How is a class action lawsuit certified?

In Alaska, a class action lawsuit is certified by a court. This process is known as class certification. A class action lawsuit is a legal action taken by a group of people, known as the class, who all have suffered similar harm or injustices due to the same violation of law. Before the lawsuit can move forward in court, the court must review the class action complaint and decide if it meets the requirements for class certification. The court’s decision will be based on whether the group of plaintiffs have a common legal claim and will be affected by a single ruling from the court. The first step in class certification is that the court must determine if the class meets certain criteria. This criteria includes the numerosity of the class (there must be enough members to make proceeding as a class more efficient than individual lawsuits), commonality amongst the class members, typicality of claims, adequacy of representation, and the predominance of common issues. After the court has determined that the class meets the criteria for certification, it will issue an order authorizing the class action lawsuit to proceed. This means that the court has concluded that the class has a valid legal claim and that the class is represented by competent counsel. Once the court has issued an order for class certification, the class action lawsuit can move forward and any class member may now participate in the lawsuit.

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How is a class action lawsuit certified?

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