Class Action Suit

A class action suit is a lawsuit against a company by multiple plaintiffs who were similarly injured by the defendant. Class actions are especially good for people who individually have only sustained less than a few thousand dollars of damage. The cost of an individual suit would negate the possible recovery if they were even to win, but in a class action suit, the cost of filing and paying lawyer fees is split between all the plaintiffs. Also, they gain strength in numbers and have a more air-tight case to bring to court. Thus class action suits are often a better assurance that a satisfactory settlement will be reached.

However the benefits of class action suits are in heavy debate. One topic people focus on is a coupon settlement in which plaintiffs are given coupons to be used within a certain time and with the company they filed suit against. This can be seen either as a promotion benefiting only the company in the wrong, but if this coupon settlement could be used on a better product, gives enough of a benefit to cover the money initially lost, doesn