NYC Class Actions Attorney

Below are some of the types of class actions routinely filed in United States Courts:

• When a product is determined to be defective – The product may be a medical device that hurts patients, a dangerous toy, a drug with unexpected side effects or a vehicle that has malfunctioning parts.
• When food products are tainted and people are sickened, or when food labeling rules are violated
• When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is violated and consumers are disturbed by illegal telephone solicitation practices
• When the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA) is violated and your credit information is misused by consumer reporting agencies
• When the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is violated and debt collectors treat you abusively
• When a data breach occurs and your identifying information is compromised
• When a privacy breach occurs and your information is improperly shared
• When a seller fraudulently induces customers to buy their products using false advertisements or some other form of inaccurate solicitation

These and other types of situations give rise to class action litigation because many people suffer a similar type of harm by the same entity. After a class action lawsuit is filed, it must be certified by the court once the attorneys demonstrate that the plaintiffs have all been wronged in a substantially similar way. Victims can join the class, and one big case moves forward against a defendant responsible for causing damage, instead of many thousands of plaintiffs each filing their own lawsuit.

Only a small group of lead plaintiffs in a class action come to a trial where liability of the manufacturer is decided. However, many times even the plaintiffs who are named in the class action and who brought the case in the first place do not even have to go court because the manufacturer or company who is alleged to have done wrong is willing to settle. A settlement involves the manufacturer agreeing to compensate all victims a set amount of money based on the damages they have endured. The settlement must be approved by the court.