Class Action Lawsuits: How to Find a Class to Join
In most class action lawsuits, everyone who has been injured in the way described in the lawsuit is automatically included in the class action, so there is no need to join a class. The court will order that notices be sent out to every class member who can be identified at the time the class is certified and at the time a settlement is proposed. Notices will usually be sent by mail to class members who can be located, but notices may also be placed in newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and on the Internet. The court will require the best notice possible under the circumstances, but class members who are not actually notified will still be included in the class.
If You Didn’t Receive a Notice
If you qualify as a member of a class and have not received a notice, you may want to contact the class action attorney for the class to add your name to the class registry. Registration as a class member will ensure that you receive any future notices, particularly the notice of settlement and information about how to participate in any recovery in the lawsuit. You may also have information or documents that might be useful to the class action attorneys. If you think you might have useful information, you should contact the attorneys and tell them what you have available.
Finding Possible Class Actions to Join on the Web
If you think there might be a certified class action lawsuit that concerns some injury you have suffered and want to find out how to contact the attorney for the class, the best place to start looking is the Internet. Attorneys involved in class action lawsuits often create web pages that give information about the lawsuit, the class certification, and how to contact relevant people. Unless the case is very small, it will probably either have a web page or be listed on various sites that list class action suits. You can usually locate these with web searches for the relevant product or company and the term class action. For example, a search for MenuFoods class action lawsuit turns up several sites with information about a recently certified class action against Menu Foods, Inc. for injuries to pets from contaminated pet food.
For more information about class action lawsuits, check out the following articles:
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