The Maryland Institute on Class Actions (MICA), in cooperation and conjunction with the national Maryland-based law offices of Charles Jerome Ware, Attorneys and Counselors, LLC, is a center of knowledge for the study and development of sound approaches to class action lawsuits, as well as a resource for advice, consultation, and representation in class action matters. For an initial courtesy consultation, contact us at (410) 730-5016, (410) 720-6129, or email us at charlesjeromeware@msn.com.
Class action lawsuits are among the most prevalent and important forms of adjudication of civil matters in the United States.
Class action lawsuits are best conceptualized as representative, not group, litigation. While the rights of many people are resolved in one proceeding, the adjudication is done by representatives, not by the group getting together to go to the courthouse. In a class action, one or several representatives litigate or settle claims, with the judgment then binding everyone within the class. The practices and doctrinal requirements of class action lawsuits are most easily understood if the representative nature of the action is kept in mind.
Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
In February 2005, Congress enacted the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA). CAFA alters class action practice in state and federal courts throughout the United States. The law: changes the rules for federal diversity jurisdiction and removal, enabling most large class cases to be filed in, or removed to, federal court; restricts the practice of coupon settlements; and transforms the procedures for settling class actions in federal courts. CAFA contains a host of new, often complex, rules.
Class actions lawsuits rarely go to trial. Some are dismissed on legal motion, but the vast bulk are settled. These negotiated settlements in class action lawsuits are essentially large financial transactions. Defendants purchase a commodity – finality. They buy from the plaintiffs’ representatives the plaintiffs’ right to sue. The financial transaction is a transaction about legal rights, to be sure, but the buying and selling of those legal rights, not their likely adjudication, is the core purpose for coming together in an adjudicatory framework.
Attorney Charles Ware has acted in the capacity of primary legal counsel in several class action lawsuits, very successfully. Call us for a free consultation.
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