Thierman Law Firm

Class Action Lawsuits

- Definition of a class action lawsuit -

"an action in which a representative plaintiff sues or a representative defendant is sued
on behalf of a class of plaintiffs or defendants who have the same interests in the litigation as their representative and whose rights or liabilities can be more efficiently
determined as a group than in a series of individual suits"
... Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

- Definition of a class representative -

"one named as the plaintiff or defendant in a class action to litigate on behalf of the class "... Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

The Thierman Law Firm typically represents the plaintiff in class action lawsuits.
Although the degree and amount of harm may vary from person to person,
the main issues of liability in a class action are treated as one large case
rather than many small complaints.
A class action is far more efficient and economical for the plaintiffs as the action is usually brought
on a contingency fee basis.
* Many small claims are not brought as individual lawsuits and,
if brought, do not have the desired company wide impact; combined into a class action they get the attention of the defendant and frequently the press.
Typical class actions challenge company wide policies that are unlawful - like failure to pay overtime, or a defective comp-time policy, or discrimination against minorities.

One of the most important ingredients of a class action is a willing class representative. A class representative must be willing to be the representative for all other "similarly situated" i.e., who have the same problem with the same Defendant. A class representative may have separate claims in addition to the claims typical of the class, but a class representative cannot have claims that directly conflict with the alleged class claims. A class representative has a duty of undivided loyalty to the class. In order to protect the interests of all class members, the class representative must take his or her duties extremely seriously. In short, a class representative acts as the client, or the client's representative with the attorneys in the case.

Undertaking a class action is a serious responsibility. It is not a tool to be used to obtain a higher settlement for yourself. You cannot "sell out" the class. But, you can more likely than not get a greater individual recovery for everyone, including yourself, by filing a class action lawsuit. Class actions are hard fought, involve huge sums of money and take a long time. But in the end, the results are often better than any individual case.

*Please read our Attorney Fees page for a more in depth description of how Attorney fees work.

Thierman Law Firm, A Professional Corporation
Labor & Employment Attorneys
7287 Lakeside Dr.
Reno NV 89511-7652
Phone: (877) 99 LABOR or (775) 284-1500

Admitted in all California and Nevada State Courts, all Federal District Courts located in Nevada and California,
Courts of Appeal for the Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits and the US Supreme Court.