class action
Definition
A lawsuit filed by one or more plaintiffs on behalf of a larger group (the 'class') who have suffered similar harm or injury from the defendant's actions.
A collective legal action in which representative plaintiffs pursue claims shared by many, often to pool resources and avoid repetitive litigation.
In U.S. law, governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, allowing certification of a class if it meets criteria like numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.
Examples
After the soda company added a mystery fizz that turned teeth fuzzy, consumers launched a class action faster than you can say 'lawsuit bubbles.'
The class action against the app that autocorrected 'duck' to something unprintable united typosmiths everywhere in digital revenge.
When the mattress firm promised 'cloud-like sleep' but delivered backaches, sleepy plaintiffs filed a class action dreaming of settlements.
Gamers worldwide joined a class action over pay-to-win mechanics, proving that microtransactions can lead to macro lawsuits.