Class Action Lawsuits

A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit in which a single case determines the rights and claims of a group of people. Specific plaintiffs are named to assert the entire class’s claims, which means that everyone with the same injury or claim does not need to file a separate lawsuit. In situations where people’s damages are too small to warrant individual lawsuits, class actions allow them to try their cases together, making these lawsuits a practical and effective way to recover their losses and/or put an end to illegal practices. Thanks to class action lawsuits, individuals have been able to join forces and stand up against some of the world’s most powerful industries and hold them accountable for their actions.

Class action lawsuits often involve a situation in which a group of people has been injured by the same product or conduct by an individual or company. There are four main types of class actions:

• Consumer Class Actions: These class action lawsuits are usually brought when a company’s systematic and illegal practices injure consumers. Some examples of such practices include unlawful debt collection, illegal penalties for late payments, not complying with consumer protection laws, and illegal charges added to bills.
• Product Liability Actions: Product liability and personal injury class actions usually are brought when a number of people are harmed by a mass accident such as a toxic spill or by a defective product such as a drug with harmful side effects that were unknown or unstated.
• Deceptive/Unfair Trade Practices Actions: These class action lawsuits are usually brought against businesses which engage consumers through commerce or trade in deceptive or unfair ways. Examples of deceptive and unfair practices include selling products that do not work as advertised, bait-and-switch representations, and false advertising.
• Employment Class Action Lawsuits: These class action suits are usually brought on behalf of employees of a company which has violated employment and labor laws. Examples of violations include failing to provide breaks, as well as unpaid overtime. These suits can also be brought for claims that range from systematic discrimination in the workplace to safety violations.

In Florida and the 11th Circuit, at least 40 people with similar claims usually are required to qualify as a class action lawsuit. It can help if several people are named as class representatives (that is, plaintiffs) in the lawsuit, a single person can file a class action suit if the Florida attorney for the class believes in good faith that a sufficient number of other individuals were injured in a similar way.

A class action lawsuit is a lawsuit in which a single case determines the rights and claims of a group of people. Specific plaintiffs are named to assert the entire class’s claims, which means that everyone with the same injury or claim does not need to file a separate lawsuit. In situations where people’s damages are too small to warrant individual lawsuits, class actions allow them to try their cases together, making these lawsuits a practical and effective way to recover their losses and/or put an end to illegal practices. Thanks to class action lawsuits, individuals have been able to join forces and stand up against some of the world’s most powerful industries and hold them accountable for their actions.

One or more people who believe that they, as part of a larger group of people, have been harmed or injured in a common way usually initiate a class action lawsuit. One of our Florida attorneys will file a lawsuit on behalf of the individual or group of individuals who want to represent the class. This individual or group is referred to as the ‘class representative.’When appropriate, the attorney will file a motion with the court and ask the court to certify the case as a class action. If the court grants the class certification motion, the unnamed individuals who allegedly were wronged or injured in the same manner as the class representative are notified about the class action, giving them an opportunity to participate in the lawsuit as a ‘class member.’ They also have the opportunity to leave the class and pursue individual lawsuits.

There are many different reasons why you as an individual might want to participate in a class action lawsuit. Some class representatives bring class actions to recover money that was taken from them illegally while recognizing that they cannot afford a lawyer’s hourly fees to bring an individual suit, especially if the individual damage is for so small an amount that most lawyers would refuse to take the case unless it was on a contingency, class action basis. Other class representatives participate in these lawsuits because they are proud to be involved in stopping someone who is profiting from wrongdoing and forcing them to behave or conduct business in honest, legal ways.

Most courts provide class representatives with ‘incentive awards’ for the expense and time associated with helping to prosecute a case if the class action successfully obtains the sought-after relief. Judges usually have broad discretion when deciding whether these awards are justified and when setting the awards’ amounts, which can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. When deciding the amount of an inventive award, the courts consider several factors, such as whether a practice change (such as injunctive relief) was obtained, the size of the class’s recovery, and the class representative’s amount of involvement. Our experienced and skilled Florida attorneys at Vargas Gonzalez Delombard endeavor to obtain incentive awards for class representatives, although we cannot guarantee any amounts.

In most cases, the attorney who agrees to take and file a class action lawsuit will advance all the costs involved in filing and litigating the case. Such attorneys usually take their fees on a contingency basis. If the case is successful, the attorney will petition the court to reimburse out-of-pocket costs and award attorney fees. If the lawsuit is unsuccessful, the plaintiff’s lawyer absorbs the loss.

Class action law is specialized, so you should look for a Florida law firm and attorneys with extensive class action experience, and more specifically, with experience in the area of law that applies to your class action suit. Ask the attorney oof they have handled such cases before, how many cases they and the firm are handling currently, and how many class actions they handled in the past. You should also ask the attorney what is expected of you as the class representative, and insist on a written engagement letter for Authority to Represent, as well as a written disclosure describing your rights as a class representative.