Glossary
Class action terms, in plain language.
Each term is defined with a direct answer rather than a definition that assumes you already know the answer.
40 terms · 6 cover law that is actively changing and carry the date the status was checked
How a class action runs
14 termsClass Period
A class period is the specific date range during which a person must have been affected by the challenged conduct to bel…
Opt-Out
Opting out is the formal act of removing oneself from a class action, usually by mailing or submitting a written request…
Claim Form
A claim form is the document a class member submits to a settlement administrator to receive a payment from a class acti…
Settlement Administrator
A settlement administrator is the neutral third-party company a court appoints to manage a class action settlement's mec…
Named Plaintiff
A named plaintiff, also called a class representative, is the individual (or individuals) who files a class action lawsu…
Fairness Hearing
A fairness hearing is the court proceeding at which a judge decides whether a proposed class action settlement is fair, …
Class Certification
Class certification is a court's formal ruling, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, that a lawsuit may proceed as …
Multidistrict Litigation (MDL)
Multidistrict litigation, or MDL, is a federal procedure that consolidates similar lawsuits filed in different districts…
Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)
The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 is a federal law that expanded federal court jurisdiction over large class actions…
Lead Counsel / Class Counsel
Class counsel, sometimes called lead counsel, is the attorney or law firm a court appoints to represent the interests of…
Objector
An objector is a class member who formally tells the court, in writing and by the deadline in the settlement notice, tha…
Subclass
A subclass is a subset of a larger certified class defined by narrower, distinguishing criteria — often because differen…
Notice Plan
A notice plan is the court-approved method for informing class members that a case exists, has settled, or has reached a…
Opt-In vs. Opt-Out Class
An opt-out class, the default under Rule 23, automatically includes every person meeting the class definition unless the…
Settlements and payouts
7 termsCy Pres
Cy pres is a doctrine that lets a court direct leftover, unclaimed, or otherwise undistributable class action settlement…
Common Fund
A common fund is the total pool of money a defendant agrees to pay to resolve a class action, from which claim payments,…
Release (Settlement Release)
A release is the provision in a class settlement agreement under which class members give up their legal right to sue th…
Final Approval Order
A final approval order is the judge's written ruling, issued after the fairness hearing, formally approving a class acti…
Claims-Made Settlement
A claims-made settlement is a settlement structure in which the defendant pays only for claims actually submitted and ap…
Incentive Award (Service Award)
An incentive award, also called a service award, is an extra payment a court may approve for named plaintiffs in a class…
Coupon Settlement
A coupon settlement resolves a class action by giving class members discount vouchers or credits toward future purchases…
What gates a claim
8 termsArbitration Clause
An arbitration clause is contract language requiring disputes to be resolved through private arbitration before an arbit…
Class Action Waiver
A class action waiver is contract language, usually paired with an arbitration clause, in which a person agrees to bring…
Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is the legal deadline within which a lawsuit must be filed after the underlying harm occurred, …
Standing
Standing is the constitutional requirement that a plaintiff show a concrete, particularized injury caused by the defenda…
Ascertainability
Ascertainability is an implied requirement, recognized in some federal circuits, that a proposed class be defined using …
Predominance Requirement
Predominance is the Rule 23(b)(3) requirement that questions of law or fact common to the class outweigh questions affec…
Commonality
Commonality is a Rule 23(a) certification requirement that there be at least one question of law or fact common to all c…
American Pipe Tolling
American Pipe tolling is a doctrine, from the Supreme Court's American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah (1974), holding t…
Areas of law changing now
11 termsMass Arbitration
ChangingMass arbitration is a tactic in which lawyers file thousands of individual arbitration demands against the same company …
FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule (Negative Option Rule)
ChangingThe FTC's Click-to-Cancel Rule was a 2024 update to the agency's Negative Option Rule that would have required sellers t…
ROSCA (Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act)
ROSCA is a 2010 federal law making it illegal to charge a consumer online through a negative-option feature — where inac…
Junk Fee / FTC Junk Fees Rule
A junk fee is an added charge — a 'service,' 'convenience,' or 'resort' fee, for example — not clearly disclosed in the …
CIPA (California Invasion of Privacy Act)
ChangingCIPA is a California statute, originally enacted in 1967, that prohibits recording or intercepting communications withou…
VPPA (Video Privacy Protection Act)
ChangingThe VPPA is a 1988 federal law barring video rental and similar service providers from disclosing a consumer's video-vie…
BIPA (Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act)
ChangingBIPA is a 2008 Illinois law requiring companies to get written consent before collecting biometric identifiers such as f…
Data Breach Class Action
A data breach class action is a lawsuit brought on behalf of individuals whose personal information was exposed in a sec…
False Advertising Class Action
A false advertising class action alleges a company's marketing, labeling, or product claims misled a reasonable consumer…
Unjust Enrichment
Unjust enrichment is a legal claim, available even without an enforceable contract, alleging that a defendant unfairly r…
Two-Party (All-Party) Consent Wiretapping Laws
ChangingTwo-party or all-party consent laws require every participant in a communication to consent before it can be recorded or…