Fighting for justice is one of the most honorable professions. Whether corporate, media, family, or criminal law, the practitioners always portray immense emotional intelligence. However, one branch of law requires twice the logical reasoning, analytics, and research skills.
We call it the area of class action law. Such cases have an increased risk of failure concerning minor details. The stakes are higher, and so are the payouts.
Indeed, the federal government has seen companies pay billions of dollars as settlements for such lawsuits. Why? It all boils down to emotional, financial, environmental, and human health.
That is why everyone needs to familiarize themselves with the different class action law types and how to file them.
Most Famous Types of Class Action Lawsuits
Before we move ahead with the types, let us first try to define class action. Technically, you can present a legal action as a lawsuit that benefits all affected people.
Such lawsuits involve groups affected by the same situation coming together to make claims against corporations. It can be consumers, investors, employees, and patients. Check out the famous types of class action lawsuits to better understand this.
1. Product Liability Cases
The most common class action litigation would be against companies that offered defective products. Due to the use of these, people have had health issues. Not only were they falsely advertised, but they also violated the laws.
A great example would be the firefighting foam lawsuit. Firefighting foam contains toxic chemicals called per-and-poly-fluoroalkyl or PFAS. Due to foam exposure, people can develop cancer and other chronic ailments.
That is when class action lawyers from firms like TorHoerman Law step into the picture. They help victims file Aqueous Film Forming Foam or an AFFF lawsuit and fight on their behalf. Moreover, with the help of these attorneys, families can find solace and assistance with medical bills.
In fact, we have seen settlements worth USD 4 billion to date. Now, various consumer protection acts stop companies from gaining monetary benefits at the cost of human health.
2. Environment-Related Cases
Next are environmental issues that expose people to toxins from waste products or disasters like oil spills. The chemical waste seep into flora and fauna. Eventually, it gets into our bodies through water or food contamination.
Such instances affect you and your future generations due to environmental hazards. Moreover, you can file these if any company has harmed nature. It includes water contamination, the release of toxic chemicals, and spills.
Speaking of that, have you heard of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
Due to an explosion, 134 million gallons of oil affected the Gulf of Mexico, harming hundreds of people, wildlife, and the waters. The lawsuit filed got a settlement of USD 20 billion. It was the biggest in history for environment-related class action settlements.
3. Anti-Trust Cases
In such cases, plaintiffs argue that the defendants have manipulated them to pay for services they did not want. Besides, it could be overpriced products that violate anti-trust laws.
Enterprises illegally conspire to build similar services or products to fix or raise artificial prices. Hence, it goes against the natural competitiveness of the industry and marketplace. We have such class action lawsuits against companies in aviation, food and beverages, and even software.
However, the most significant anti-trust lawsuit in history was AT&T data throttling. This giant reduced speeds for consumers who had unlimited data plans. Hence, a lawsuit was filed by people who experienced an unfair and slow data service while streaming videos or browsing the web.
The settlement from this class action lawsuit was a whopping USD 52 million.
How Do You Find a Good Class Action Lawyer?
Finding the best lawyer might take a lot of work with so many types of class action lawsuits.
That is why you should always look for experienced individuals or law firms with no errors in their judgment. To make it easier, here are the things you should look into while hiring:
- Check the experience and number of cases won in the class action domain
- Analyze your type of case and find institutions that align with your needs
- Read reviews to understand the responsiveness of the lawyers or law firm
- Understanding of proper jurisdiction to find the correct court for your case
- Reasonable fees and costs that align with your budget or find a public defendant
Even if such cases bring people together to fight for their rights, receiving justice depends on the lawyer.
How to File a Class Action Lawsuit?
Filing a class action is relatively simple if you have narrowed down the best lawyer, attorney, law firm, or public defendant. Once you do that, you can present your case and provide evidence for your claim.
Then, they will determine its credibility and analyze your winning percentage. Other than that, you can also research to find related proceedings for the same issue.
Moreover, you will quickly gauge the outcome if you have a law background. If you need help, then you can let your lawyer handle everything. They will inform you about the statute of limitations and find the perfect action plan.
Besides, the lawyers determine your case’s impact and then file a complaint once everything is set.
It will include details like demands, specific issues, individuals affected, and evidence. Remember that class action lawsuits can take time until the judge can certify them.
The Bottom Line
Class action lawsuits are of different types. It can be related to the environment and health, fraud, product liability, anti-trust, etc. If you are a victim of any of these cases, you can file such a lawsuit. Not only will it give the affected individuals suitable settlement clauses, but it will also compel the companies to change their ways.
However, you need to find a lawyer for that. To do that, analyze, read reviews, and check the experience of your local lawyers or public defendants.
Once you choose a good lawyer, it is time for you to fight!
