What is a class action?

A class-action claim is a personal injury case in which multiple victims who have been injured by the same party come together to file a lawsuit against the plaintiff. In a class-action case, a single plaintiff stands in for the whole group, or “class,” of plaintiffs.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called the “class representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims against the same company. The people who are suing are called the plaintiffs, and they make up a class. The company or companies they sue are called the defendants. In class actions, the judge or jury resolves the claims for everyone in the class unless they ask to be excluded.