Class action lawsuits are helpful for those suing because there are a lot of situations that one voice alone cannot make a difference. Class action lawsuits allows the strength in numbers principal to take full effect. If you ever watch late night TV you are inevitably bombarded with a number of class action lawsuit infomercials for just about everything under the sun.
Some of the primary categories for class action lawsuits include environmental concerns, financial, civil rights, or employment issues. Just to name a few. Securities class action issues are also becoming increasingly common. It seems more claims are being brought in securities every quarter.
Securities class action claims are usually about fraudulent info. People will claim that major publicly traded companies have used misleading statements to earn business.
This will influence people to buy stocks and make trades based on potentially false data leaks either publicly distributed or in things that top level employees have said or disbursed.
If a client or investor was scammed based on intentionally misleading information than legal action makes sense.
Product defects that impact large quantities of customers, and dangerous drug side effects are two other commonly seen class action suits. Why is it that every drug that is made for hair growth also has the side effect of hair loss?
Why does every pain pill also have a quick talking announcer on the advertisement stating that you may feel pain from the drug that is supposed to eliminate your pain? It is no wonder class action suits are at an all time high.
More suits are being filed left and right as globalization and the free market creates ultra competitive market space. Many companies cut corners or make increasingly outlandish claims in an effort to compete which ultimately opens them up to risk of failure.
America is one of the most lawsuit trigger happy countries in the world. Why do all of our coffee cups have to say warning contents may be hot?
When a large group gets multiple members together, they can form what is called a class. This class can then bond together and take legal action against any sort of entity whose actions have negatively impacted the group or class in a very similar way.
The earnings are spread out amongst the class. By the Time the earnings are all spread out in a relatively small amount sometimes.
But is it better to earn something rather than nothing. Shareholders unethical activities in industries like tobacco, pharmaceuticals, credit cards, and plastic surgery have led to some of the largest payouts and high profile fraud cases.
Sometimes companies will settle for large quantities with a nice get out of jail free card. They will put in a stipulation that the defendant doesn’t admit any wrong actions or foul play, even though they just put out a massive pay day.
From an employment standpoint essentially every large bank and mortgage lender in the country has class action suits for poor employee treatment. One of the most common class action suits is for unpaid overtime and unpaid wages.
Many banks force employees to work off the clock or they will penalize their commission bonuses for working too many hours putting the employees in an ethical bing to lie about their hours. It is a good thing that legal protections exist to help large groups or classes of people band together to protect their rights.
Thank goodness for the legal and justice system keeping us all individually and collectively safe. Without a system of checks and balances anybody would be able to get away with just about anything.
