Class action lawsuits can be extremely beneficial to plaintiffs in a lawsuit. In addition to saving courts time and resources, class actions give plaintiff parties the strength in numbers. Class actions have the ability to make a seemingly minor claim, a larger important claim affecting multiple people. Class action lawsuits are extremely important to our criminal justice system. Many times, a class action lawsuit holds a large corporation accountable to their consumers and employees. Additionally, a class action cuts costs for courts and plaintiffs.
Examples of Class Actions:
Every class action is going to look different. One of the greatest benefits of class actions is the way they bring individuals with similar goals or injuries together. Those goals and injures vary on a case-by-case basis. However, the most common categories that class actions fall into, include:
Employment: A group of employees comes together to bring a lawsuit against their employer. This most often includes disputes over compliances with wage and hour laws, sexual harassment, discriminatory practices, and hostile work environment. When a single employee brings a suit against his or her employer, the employee often enters into a confidential settlement.
Civil Rights: A group of individuals come together to bring a lawsuit against a public entity. Most notably, the United States Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is known as being the most famous civil rights class action lawsuit that ended segregation in public schools. Today, civil rights class actions could be against a police force in addition to a major corporation.
Environment: A group of individuals with environmental concerns come together to bring a lawsuit against various parties. This could include property owners with concerns regarding their right to clean air or water bringing a suit against a factory causing the pollutions. These cases force parties to make greater efforts to protect the environment.
Product Defects: A group of individuals that have purchased and used the same product come together to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturers of that said product. Oftentimes, this group seeks compensation for the cost of the product itself and any damage it caused.
Data: A group of individuals with data breach concerns come together to bring a lawsuit against various parties. In today’s digital age, millions of people could be affected by a data breach or hack at once. Social media platforms and other websites have a vast majority of our private information, coming together when a breach occurs in a class action will increase your chances of recovery.
If you have any questions regarding class action lawsuits or have a potential claim you seek counsel on, please reach out to an experienced attorney at Hariri Law Group. We believe in the strength in numbers.
