Class-action Suit
Class-action Suit, a lawsuit in which one or more persons sue on behalf of a large group with some common interest. The persons bringing suit must themselves be members of the group. The purpose is generally to allow persons with small individual claims and modest financial resources to be represented in a suit intended to remedy some injustice or inequity that affects them. Class-action suits have been filed in areas such as civil rights, legislative reapportionment, welfare, and consumer and environmental protection.
In a typical example, a group of customers sues a utility company on behalf of all of the company's customers, claiming that the company has been overcharging them. All of the company's customers are parties to the suit, even though many of them may not even be aware of its existence. If the suit is successful, they all share in the benefits (a refund, for example); if the suit fails, individual customers may not sue on the same matter at a later date. Often, a public-interest organization, such as a consumer-rights group, provides financial and legal assistance to those filing suit.