Description of the legal term Class Action:
A class action, known in UK law as a Group Litigation Order (GLO), is a legal procedure that allows a group of people with similar claims against a defendant to band together and bring a collective claim to court. This mechanism is particularly useful where individual claims are too small to justify the cost of separate litigation, but collectively represent a significant grievance.
In a GLO, the claims of all the people involved are grouped together to ensure efficiency in dealing with common issues and to ensure consistency in the treatment of those claims. The tribunal will manage the claims through one or more lead cases, which will set precedents on issues applicable to the rest of the group.
Legal context in which the term Class Action may be used:
Example 1: Consumer rights class action
Suppose a large number of consumers have purchased a particular model of smartphone that is later found to have a manufacturing defect. Each consumer has suffered a small financial loss, but collectively their losses are significant. These consumers can join together in a class action to sue the manufacturer. A few individual cases can be selected as lead cases, and the outcome of these cases will guide the resolution of the rest of the group’s claims, either through court judgments or a settlement agreement.
Example 2: Litigation by an environmental group
Residents of a particular area may find that a nearby industrial plant has polluted the local water supply, affecting their health and property values. The residents, who may not have the resources to take legal action individually, can collectively file a GLO against the company that owns the plant. This class action allows them to pool their resources, share legal representation and address their common grievances in a unified manner. The court’s rulings on key issues in the lead cases will determine how the claims of the entire group are resolved.