Class ACTION & Collective Action

Many people have received notices in the mail that they are members or potential members of a class or collective action lawsuit. A class or collective action is a lawsuit in which one or a few individuals represent a large group of individuals with similar claims. Class and collective action suits have allowed individual people to come together against the most powerful defendants in order to hold them accountable for their actions.

A class or collective action is generally initiated by one or more people who feel that they, along with a group of other people, have been wronged. A lawyer then files suit on behalf of the individuals, who seek to represent the class. At the appropriate time, the lawyer files a motion asking the court to formally recognize the case as a class or collective action. If the court grants that motion, the other people who were similarly wronged are notified of the suit and are given an opportunity to opt-in or opt-out, depending on whether it is a class or collective action, as a member of the class.

Class and collective actions spread the cost of litigation among many people and can utilize judicial resources more efficiently by allowing many claims to be adjudicated in a single proceeding. Class and collective actions also can provide a remedy when many people have smaller claims that would otherwise be too expensive to litigate.

Our lawyers are experienced class and collective action attorneys who have represented employees and consumers in a variety of matters, including claims involving violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, employment discrimination, antitrust, and other unlawful business practices.