What is a class action settlement?
A class action settlement is a resolution of a lawsuit in which a large group of people, known as a “class”, agrees to a deal with the defendant or defendants. The settlement requires the defendants to compensate the class with either money or benefits. This is the most common type of class action lawsuit, and is often the result of a complex legal dispute. In New York, if a large group of people with similar claims against one or more defendants is seeking relief, they may pursue a class action lawsuit. This type of lawsuit is especially useful when individual claims are too small to make it cost-effective to pursue them separately, and when the claims involve a large number of people. In this way, class action lawsuits help to protect the rights of large groups of people, and to ensure that justice is done. Once the lawsuit is filed, the court will decide whether to certify the class. If the court agrees that there is enough similarity among the claims, then a class is allowed to proceed and the case is moved forward. At some point, the parties may choose to reach a class action settlement. This is an agreement between the class and the defendants in which the defendants agree to provide some sort of compensation, such as money or benefits, in exchange for the class members not having to bring their own cases individually. The settlement must usually be approved by the court before it can take effect.
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