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Class Action Lawsuits are suits filed by groups of people who share a common grievance against another person, company, or other type of organization. Class action suits can be filed federally but are governed by laws requiring the type of grievance to be against the law in all states. The class action suit must also claim the same grievance for everyone.
One of the most common types of class action lawsuits are against companies for worker related grievances. Another common class action lawsuit occurs when a product injures large numbers of people. Discrimination is also another reason many class action suits are filed, when a segment of the population is denied something based on who they are.
When a class action lawsuit reaches across states to the federal level a multi-district litigation may be enacted in order to handle the differences in each state’s civil law proceedings. Class action lawsuits may be brought under state law as well. Then, any potential class action members outside the state may join the suit as long as the lawsuit is based in one state.
Class action lawsuits give equal amounts of any award to each of the participating members. Members also have the right to opt-out of the suit and seek their own individual claim as well. Members who choose to opt-out of a class action lawsuit must do so within a specified time and include legal notifications. Many class action lawsuits involve several negotiation stages between the defense and the plaintiffs. Each negotiation, award offer, or counter-offer should be publicized to all members of the suit.
There are several advantages to a class action lawsuit. In particular, the suits often result in significant changes that can ensure future transgressions will not occur again. Sometimes a class action lawsuit can result in sweeping national law changes that can benefit the entire country.
In addition, class action lawsuits allow large numbers of people who have been minimally harmed can seek redress without facing large legal bills. Most lawyers who take on class action lawsuits do so by contingency fee only, which means they only get paid if the client wins. If the case has several hundreds of people or more, it helps the lawyer recoup funds for their work. Usually lawyers would not take on individual cases that could be handled through a class action lawsuit because of the very low award potential.
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