subject: Class Action: What Is It All About? [print this page] Class Action: What Is It All About? Class Action: What Is It All About?
Many people don't have a clear idea about what class action exactly is. Well it is often considered to be one of the most effective solutions when more than one people are suffering from the same legal hassle. In such case the plaintiff don't need to file individual complaints. Instead of complaining separately they can make their claims together at the court in a single lawsuit.
Let's have a look to an example which can give you a clear idea. Suppose a retailer has sold defective products to many customers. Now that all these customers have suffered from the same problem they can come together to file a single lawsuit against the retailer. They can ask for compensation together.
Before you file a single lawsuit for more than one plaintiff you need to meet certain criteria. If you can not handle the complicacies alone you can consult a class action attorney. An attorney who has experience and expertise in this field can better understand all the factors and help you to proceed further. He or she can tell whether you are at all eligible to file such a lawsuit.
The criteria are as follow:
Number of Plaintiff: Filing such a lawsuit requires a minimum number of people to be affected. If the matter involves only a few people then class action is probably not applicable. The individuals need to file separate lawsuits. If there are numerous people affected by the same problem it is better to go for a single lawsuit.
Mutual Claim: For class action it is necessary that all the affected people share the same basis of the complaint. It can only be termed as class action if the dispute involves the same legality. For example hundreds of people have brought homes in the same housing estate and all their homes have defective plumbing. If this is the case all plaintiffs can go for single lawsuit.
Similar Complaint: In order to qualify for class action all the plaintiffs need to have the same complaint. For example it is going to work if all the house owners have the same problem i.e. defective plumbing. However if some one has problem with roofing and another person has problem with wiring they can not file single lawsuit even if it is against the same person.
Common Defense: Just as the complaint and the claim, the defense strategy also needs to be the same. For example if all of them are suffering from defective plumbing they need to provide evidence that the plumbing system is really defective.
Proper Representation: If you file a single lawsuit for numerous plaintiffs you will have to find out an ideal representative. A fair representation is required and an individual needs to have a good clean record in order to represent a class action.
All states of America have similar rules as Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which outlines the basics of class action legality and Chicago is no different. Dealing with the complicated legalities can be a great hassle. Therefore it is always preferable to have a class action attorney in Chicago to handle the case.
