What is a class action lawsuit?

A class action lawsuit is a type of legal action in which a group of people who have been similarly affected by the same issue sue one or more defendants. In South Carolina, class action lawsuits are governed by the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and involve a group of people, called the class, who are legally represented by one or more court-appointed class representatives. The class representatives must prove that each member of the class has been harmed in the same way, by the same defendant or defendants, and that this harm is more than a minimal amount. If the class representatives are successful in proving their case, the court can award damages to each member of the class, even if some members may have suffered greaterharm than others, or order the defendant(s) to change their practices. An example of a class action lawsuit in South Carolina would be a group of people suing a corporation for violating a consumer protection law. The court might order the defendant to pay damages to the members of the class and/or change their practices in order to comply with the law. Class action lawsuits are useful when an individual cannot effectively pursue legal action on their own, as the cost and time of multiple individual cases would be too great. They also allow for large groups of people to band together and seek justice when they are unable to do so individually.

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What is a class action lawsuit?

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