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General class action information
Who Is the Class Representative? In this case you are the class representative.
The heading of the court documents says your name, and states "individually
and on behalf of everyone similarly situated." This means you are
fighting for all the people in the same situation as you. It is an important
responsibility, because the out come of your case can affect everyone
else in your same situation.
What is Class Certification? Class certification is when you and your
lawyer ask the judge to rule that your case is a class action. Although
we file the lawsuit as a class action, it does not become one until a
judge says it is one or "certifies" the class. For the Judge
to certify this case as a class action it usually must pass five tests
depending on the state we bring you case in or if we pursue it under federal
law. Although you do not need to memorize these tests, they are as follows:
- Numerosity: This means there are enough (numbers) of people
to make a class. Although it can be less, usually more than 50 are enough.
So, if the Defendants did the same thing to 50 other people as it did
to you, there are enough people to make a class.
- Commonality: This means that there is a common question of
law or fact, which must be answered for every member of the class. In
other words the law that you say was violated by the Defendants was
violated with everyone else in the class.
- Typicality: This means your claim is typical of everyone else's
that the same thing happened to.
- Adequacy: In order to pass this test, you must prove to the
court that you know your responsibilities as a class representative,
that your lawyers are experienced, and the lawyers are going to work hard on
this case. Your responsibilities are described on the next page.
- Predominance: This means that the common issues outweigh the
individual issues. If common issues (issues that applied to everyone)
were on one side of a scale, and individual issues on the other, which
way would the scale tip - we must show it will tip in favor of common
issues.
As a class representative, you have special duties and responsibilities:
- You Must Understand The Case: Since you get to pick the lawyer for
everyone else, and since you make decisions that may determine other
people's rights, you need to keep yourself informed. Nobody wants to
be bound by the decisions of an uninformed decision-maker. What this
means is that you need to have a basic understanding of your claims.
And you need to ask questions of your lawyer if you don't understand
what's going on.
- You Must Keep In Contact With Your Lawyers And Make Sure They Do
A Good Job: You picked the lawyer in this case. And it's your job to
make sure the lawyers do a good job. Although this is a class action,
you are the boss. You need to make sure that you're happy with the work
your lawyer is doing.
- You Must Make Fair Decisions For Everyone: If you were bringing this
case alone, then you would only need to make the decisions for you.
But because this is a class case, you must make decisions that are fair
to everyone in the class. Just like a good parent makes decisions that
are good for the whole family, not just selfish decisions that are only
good for them, you need to think of the class when you make decisions.
This includes making decisions about whether to settle the case. If
the Defendants want to settle just with you, you need to think about
your responsibilities to the class. Just like a politician shouldn't
sell out his constituents by taking a bribe, you need to think of the
class before settling the case.
- You May Have To Give A Deposition And Answer Questions Under Oath:
Just like in any case, you may have to come downtown and answer questions
under oath about your claim. This usually takes a few hours of your
time, and may require taking a day off work. Although this is something
you might have to do in any lawsuit, it is especially important in a
class case because it is your opportunity to show the Defendants and
the Court that you are able to handle the responsibility of being a
class representative.
Some of the pros and cons of being a class representative: By now, you
might be wondering, why would I want to be a class representative? This
is a good question, and an important one. If you do not really feel like
you want to be a class representative, then you should not be one. There
are pros and cons to being a class representative. To help you decide,
some of the pros and cons of being a class representative are listed below.
Some of the Pros:
- As A Class Representative You Get To Fight Back Against Wrongdoing
And Help Other People: Remember how you felt after you got ripped off,
or were treated unfairly. Well if the Defendants did this to other people
then they probably feel the same way. Remember, before you met your
lawyer, you probably felt like there were nothing you could do about
the situation. You probably felt no one would take an interest in your
problem. If you want to help stop the Defendants from doing wrong in
the future then a class action is a great way to do it.
- As A Class Representative You Help Our Judicial System Function Effectively:
I'm sure you've heard about how crowded the courts are. Sometimes it
takes a long time to get to trial. In a class action, as lot of peoples
rights are decided at the same time, so it helps our court be more efficient.
It's better to have one case, with one person fighting for hundreds
of people than to have hundreds of cases with everyone fighting only
for him or herself.
- A Class Action Is A Good Way To Deal With A Smaller Claim: Most consumer
frauds involve what would normally be called a small claim - a claim
less than $2500. In some of our cases, the claim was for only 95 cents.
But if a defendant takes 95 cents from a million people, then the defendant
has stolen almost a million dollars! By filing a class action, your
small claim is taken more seriously. And your lawyer can fight harder
because there is power in numbers. Economically, it doesn't make sense
to pay all kinds of court costs and spend hundreds of hours of attorney
time on a $350 claim. But if there are several hundred, or even a thousand,
$350 claims - then the case is worth a lot more and a good lawyer can
take the time to work on your case.
Some of the Cons:
- You Have To Do A Little More Work Than In An Individual Case: Because
you are fighting for everyone, you need to do a little more work: asking
questions of your lawyer, reading court documents, and taking the time
to think of everyone else. Sometimes, because of the extra work, the
Court may give you what called an "incentive award." This
means you can get more money damages because of the additional time
and responsibility spent being a class representative. Of course, that's
not a guarantee, and it depends on the individual case; but it's something
to think about.
- Your Decision Making Ability Is More Limited: If we brought this
case just for you, your decisions would not have to be approved by anyone.
In a class action, however, the Court must approve some of your decisions,
including your decisions about settlement. This is because in a class
action is not just about your rights but everyone's rights in the class.
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