Litigation on a Class Basis vs. Litigation Against a Large Number of Victims
You may have seen advertisements on television or in the media informing you that you could be eligible to join a class action lawsuit or mass tort against a large corporation. It may be difficult to tell the difference between the two sorts of legal proceedings. This article gives a brief summary of the differences and similarities between a mass tort and a class action lawsuit whether you want to participate in either type of case or are just curious about their procedures.
Here, we'll start with class action lawsuits. The hallmark of a class action lawsuit is the participation of many plaintiffs rather than a scattering of smaller claims. By joining this sort of litigation, each individual waives his or her right to file separate claims against the irresponsible business. When you join a class action lawsuit against a huge organization, you essentially put yourself in a position where you either get whatever the other victims of the corporation have or nothing at all.
If a business is found liable, it may be required to pay restitution in the form of both compensatory and punitive damages. While compensatory damages are meant to make up for the plaintiffs' actual financial losses, punitive damages are paid out by the firm as punishment. In most cases, the claimants will divide the settlement money in accordance with the individual amounts of damage they sustained. Because of this, it is rarely split fairly.
The case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which was shown in the film Erin Brockovich, is one of the most well-known class action lawsuits. About 1,100 California residents joined forces to sue PG&E in a historic class action lawsuit. Chromate 6, a probable carcinogen, was found to have been dumped by the corporation into the water supply used by nearby residents. It started in the late 1960s and continued until the mid-1980s, all without the homeowners' awareness. After some time, PG&E paid $295 million to end the litigation.
Similar to class action lawsuits, mass tort lawsuits seek compensation for harm suffered by a large number of individuals from a single defendant. However, unlike class action lawsuits, mass tort litigation consists of numerous smaller instances. In an effort to save both time and money, all of the cases are being tried together.
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker is a well-known class action lawsuit. The 1989 spill of oil from the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound was the basis for this case. One of the worst ecological disasters in U.S. history resulted from the leak, which released at least 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into the environment. The court ordered the business to pay victims of the spill $500 million in damages.
