What is subclass?

A subclass is a subset of a larger certified class defined by narrower, distinguishing criteria — often because different subgroups have different legal claims, live in different states with different laws, or suffered different types of harm. Each subclass must independently satisfy the certification requirements, and courts appoint a subclass representative and can require separate counsel when subclass interests could conflict.

Subclasses commonly appear in multistate consumer cases where the underlying conduct is the same nationwide but the applicable consumer protection law differs by state, or in product cases where one group of purchasers has an injury claim and another has only an economic-loss claim. A settlement notice describing multiple subclasses usually specifies different compensation or eligibility rules for each, so which subclass a person falls into can materially change what they are entitled to claim.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22.