What is a Class Action? top
A class action suit may occur when many different people combine their similar complaints. This saves court time and allows a single judge to hear all the concerns at the same time, and come to one settlement for all parties. If the court agrees to certify the complaints as a class action, all class members should have equal say and rights to any monies or remedies ordered by the court.
A Class Action is a type of lawsuit in which one person, usually the “Lead Plaintiff,” represents everyone who suffered similar harm from the defendant’s unlawful conduct. Class action lawsuits often are filed when it would be impractical or prohibitively expensive for each person who was harmed to file an individual lawsuit, and they enable small shareholders or consumers to seek recovery from large corporations possessing much greater legal and financial resources.
Generally, securities class actions are filed in the Federal District Courts and allege that the defendant(s) violated the Securities Act of 1933 and/or the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The typical class action takes at least 2-3 years to litigate, although the actual time it takes to resolve a case varies, depending on the complexity of the case, the issues involved and other factors.