class action

noun

: a legal action undertaken by one or more plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and all other persons having an identical interest in the alleged wrong

Examples of class action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

He is also named in multiple ongoing medical malpractice lawsuits, with hundreds of former patients signing a class action complaint in 2024. —Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026

The class action suit, one of the first 4th Amendment challenges to immigration roving patrols, claims the arrests violated protections against unlawful searches and seizures. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

While about ten residents have formally joined the suit anonymously, the class action could involve thousands of residents. —Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026

In a 2019 complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Brian Keim alleged in a class action lawsuit that Trader Joe's violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by printing 10 digits of customers' cards on transaction receipts. —Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for class action

• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• inaction
• infraction

Legal Definition

class action

noun

: an action in which a representative plaintiff sues or a representative defendant is sued on behalf of a class of plaintiffs or defendants who have the same interests in the litigation as their representative and whose rights or liabilities can be more efficiently determined as a group than in a series of individual suits

called also class action suit, class suit

see also certification compare consolidate, joinder, test case at case

Note: Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets out the prerequisites for having an action certified as a class action in federal court. Section (a) permits a class action if “(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” If the action satisfies these requirements, it must then fit into one of three categories: (1) where individual litigation would have varying results requiring the opposing party to act inconsistently toward the class members or would affect the interests of class members who are not parties to the individual action; (2) where the opposing party has acted or refused to act on grounds that are applicable to the class members as a whole and therefore injunctive or declaratory relief with respect to the class members as a whole is appropriate; or, (3) where the questions of law or fact common to the class members outweigh questions that apply to only particular individuals so that a class action is the best method to determine respective rights and liabilities. Using these guidelines, the judge will decide if an action should be certified as a class action.