There is a movie I love called Back to School, starring the late, great Rodney Dangerfield.  At one point during the film, Rodney is trying to get a date with a university professor.  Rodney asks if she’s available Monday.  She responds, “No, sorry, I’ve got class.”  Tuesday?  “Sorry,” she says, “I’ve got class.”  Eventually, in frustration, Rodney finally tells her, “Look lady, why don’t you call me when you’ve got no class!”  Heh!  I just love that joke!

So how am I going to tie Rodney Dangerfield into my blog entry?  Well, I received a notice lately that I may have a claim under a class action for one of my credit cards.  Of course, having spent three years of my life having my brain pounded into mush in law school, I knew what a class action was.  I started thinking, however, what if I had not become a lawyer?  Would I know what this notice was?  After all, it looks pretty legal and formal.  Would I be nervous if I didn’t know what this was?

So, my friends, I’m going to take you back to school and teach you a little bit about class actions.  (Pay attention!  There will be a pop quiz at the end!)  Essentially, a class action is a lawsuit brought on behalf of a very large group of people.  Typically, lawsuits are brought by an individual or a small group of  plaintiffs against a defendant or group of defendants.  Sometimes, however, there are so many potential plaintiffs affected by a claim that it becomes practically impossible to handle all of these disputes on an individual basis.  In these situations, the law allows for attorneys to request a judge to “certify” a class action lawsuit.  Under these circumstances, there will normally be one law firm designated to represent the entire group of people that may be affected by a particular claim.

In class actions, the entire group of people who may have a claim will typically receive at least one written notice in the mail of the proposed class action.  Sometimes class actions will also be announced via other media, such as television, radio or newspaper.  Each of the class participants typically have the option to “opt out” of the class.  That is to say, they can remove themselves from the large group involved in the lawsuit so that they are able to file their own lawsuit against the defendant individually.

There are some definite pros and cons to class action lawsuits.  One important benefit is that it creates a means by which large corporations can be held liable for injuries that are so small so as to be impractical to pursue individually.  For example, if your telephone company is charging an extra fifty cents on your monthly phone bills, it would be ridiculous to sue them for these amounts.  While the amount being taken from you is minimal, however, the company could be wrongfully making millions of dollars a year.  A class action is a good way to insure that such small wrongs can be made right and justice may be done.

One common criticism of class action lawsuits is that, sometimes, the lawyers representing the class may earn millions in fees, but the participants in the class receive very little.  Sometimes class action settlements result in the issuance of coupons or credits, thus requiring the person injured to continue to do business with the company that slighted them in the first place!

The moral of the story, of course, is that you should not fear these notices, but you should read them and respond.  Often times these notices are the means by which you can have a minor irritation or wrong acknowledged and addressed.  After all, you don’t want to spend your life like Rodney, constantly complaining, “I don’t get no respect!”

Stewart J. Guss is a licensed attorney practicing in the Houston area for 15 years.  He concentrates in the areas of personal injury, insurance law, accidents and consumer law.  Mr. Guss maintains an office in the Northwest Houston area and is proud to serve the residents of Cypress, Tomball and greater Houston.  He is available for speaking engagements on a wide variety of legal topics.  For further information or for a free consultation, visit his website at www.attorneyguss.com, call him at 281-664-6500 or send an email to: stewart@attorneyguss.com.