Class Action Reform

Once considered a tool of judicial economy that aggregated many cases with similar facts or similar complaints into a single action, class actions are now considered a means of defendant extortion and national policy-making by local court judges.

Today, some class actions are meritless cases in which thousands, or millions, of plaintiffs with unique injuries and grievances are granted class status, often without the knowledge of class members. In many of these cases, plaintiffs’ counsel negotiate settlements with the defendants early on that allow the defendants to avoid costly litigation, and rewards the plaintiffs’ counsel with millions in legal fees. Meanwhile, the class members, who play no role in the negotiation process, and who often have no idea that plaintiffs’ lawyers are advancing a lawsuit on their behalf, often receive pennies or nearly-worthless coupons.

ATRA supports state legislation that allows only similar plaintiffs from the forum state with similar claims against similar defendants to be certified as a class. ATRA also supports legislation that allows the interlocutory (immediate) appeal of class action certification orders.