A “mass tort” or “class action” lawsuit can provide a very effective means of using “strength in numbers” in order to achieve a fair remedy for a similarly situated group of individuals (a collective group whose legal claims and damages are typical of one another) without any one person incurring all of the costs, and without the necessity of thousands of individual, duplicative lawsuits. Though often thought of as analogous terms, while all “class actions” are “mass tort” actions, not all “mass torts” are “class actions” (the requirements for a “class action” are governed by very specific legal rules, generally applicable in a smaller number of situations). Yet both are quite useful in situations involving widespread consumer fraud, deceptive marketing schemes, widely used defective products, unfair trade practices, and other unlawful activities where a large number of people have been injured by the same wrongful act in a similar fashion.  

“Mass torts” and “class actions” are often the most effective, efficient, and powerful way of obtaining a recovery for a collective group who have suffered similar losses or injuries due to the same wrongful conduct of a large corporate defendant. While the subject matter of “class actions” can vary widely, two factors are always required for successful prosecution:

• the legal claims involved (fraud; product defect; etc.) are common to all affected;
• the number of individuals affected is so great, it is impracticable to bring them all before the courts individually.

A distinct advantage of “mass torts” and “class actions” is their cost-effectiveness; hundreds or thousands of individuals can be represented at the same time, with the investigative and preliminary work applicable to a single client being equally useful for many others. Courts also play an important role in promoting efficiency in “mass torts” and “class actions” by consolidating all the cases before one judge, which assures that all those injured will receive fair and consistent treatment.

The class action is one of the few legal remedies the small claimant has against those who command the status quo.

– Justice William O. Douglas (U.S. Supreme Court)

“Mass tort” and “class action” litigation is arguably the most challenging work in the arena of complex litigation. It is very time consuming and expensive; the potential liability of the defendant is usually so high, these cases tend to be strongly defended by the corporations involved. Some “mass torts” and “class actions” our firm has handled in the past have involved:

• Pharmaceutical Drugs
• Defective Products
• Consumer Fraud
• “Vanishing” Insurance Premiums
• “Race-based” Insurance Practices
• Commercial Finance and Lending Practices

We possess the experience, expertise, and resources to manage the complexities of “mass tort” and “class action” suits, having done so on a nationwide basis for over twenty years. If you think you have been harmed in a manner that also affects others have, contact us online or call us toll free at 1-866-252-3535 for a free consultation.