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Civil Procedure • Class Actions
CIVPRO#065
Legal Definition
The traditional requirements for certification of a class action are: (1) numerosity, (2) commonality, (3) typicality, and (4) adequacy of representation.
A court will certify a class action only where: (1) there is a risk of inconsistent results; (2) injunctive or declaratory relief are appropriate, or (3) common questions among the class predominate over other claims.
The class may shop for a plaintiff in order to maintain diversity, but the plaintiffs' claims may not be aggregated to meet the amount in controversy requirement.
A court will certify a class action only where: (1) there is a risk of inconsistent results; (2) injunctive or declaratory relief are appropriate, or (3) common questions among the class predominate over other claims.
The class may shop for a plaintiff in order to maintain diversity, but the plaintiffs' claims may not be aggregated to meet the amount in controversy requirement.
Plain English Explanation
There are specific requirements for certifying a class action in court:
(1) Numerosity: The class must be large enough that it would be impractical for all members to join together in one lawsuit. This means there are so many people affected that it makes sense to handle their claims as a group instead of individually.
(2) Commonality: There must be shared questions of law or fact among the class members. In other words, the issues that the case raises should be the same for everyone in the group, which helps justify treating them all together.
(3) Typicality: The claims or defenses of the person or people representing the class (the "representative parties") must be typical of the claims or defenses of the other members. This ensures that the representative’s situation reflects what most other class members are experiencing.
(4) Adequacy: The representative parties must be able to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the entire class. They should have no conflicts of interest and should be committed to pursuing the case on behalf of all members.
In addition to meeting these prerequisites, the class action must fall into one of these categories:
(1) Risk of inconsistent adjudications: If individual lawsuits could lead to different decisions for similar claims, it would be better to handle them together to ensure a consistent outcome.
(2) Injunctive or declaratory relief: If the actions of the defendant affect the entire class and require a court order to stop or change those actions, a class action is appropriate.
(3) Predominance of common issues: The common questions of law or fact must be more significant than individual issues within the group. Additionally, the class action should be a better way to resolve the issues compared to other legal methods.
(1) Numerosity: The class must be large enough that it would be impractical for all members to join together in one lawsuit. This means there are so many people affected that it makes sense to handle their claims as a group instead of individually.
(2) Commonality: There must be shared questions of law or fact among the class members. In other words, the issues that the case raises should be the same for everyone in the group, which helps justify treating them all together.
(3) Typicality: The claims or defenses of the person or people representing the class (the "representative parties") must be typical of the claims or defenses of the other members. This ensures that the representative’s situation reflects what most other class members are experiencing.
(4) Adequacy: The representative parties must be able to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the entire class. They should have no conflicts of interest and should be committed to pursuing the case on behalf of all members.
In addition to meeting these prerequisites, the class action must fall into one of these categories:
(1) Risk of inconsistent adjudications: If individual lawsuits could lead to different decisions for similar claims, it would be better to handle them together to ensure a consistent outcome.
(2) Injunctive or declaratory relief: If the actions of the defendant affect the entire class and require a court order to stop or change those actions, a class action is appropriate.
(3) Predominance of common issues: The common questions of law or fact must be more significant than individual issues within the group. Additionally, the class action should be a better way to resolve the issues compared to other legal methods.
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