Practice Area
Class
Actions
When a corporation harms thousands of people — through a defective product, a data breach, a predatory financial scheme, or deceptive business practices — the victims often face a choice: accept a small payout and move on, or fight back. Class action litigation changes that equation. By uniting large groups of plaintiffs with the same claim, we turn individually small harms into significant accountability.
Singleton Schreiber's class action team has the resources, experience, and commitment to take on the country's most powerful corporate defendants — and see those cases through to meaningful results.
Scope of Practice
Types of Class Action Cases
Defective Products
When a manufacturer distributes a dangerous or defective product at scale, class action litigation can hold the company accountable for all affected consumers simultaneously — from medical devices to consumer electronics to vehicles.
Data Breaches & Privacy
Corporations that fail to protect customer data expose millions of individuals to identity theft and financial harm. Our team pursues class action claims against companies that negligently allow data breaches or unlawfully share personal information.
Financial Fraud & Consumer Protection
Predatory lending, false advertising, deceptive business practices, and illegal debt collection affect consumers at scale. Class actions are often the most effective tool for holding financial institutions and corporations accountable.
Wage & Hour Violations
When employers systematically underpay workers — through wage theft, misclassification, overtime violations, or illegal deductions — class and collective actions allow affected employees to pursue justice together.
Environmental Contamination
Industrial polluters who contaminate air, water, or soil in communities can face class action liability on behalf of all affected residents. We have extensive experience in toxic tort and environmental contamination class actions.
Securities Fraud
When public companies mislead investors — through false statements, omissions, or market manipulation — shareholders who suffered losses can pursue class claims under federal securities law.
How It Works
The Class Action Process
Legal Framework
Class Action vs. Mass Tort
The distinction between a class action and a mass tort matters — and understanding it helps clients make informed decisions about how to pursue their claims.
In a class action, all plaintiffs are treated as a single group. One or a small number of named plaintiffs represent the entire class, and any verdict or settlement is shared among all class members — typically in proportion to their individual losses. Class actions are most effective when the harm is relatively uniform across plaintiffs and the individual damages are small enough that separate lawsuits would be impractical.
A mass tort, by contrast, keeps each plaintiff's claim individual. Cases may be consolidated for pretrial efficiency in an MDL (Multidistrict Litigation), but each plaintiff can recover based on their specific injury, medical history, and damages. Mass torts are common in personal injury cases — including wildfire litigation, hair relaxer claims, and pharmaceutical injury cases — where individual damages vary significantly.
Singleton Schreiber has extensive experience in both — and our team can advise you on which path is most appropriate for your situation.
Class Action Requirements
- Numerosity — class too large for individual joinder
- Commonality — shared legal questions
- Typicality — named plaintiff's claims typical of class
- Adequacy — named plaintiff adequately represents class
- Predominance — common issues predominate
- Superiority — class action is superior to individual suits
Common Questions
Class Action FAQ
A class action allows one or more plaintiffs to sue on behalf of a larger group of similarly harmed individuals. Once a court certifies the class, any verdict or settlement is shared among all members. It is especially powerful when many people suffer small individual harms that would be too costly to pursue alone.
Cases involving widespread corporate wrongdoing typically qualify — including defective products, data breaches, false advertising, wage and hour violations, predatory financial practices, environmental contamination, and securities fraud. The key requirement is that many people suffered the same or similar harm from the same conduct.
In a class action, plaintiffs are treated as one group and typically receive a proportional share of a single settlement. In a mass tort, each plaintiff retains an individual claim and can recover damages based on their specific losses. Mass torts are common in personal injury cases where damages vary widely between plaintiffs.
Class actions can take years — from class certification through discovery, trial or settlement, and distribution of funds. Complex cases involving large corporations often take three to five years or more. Our team keeps clients informed throughout and works aggressively to move cases forward.
In most opt-out class actions, you are automatically a member of the class if you meet the criteria and do not need to take action to join. However, if you want to pursue your own separate claim, you must opt out. Contact our team to understand your options.
Free Case Evaluation
Your Harm Matters. Even If It Feels Small.
Class action litigation turns individual wrongs into collective accountability. Contact our team for a free, no-obligation evaluation.
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