https://tishold.dream.press/. Stay in touch with Tishkoff: http://bit.ly/TishkoffPLC