Leading Class Action Attorneys
in the Nation
At The Moskowitz Law Firm, we have over 25 years of experience successfully representing Plaintiffs in class action cases. This has resulted in providing justice to millions of consumers nationwide. We’re proud to hold some of the world’s biggest corporations accountable for harm they have caused.
A Top Class Action Law Firm
Our legal team has spearheaded many complex, high-profile cases. We work closely with co-counsel attorneys in several states to ensure that the interests of class members we represent are well-protected.
Our track record has placed us among the nation’s top class action law firms. Although we are located in South Florida, we represent clients all over the United States.
What is a Class Action Lawsuit?
A class action suit refers to a type of lawsuit where an individual or a small group of individuals are Plaintiffs on behalf of a much larger group of people who are all similarly situated. The named Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are known as the class representatives.
Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) establishes that a Court first has to certify the group of harmed individuals as a class. For this to happen, they need to meet four requirements:
Numerosity
This component ensures that there are enough harmed individuals to constitute a class. There is no specific number that’s required, but the number of people has to be so high, that expecting all of them to join the suit would be impractical — especially when in many instances, they may be located all over a state, or even the nation.
Commonality
There has to be a common issue of law that applies to every single member of the class. For example, if the class action is regarding a labor law violation, an employee of the same company cannot join the class because of an unrelated issue with their employer. The litigation would be focused on the alleged common labor laws violations. The claims do not have to be identical, however, but they do have to be related.
Typicality
The class representatives must bring claims that are typical of the class. This means that they arise out of the same events and have to establish the same elements to establish liability from the Defendant(s). Same injuries/damages. Same interests to protect. These must all arise from the same course of conduct.
Adequate Representation
The class representatives have to be deemed as adequate representatives of the interests of all members of the class. The Court will look at whether there are any possibilities of the interests of the Plaintiffs being in conflict with the interests of all individuals involved (known as the putative class).
Why Are Class Action Lawsuits Filed?
The reason why these types of suits exist is that it would be impractical — and even unmanageable — to allow every class member to bring suits individually.
In addition, multiple suits against the same defendant for the same reasons could lend themselves to inconsistent outcomes. The reason why this would be problematic is that every case establishes a precedent. That precedent is then held as a standard to be met in the future in similar cases.
What Are the Different Types of Class Actions Lawsuits?
FRCP 23(b) establishes three distinct types of class action lawsuits:
A claim where prosecuting each action individually would create a risk of inconsistent adjudications. As a result, this would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the Defendant(s).
A claim where the Defendant(s) has caused harm by either acting or ceasing an action, and the affected class can request injunctive relief (aka, ordering them to stop the harmful behavior).
A claim where, even if several individuals from the class may have different issues with the Defendant(s), there are common questions of law or fact that predominate over any additional issues.
Regardless of whether the suit is over past behavior that already harmed the Plaintiffs, the behavior is still ongoing, or there are many issues with the Defendants, the common denominator is that a significant number of individuals has experienced harm.
How Can You Join a Class Action Lawsuit?
Once a class action has been certified (meaning, it has met all of the four requirements described above), attorneys for the Plaintiffs conduct a process called discovery.
During this stage, they seek all relevant information relating to the case. For example, if the case is regarding unpaid wages or faulty products that were sold to consumers, they will review every single record of the putative class.
Everyone will then receive notification in writing of the class action. This can be either via regular mail or email. The notification is required to include:
The reason for the class action
Who is considered a member of the certified class
The lawsuit claims and possible defenses
The effect of the Court ruling in favor of the class
FRCP 23 requires attorneys to conduct a reasonable effort to find all class members. It’s for this reason that, in some cases, you may see public advertisements of the class action.
For example, certain medical malpractice cases have placed television ads requesting all individuals who received X type of treatment from X type of facility or took X medication between the years of X and Y, to contact them to provide their information.
Once you have been notified of the existence of a class action, you will then have several options.
Proceed as a Member of the Class
If you choose to move forward as a part of the class, you don’t have to do anything. The fact that you received written notice is enough. However, this means that once the lawsuit is over, you are bound by the Court’s decision and cannot bring another lawsuit for the same reason individually.
Opt-Out of the Class Action
If you choose to opt-out, you check the box for that option and send it back to the law firm that notified you. The case will then proceed without you. If the lawsuit prevails and members of the class receive compensation, you won’t receive anything.
Retain Your Own Attorney
You also have the option to retain your status as a member of the class, but hire your own attorney to represent you. However, these costs would come out of your own pocket, at least initially. If you prevail, you can then file a motion with the Court to award you attorney’s fees. The Defendant may object to it, and you both will have the opportunity to argue your claims at a hearing.
If you choose this option, you also have to notify the law firm who sent you notice of the class action. The attorney must then be approved by the Court to become an attorney of record in the case.
What Are the Benefits of Joining a Class Action?
The benefits of joining a class action are several:
You won’t have to worry about finding an attorney to represent you individually (unless you want to).
You won’t have to worry about taking time off work to participate in litigation.
Your interests will be as protected as much as those of the class representatives.
You will be notified in writing of the status of the case, without you having to reach out for information.
Class Action Cases We’ve Worked On
While it would be impossible to condense all of our class action cases into a single webpage, we recognize the value for our potential clients in browsing through some of our work. Below are some of our cases:
Transamerica Life Insurance
Transamerica is one of the world’s largest providers of life insurance. In 2016, we were co-counsel with Bonnet, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint, PC and Consumer Watchdog in a class action suit representing consumers that were wrongly charged for increases in their monthly rates. We prevailed in seeking injunctive relief (a Court order requiring them to stop the increases), as well as a $195 million judgment for the Plaintiffs.
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance
Universal Property is the largest private insurance company in Florida. We filed a class action suit to force them to pay interests on settled insurance claims where they have paid over 20 days late, as is required by law.
The case is currently being litigated in Miami-Dade County.
1 Global Investors
1 Global Capital is a business that provides cash advances. In 2018, they filed for bankruptcy, and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a claim to force them to sell unregistered securities.
Our firm, along with Bonnet, Friedman, Fairbourn & Balint, PC filed multiple class action lawsuits on behalf of 1 Global’s investors. We were able to obtain millions of dollars in compensation for the class we represented.
If You Need Legal Representation in a Class Action, We Can Help
If you believe you may have a class action claim or wish to obtain your own representation in an existing class action lawsuit, we can help you.
The Moskowitz Law Firm has extensive experience securing significant recoveries for consumers. Contact us for more information.