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Report consumer harm, connect around shared experiences, and learn how class actions, settlements and claim deadlines work. We are not a law firm and we are not counsel on any matter.

Class action glossary

40 terms, each defined in a direct answer rather than a definition that assumes you already know the answer. Terms covering law that is actively changing are marked and carry the date the status was checked.

How a class action runs

  • Class 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

  • Cy 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

  • Arbitration 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