Get Notice Of Class Action Determination, Class ...

A class action is a legal procedure that allows a member of a group to institute a law suit on behalf of other class members. The proceedings generally involve three separate stages: 1) authorization of the class action, 2) merit, and 3) recovery. A settlement can be reached during either of the first two stages.

They may be formally notified of the lawsuit by mail, or they may just read about it in the newspaper. Legal representation is always required when bringing a class action, and the class of plaintiffs must be approved or 'certified' by the court.

In a class action case, a class period is the specific time period the alleged injury was committed against the class by the defendant. For example, if a manufacturer sold defective products to consumers for two years, the two-year period is the class period.

Members of the group on whose behalf a class action lawsuit has been filed are called class members. All members of a class share the same injury for which they are suing, and they receive a portion of the awarded judgment. There are many ways to become a class member.

NO RISK IF UNSUCCESSFUL If a class action fails, class members do not pay any legal fees or expenses to class counsel and, therefore, there is no risk. On the contrary, when an individual takes legal action and it fails, that person must pay such fees, which could be significant, from their own pockets.

This notice describes the lawsuit and the terms of the proposed settlement. This notice also describes the process that the Court will use to decide whether to approve the proposed settlement, and what you can do if you have comments or object to the proposed settlement.

In other words, a class action ensures that a defendant who engages in widespread harm – but does so minimally against each individual plaintiff – must compensate those individuals for their injuries.