CLASS ACTION / MASS TORT

Class Actions and Mass Torts are two separate types of litigations that provide similar relief. Because of similarities. they are often confused. For example, in both class action and mass tort cases the plaintiffs are made up of a large group of people who have been injured by a common defendant or defendants. In both class action and mass tort, the lawsuits are consolidated into one action rather than allow for each plaintiff to maintain an individual lawsuit.

The key difference between mass torts and class actions is HOW the groups of plaintiffs are treated. In a class action, the suit is filed on behalf of an entire group of people who suffered similar harm as a result of a defendant’s actions. Here, all the plaintiffs involved in the class action are treated as one plaintiff, and the lead plaintiff sues the defendant on behalf of the entire class. In mass tort cases, each plaintiff in the group is treated as an individual. Therefore, each plaintiff must prove certain facts establishing the specific ways that person was harmed by the defendant’s action.

The number of plaintiffs in a mass tort is usually smaller than those of a class action. The plaintiffs in mass torts typically involve injuries to a distinct group of people who reside in the same geographic area.

Mass torts are broader than class actions and may involve various types of injuries resulted in the action or inaction of a defendant or several corporate defendants. Common examples of mass torts include lawsuits against manufacturers of defective drugs or defective products.