Class Action Litigation

Our firm continues to be actively involved in a number of class actions.  Our attorneys represent multiple clients' interests against corporations, insurance companies, banks, and utility companies. 

What is a Class Action?

A class action is a legal device allowing one person to sue as a plaintiff on behalf of all persons likely to have experienced the same injury. Class actions are often brought against corporations, such as telephone companies and credit card banks, when they overcharge or otherwise mistreat many customers in the same way. They are brought against the manufacturers of defective products. They may also be brought against a company or its officers on behalf of a class of shareholders in the company. Examples include:

• thousands of consumers purchase or use the same defective product;
• a telephone company or credit card bank overcharges thousands of customers pursuant to the same policy;
• employees experience age, sex or race discrimination;
• a drug or medicine used by many patients is suspected of having dangerous side effects;
• purchasers of a company's stock or securities are injured because the company made fraudulent representations about its products or business prospects;
• consumers pay higher prices because of the anti-trust activities of large corporations;

What are the benefits of a class action?

The class action promotes two principal goals. It provides a useful mechanism for prosecuting the claims of many persons whose injuries added together are significant, but which, individually, would not be large enough to justify the expense of bringing of individual lawsuits. It also prevents the clogging of the court system by allowing the similar claims of thousands of individuals to be adjudicated in one single action.

Can any case against a business be brought as a class action?

No. Generally, a class action is proper only where the issues common to the class outweigh the issues which are unique to individual members of the class. When a consumer approaches Edmondson & Associates with a possible case, its attorneys make a preliminary determination as to the merits of filing a class action. Then, after the case is filed, the court determines whether it fulfills all the requirements of a class action, and whether the defined class may be "certified."

Are all class members forced to participate in the class action?

Generally, No. In most consumer class actions, after the court certifies the case as a class action, members of the defined class are given an opportunity to "opt out" and pursue individual actions against the defendant, if they so prefer. If, however, class members choose not to opt out, they are bound to the results of the case and automatically share in any recovery obtained for the class. There are exceptions to this general rule, such as when the relief sought is primarily injunctive and not monetary, where the court may certify the class on a "non-opt-out" basis.

Some examples of current Class Actions Edmondson & Associates is involved in or currently investigating:

Unwanted Telemarketing Calls, Junk Faxes, Text Messages, and E-Mails

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 and other related laws regulate unwanted telemarketing calls and junk faxes. Specifically, the TCPA and other regulations make it illegal for advertisers to make calls using automatic telephone dialing systems or artificial or prerecorded voice to cell phones or to residential phone lines without consent of the called parties. It also spells out regulations for transmittal of faxes. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawyers of Edmondson and Associates, LLC, have filed cases complaining of TCPA violations and continue to advise their clients of the federal legislation preventing the sending of junk faxes. While senders of junk faxes have challenged the constitutionality of provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act on the basis of First Amendment rights, most courts have upheld it on the ground that it protects consumers from economic harm resulting from unfair shifting of advertising costs from advertiser to customer. The First Amendment has never been held to authorize trespasses for the purpose of engaging protected speech, including unwanted advertising. To violate the TCPA, a fax must be unsolicited and must advertise the commercial availability or quality of property, goods, or services. Therefore, a fax inviting recipients to attend a political fundraiser is not a covered by the TCPA. A computer equipped with a fax modem and printer or scanner would appear to qualify as capable of sending a violating fax message, thereby making the prohibition applicable to emails as well as faxes. The TCPA allows private actions by persons subjected to the prohibited conduct to recover up to $500 per violation, or $1500 if it was willful or knowing. The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit related to a junk fax is four years. The most important piece of evidence in a junk fax or email case is the fax or email itself. Keep the document, together with any log of incoming faxes generated by your fax machine. If you call the "remove" or "contact" number, keep notes with the date and time of the conversation to assist in identifying the sender. Text messages to cell phones at the recipient's cost also violate the TCPA. with a lawsuit in an effort to recover for the government monies which were wrongfully obtained, and to secure compensation for the relator for his or her effort.