Class Action Lawsuits

A class action lawsuit is when a group of people who have been impacted in a similar way decide to file a single lawsuit to try and get compensation for the entire group. Normally these are filed against manufacturers for causing harm to the consumers because of negligence.

Normally these are beneficial because they typically won’t cost as much as if individual claims were being filed. They also help the victims avoid the risk of being stuck with a large bill even if their claim ends up not being worth much.

Barnard Iglitzin & Lavitt has litigated class action cases at every stage, from negotiation and settlement to class certification, summary judgment, trial, and appeal. In 2009 alone, we enabled a union to intervene in and successfully oppose class certification in a wage & hour lawsuit that threatened the way dispatch works in the longshore industry; we settled a case against a large grocery chain for failure to pay workers for time spent putting on and taking off necessary protective clothing; and we successfully resolved other class action cases relating to off-the-clock work.

We also successfully represented a class of homeowners in an action against King County involving excessive utility fees the County had imposed.