What is a class action certification?

A class action certification is a type of legal proceeding in which a single individual or group of individuals, known as the ‘representative plaintiff’, files a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group, known as the ‘class’. In the state of Virginia, courts will often certify a class action when it is believed that the claims of the representative plaintiff are typical of the claims of the class. Once a court certifies a class action, the representative plaintiff can pursue the claims of the whole class. Typically, for a class action to be certified in Virginia, the representative plaintiff must demonstrate that the claims of the class members are sufficiently similar. This means that the same legal issue is being litigated in all the claims of the class. To ensure that the representative plaintiff is acting in the best interests of the whole class, they must also demonstrate that they are an appropriate representative. For instance, their claim should reflect the same legal issue and their interests should not be in conflict with those of the class. Additionally, when a court certifies a class action, they must also ensure that the class can actually be represented by the representative plaintiff. This is known as ‘adequacy of representation’ and requires that the representative plaintiff have enough knowledge of the relevant law and facts to properly represent the interests of the class. If a court is satisfied that the representative plaintiff is adequately representing the interests of the class, a class action can be certified in Virginia.

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What is a class action certification?

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