Prerequisites for Filing Class Action Lawsuits

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Fulfilling the Requirements before Filing a Class Action Lawsuit

The federal court system has rules dissimilar to state courts. These rules are often procedural and outline a directed course when executing a legal action or challenge. We’ll briefly examine class action lawsuits in accordance to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 2010). A class action lawsuit is generally filed in the federal court system following Rule 23(a). This rule is definitive and identifies prerequisites for class action lawsuits stating, “…One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all members only…” (The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 2010).

Prerequisite Application

The Committee has written the first prerequisite stating, “… the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable….” (The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 2010). The first prerequisite is given a paraphrased-interpretation referring to numerous submissions from an initial party, to allow a joinder into an action and the sizable number of these requests in the action is burdening. The second prerequisite is written stating, “… there are questions of law or fact common to the class…” (The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 2010). The second prerequisite reiterates “the constitutional question of law” requirement for lawsuits in the federal court system. The third prerequisite states, “… the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class…” (The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives, 2010). Essentially, the descriptive claims of each joinder must be unilateral and indifferent.

Class Action Certification

A class action lawsuit filed in the federal court system is made by an election, but doesn’t offer the lawsuit a class action certification. When a lawsuit is filed in federal court, when the requirements are met for both Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and class action lawsuits, class action certification and determination is made by the judge and after “class” has been defined. See Timing and Signiﬁcance of Class Certiﬁcation, p. 7; (Rothstein, Barbara J.; Willging, Thomas E., 2013). Historically, class action lawsuits were defined as “…a lawsuit that allows a large number of people with a common interest in a matter to sue or be sued as a group.” (The Free Dictionary, Farlex, 2013). Rule 23(b) Types of Class Actions provides an encrypted definition of class action types, but doesn’t provide clarity as to the “types” of class actions brought before federal courts. Some of the most common lawsuits filed as class actions involve securities, product liability with personal injury, consumer liability, employment and wage, or labor.

Example Class Action Lawsuits

Alex Soto and Vince Eagen v. American Honda Motor, Co., Inc., (2012, United States District Court for the Northern District of California)

Pokorny v. Quixtar, (2010, United States District Court for the Northern District of California)

Lucy Funes v. Instragram, Inc. and Instagram, LLC, (2012, United States District Court for the Northern District of California)

References

Rothstein, Barbara J.; Willging, Thomas E. (2013, January 20). Managing Class Action Litigation. A Pocket Guide for Judges. n.p., U.S.A. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:5qyG1709IJwJ:www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/classgde.pdf/%24file/classgde.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESifDRxn5GBTI1Ye69Kp46-VdSqtPVJ0C9ieF_pQ3ld3aD5Yjj1OwIFxiSe0EjOULJO8PohCBI0w4kKuEzgC4xgcICY22ztSKoVb-

The Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives. (2010, December 1). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Washington, D.C., U.S.A.: 111th Congress 2nd Session. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/RulesAndPolicies/rules/2010%20Rules/Civil%20Procedure.pdf

The Free Dictionary, Farlex. (2013, January 20). Class Action Lawsuit. Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Class+action+lawsuit

Byline

Stephen Harrisburg is a freelance writer who focuses on law, politics, social reform, and ethics. As this piece demonstrates, a Class Action suit is not the simplest piece of litigation to initiate; however, these suits are often necessary to bring justice to parties who have suffered similar damages.