Consumers have basic rights that all businesses must respect. Each consumer is entitled to exercise these rights when they feel or experience any violation against them. That’s part of the reason why governments made laws to support and encourage everyone to exercise their rights.
Some of the violations that lots of businesses commit against consumers link to fraudulent practices. These illegal acts have long been vain of consumer existence, from false and deceptive advertising to deliberately committing fraud to influence consumer behavior to be favorable towards their product or service.
It becomes even more damaging to commerce and the economy if it’s targeted to a larger audience. Still, consumers have a way to make them liable, thanks to the law. They can resort to filing a class action complaint against the business that lied or neglected them.
Regardless of the damages consumers sustain due to deceptive and misleading business practices, they can count on a class action lawsuit to be heard and redressed. Read on to learn more about what consumer class action is and how it can help consumers.
A class action lawsuit, also known as a class action or representative suit, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people represented collectively by a member or members of that group. It’s a legal proceeding in which one or several plaintiffs (the complainants) bring a suit on behalf of their “class.”
This type of lawsuit is designed to give a stronger chance to consumers who fell victim to any unethical practice of a business entity to be compensated. The judgment or settlement agreed to arise from the suit covers all class members, where penalties paid by the defendant (the business served with the suit) are divided among them.
In addition, this lawsuit can be brought to either a state or federal court. However, if the case involves federal laws, then a federal court is the proper jurisdiction.
Different types of consumer class action suits are filed in courts regularly. These include consumer product liability cases, civil rights proceedings, and securities litigation.
Most of the time, class actions are filed against institutions like banks or large companies that either intentionally or unintentionally commit unlawful acts against their clients and customers. Here are the common ones that you’ll learn about:
Consumer fraud
Class actions filed on account of consumer fraud concern any situation where an entity or individual willfully deceived consumers for monetary gain. Any fraudulent transaction that results in significant loss of money or physical or emotional harm to a consumer can incur liability.
Examples of consumer fraud may include misleading or false advertising, defective products, and violation of consumer protection laws such as identity theft. For instance, defective products can be a subject of class action depending on the issue’s scope and the number of people affected.
Finance
Finances are also often reasons for filing a class action. The common class action suit filed on account of finance would be the securities class action.
A securities class action is a lawsuit brought on behalf of a group of investors who have suffered an economic loss in a particular stock or security due to fraudulent stock manipulation or other violations of federal or state securities law.
Civil rights
Class action lawsuits are also commonly used to protect civil rights. Civil rights class actions effectively shape and implement civil protections since it’s a lawsuit designed to hear a collection of individuals.
Dangerous drugs
Dangerous drugs class actions are often filed due to varying circumstances that stem from a drug company’s negligence to warn consumers of drugs’ side effects adequately. Another reason why class actions of this manner are served is due to research misinterpretation into the effects and potential hazards of drugs.
Initiating or participating in a consumer class action lawsuit offers a great deal of benefits. First, it’s a practical option for the plaintiffs because it enables litigation to proceed quicker since a united front filed the case, which means more evidence and a collective set of issues against the defendant presents a stronger case.
Besides that, it’s also a more affordable option rather than filing a single lawsuit. There’s no need to pay for the lawyer’s hourly rate, and the entire class can share the expenses required to push the case forward.
To get the ball rolling, you need to find a lawyer with a winning record on this type of lawsuit to have confidence in the court. Then, have your lawyer look at your case to determine whether it is credible and if you have a chance at winning.
After that, you can proceed to file the complaint. It will include all of the details regarding the class action, such as affected individuals, their demands, the specific problem, etc. The final step would then be a judge certifying the class action based on all of the information provided.
Stay informed on the latest consumer-related news and check our news feed of the most recent consumer class-action lawsuits.