Legal Question in Business Law in California

A class action is, by definition, a legal action by a group, or "class," where the members of the group all have the same type of grievance against the defendant. So no, one person cannot file a class action suit. The one person would need to find at least 25 other people who have the same sort of grievance and who would be willing to participate in the suit. Settlement of class action suits tends to make no one rich except the attorneys who handle the matter (and they earn their fees; class action suits are major undertakings).

However, one person can indeed file an ordinary lawsuit against a company.

THIS POSTING PROVIDES GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES. IT DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANYONE AND DELAIN LAW OFFICE, PLLC OR NANCY BAUM DELAIN. FOR LEGAL ADVICE IN YOUR SPECIFIC MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

Yes, if enough people have similar claims. There is some general info on my website about class actions. Send me an email and let me know whom you are looking to sue and why?

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi, APLC

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

http://www.danielbakondi.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This communication may contain confidential information, privileged information, or attorney work product. If you are not the intended recipient or received this message in error, any use or distribution of this message is strictly prohibited and unlawful. Please notify the sender immediately, and delete this message. No attorney-client nor confidential relationship is created through this communication. Nothing communicated or provided constitutes legal advice nor a legal opinion unless it so specifies and written agreement for attorney services has been entered into. Attorney licensed in California only. Your issue may be time sensitive and may result in loss of rights if you do not act in time. Thank you.

I respectfully disagree with attorney Delain in that, at least here in California, you don't "need to find" other class members. How would you find, for example, everyone who owns a Ford Pinto. This type of information you would get from the other side during the discovery phase of the lawsuit. The attorney you consult for your own case will opine about whether you have a valid class action.

One person can "file" a class-action suit. It is not up to the clerk to screen new lawsuits upon filing -- well, at least not for the characteristics of a class action. Once a suit is filed that the plaintiff or plaintiffs or their lawyers think should be a class action, they make a motion to have the suit certified as a class action. The assigned judge will then review the case to see whether it meets the criteria for a class action. Those criteria include "numerosity," meaning that the number of plaintiffs is sufficiently large, and "typicity," meaning pretty much that the named plaintiffs are sufficiently typical of the class members as a whole that they can be regarded as adequately representing the class for purposes of suit. There is also a requirement that the law firm handling the action have the resources and experience necessary to do a good job in representing the class as attorneys. There will not be any in pro. per. class actions and rarely if ever a solo-practice lawyer or a tiny or inexperienced law firm. Many of the rules governing filing of class actions, certification of classes and other special procedural matters are covered in the California Rules of Court 3.760 through 3.771. Also note that rules in state and federal courts differ. See Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23.

I agree with Mr. Whipple and Mr. Stone. Ms. Delain is not admitted to practice law in California, and her speculation on our law was incorrect.