Please note that all submissions to the site are subject to the wiki's licence, CC 4.0 BY-SA, as found here
Class action
A class action (or class-action lawsuit) is a type of civil lawsuit that allows a group of individuals (the "class") to make a unified, collective civil case against an entity[1]. Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits one or more parties to "sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf" of all those similarly situated[2].
When a class action succeeds, the class receives compensation, and after legal fees, all members of the class receive a share of the compensation[1].
Class actions originated in the US but are now recognised in some other jurisdictions, including Canada, the UK, and some European countries.
Requirements
A class action must meet all requirements under Rule 23(a) to be legally valid. The four requirements are listed below[2].
Numerosity
(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable"
Known as the "numerosity" requirement, this means that it would be not be manageable for the court to handle every claimant as a full legal participant in the suit. Numerosity is presumed at 40 or more claimants[3].
Commonality
(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class
Known as the "commonality" requirement. This means that the class has a common case to be made against the defendant, either regarding what has occurred or the way it was unlawful.
Typicality
(3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class
Known as the "typicality" requirement, this means that the class action's claim actually represents the claims of its members.
Adequacy of the representation
(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class
Known as the "adequacy of representation" requirement.
Importance for consumer rights
Class actions are of particular importance for upholding consumer rights, as they allow claimants to receive justice when it would be too costly and time-consuming for individuals to separately seek justice on a widespread issue.
Obstacles
Forced arbitration
Companies can include forced arbitration clauses in their terms and conditions to protect themselves from many kinds of lawsuits. These clauses often restrict customers from participating in class actions.
