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===United States=== {{See also|Class action#United States}} {{anchor|Class representative}} In the United States, the '''class representative''', also called a '''lead plaintiff''', '''named plaintiff''', or '''representative plaintiff''', is the named party in a class-action lawsuit.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sullivan|first1=E. Thomas|title=Complex Litigation|date=2009|publisher=LexisNexis|isbn=978-1422411469|page=441|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nRfljaTiOwsC|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref> Although the class representative is named as a party to the litigation, the court must approve the class representative when it certifies the lawsuit as a class action. The class representative must be able to represent the interests of all the members of the class, by being typical of the class members and not having conflicts with them. He or she is responsible for hiring the attorney, filing the lawsuit, consulting on the case, and agreeing to any settlement. In exchange, the class representative may be entitled to compensation (at the court's discretion) out of the recovery amount. ====Standing==== In securities class actions that allege violations of [[Securities Act of 1933#Civil liability; Sections 11 and 12|Section 11]] of the [[Securities Act of 1933]], "officers and directors are liable together with the corporation for material misrepresentations in the registration statement."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/09/19/the-limits-of-delaware-corporate-law-internal-affairs-federal-forum-provisions-and-sciabacucchi/ |title=The Limits of Delaware Corporate Law: Internal Affairs, Federal Forum Provisions, and Sciabacucchi |last=Grundfest |first=Joseph A. |date= September 2019|website=Harvard Law School on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation}}</ref> To have [[Standing (law)|standing]] to sue under [[Securities Act of 1933#Civil liability; Sections 11 and 12|Section 11]] of the 1933 Act in a class action, a plaintiff must be able to prove that he can trace his shares to the registration statement in question, as to which there is alleged a material misstatement or omission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation-news/top-stories/2014/securities-fraud-plaintiff-need-not-show-reliance/|title=Securities Fraud Plaintiff Need Not Show Reliance|publisher=American Bar Association}}</ref><ref name="autoa">[https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-200_097c.pdf ''Slack v. Prani''], [[Supreme Court of the United States]] (2023).</ref> In the absence of an ability to actually trace his shares, such as when securities issued at multiple times are held by the depository trust company in a fungible bulk and physical tracing of particular shares may be impossible, the plaintiff may be barred from pursuing his claim for lack of standing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/securities/practice/2017/pleading-section-11-liability-for-secondary-offerings/|title=Pleading Section 11 Liability for Secondary Offerings|publisher=American Bar Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://securities.stanford.edu/filings-documents/1050/PUDA00_02/2013101_f01o_13CV02312.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008202057/http://securities.stanford.edu/filings-documents/1050/PUDA00_02/2013101_f01o_13CV02312.pdf |archive-date=2015-10-08 |url-status=live|title=CITIC Trust_FIC_Order_PACER.pdf<!-- Bot generated title -->}}{{registration required}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-439953395/morrison-the-restricted-scope-of-securities-act-section|title=Morrison, the Restricted Scope of Securities Act Section 11 Liability, and Prospects for Regulatory Reform|first=Joseph A.|last=Grundfest|date=September 22, 2015|journal=Journal of Corporation Law|volume=41|issue=1|pages=38|via=|access-date=December 28, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806231517/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-439953395/morrison-the-restricted-scope-of-securities-act-section|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloombergindustry.com/|title=Bloomberg Industry Group|website=Bloomberg Industry}}</ref><ref name="autoa"/> ====Federal courts==== In federal courts, class actions are governed by [[Federal Rules of Civil Procedure]] Rule {{frcp|23}} and 28 U.S.C.A. Β§ 1332(d).<ref name="Rule23">{{cite web|url=https://www.federalrulesofcivilprocedure.org/frcp/title-iv-parties/rule-23-class-actions/ |title=Rule 23 |work=Federal Rules of Civil Procedure |access-date=2016-01-11}}</ref> Cases in federal courts are only allowed to proceed as class actions if the court has jurisdiction to hear the case, and if the case meets the criteria set out in Rule 23. In the vast majority of federal class actions, the class is acting as the plaintiff. However, Rule 23 also provides for defendant class actions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Scott D. |title=Certification of Defendant Classes under Rule 23(b)(2) |journal=Columbia Law Review |date=1984 |volume=84 |issue=5 |pages=1371β1401 |doi=10.2307/1122354 |jstor=1122354 }}</ref> Typically, federal courts are thought to be more favorable for defendants, and state courts more favorable for plaintiffs.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Unintended Precedents|url=http://prospect.org/article/unintended-precedents-0|journal=The American Prospect|access-date=March 21, 2018|date=February 28, 2010}}</ref> Many class actions are filed initially in state court. The defendant will frequently try to [[removal jurisdiction|remove]] the case to federal court. The [[Class Action Fairness Act of 2005]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ002.109 |title=Class Action Fairness Act Public Law 109-2, 119 Stat. 4 |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office|access-date=2013-10-03}}</ref> increases defendants' ability to remove state cases to federal court by giving federal courts [[original jurisdiction]] for all class actions with damages exceeding $5,000,000 exclusive of interest and costs.<ref>28 U.S.C.A. Β§ 1332(d)</ref> The Class Action Fairness Act contains carve-outs for, among other things, shareholder class actions covered by the [[Private Securities Litigation Reform Act]] of 1995 and those concerning internal corporate governance issues (the latter typically being brought as shareholder derivative actions in the state courts of Delaware, the state of incorporation of most large corporations).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classactionprofessor.com/cafa-analysis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102113839/http://www.classactionprofessor.com/cafa-analysis.pdf |archive-date=2006-11-02 |url-status=live |first=William B. |last=Rubenstein |title=Understanding the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 |type=briefing paper |access-date=2013-10-03}}</ref> =====Jurisdiction===== Class actions may be brought in [[United States district court|federal court]] if the claim arises under federal law or if the claim falls under 28 [[U.S.C.]] Β§ 1332(d). Under Β§ 1332(d)(2) the federal district courts have original jurisdiction over any civil action where the [[amount in controversy]] exceeds $5,000,000 and * any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State different from any defendant; or * any member of a class of plaintiffs is a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state and any defendant is a citizen of a State; or * any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State and any defendant is a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state.<ref>{{USCsub|28|1332|d|2}}</ref> Nationwide plaintiff classes are possible, but such suits must have a commonality of issues across state lines. This may be difficult if the [[Civil law (private law)|civil law]] in the various states lack significant commonalities. Large class actions brought in federal court frequently are consolidated for pre-trial purposes through the device of [[multidistrict litigation]] (MDL).<ref>{{cite journal |first=John G. II |last=Heyburn |title=A View from the Panel: Part of the Solution |journal=Tulane Law Review |volume=82 |pages=2225β2331 |url=http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/PartoftheSolution_Heyburn.pdf |access-date=2011-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426050306/http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/PartoftheSolution_Heyburn.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-26 }}</ref> It is also possible to bring class actions under state law, and in some cases the court may extend its jurisdiction to all the members of the class, including out of state (or even internationally) as the key element is the jurisdiction that the court has over the defendant.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} =====Class certification under Rule 23===== For the case to proceed as a class action and bind absent class members, the court must certify the class under Rule 23 on a motion from the party wishing to proceed on a class basis. For a class to be certified, the moving party must meet all of the criteria listed under Rule 23(a), and at least one of the criteria listed under Rule 23(b).<ref name=Rule23 /> The 23(a) criteria are referred to as '''numerosity''', '''commonality''', '''typicality''', and '''adequacy'''.<ref name="Bahe-Jachna_Page_57">{{cite book |last1=Bahe-Jachna |first1=Ruth A. |editor1-last=Greer |editor1-first=Marcy Hogan |title=A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions |date=2010 |publisher=American Bar Association |location=Chicago |isbn=9781604429558 |pages=57-68 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5oSx5C6YgIC&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=May 8, 2025 |chapter=Chapter 3.B: Numerosity, Commonality, and Typicality}} (At p. 57.)</ref> '''Numerosity''' refers to the number of people in the class. To be certified, the class has to have enough members that simply adding each of them as a named party to the lawsuit would be impractical.<ref name=Rule23 /> There is no bright-line rule to determine numerosity, but classes with hundreds of members are generally deemed to be sufficiently numerous.<ref name="Bahe-Jachna_Page_58">{{cite book |last1=Bahe-Jachna |first1=Ruth A. |editor1-last=Greer |editor1-first=Marcy Hogan |title=A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions |date=2010 |publisher=American Bar Association |location=Chicago |isbn=9781604429558 |pages=57-68 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5oSx5C6YgIC&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=May 8, 2025 |chapter=Chapter 3.B: Numerosity, Commonality, and Typicality}} (At p. 58.)</ref> To satisfy '''commonality''', there must be a common question of law and fact such that "determination of its truth or falsity will resolve an issue that is central to the validity of each one of the claims in one stroke".<ref>''[[Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes]]'', {{ussc|564|338|2011}}.</ref> The '''typicality''' requirement ensures that the claims or defenses of the named plaintiff are typical of those of everyone else in the class.<ref name=Rule23 /> Finally, '''adequacy''' requirement states that the named plaintiff must fairly and adequately represent the interests of the absent class members.<ref name=Rule23 /> Rule 23(b)(3) allows class certification if "questions of law or fact common to class members ''predominate'' over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is ''superior'' to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Webber |first1=David H. |author-link=David H. Webber |title=The Plight of the Individual Investor |journal=Northwestern University Law Review |date=2012 |volume=106 |page=181 |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=faculty_scholarship |access-date=21 November 2019}} (Quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3) (emphasis added)).</ref> =====Notice and settlement===== [[Due process]] requires in most cases that notice describing the class action be sent, published, or broadcast to class members. As part of this notice procedure, there may have to be several notices, first a notice allowing class members to opt out of the class, i.e. if individuals wish to proceed with their own litigation they are entitled to do so, only to the extent that they give timely notice to the class counsel or the court that they are opting out. Second, if there is a settlement proposal, the court will usually direct the class counsel to send a settlement notice to all the members of the certified class, informing them of the details of the proposed settlement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rule 23. Class Actions |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref> ====State courts==== Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states, like California, have civil procedure systems, which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the [[California Codes]] provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions.<ref>''Cohelan on California Class Actions''</ref>{{{fcn|date=January 2025}}<ref>Elizabeth Cabraser et al., ''California Class Actions: Practice and Procedure''</ref>{{fcn|date=January 2025}} {{As of|March 2024}}, only Virginia and Massachusetts do not provide for any class actions.<ref name="The National Law Review 2024 y945">{{cite web | title=The Legislation Enacting Virginia's New Class Action Statute Should Be Amended to Protect Virginia Businesses from In Terrorem Statutory Damages | website=The National Law Review | date=March 7, 2024 | url=https://natlawreview.com/article/legislation-enacting-virginias-new-class-action-statute-should-be-amended-protect | access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref> Others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions.<ref name="LII / Legal Information Institute 1966 g798">{{cite web | title=Rule 23. Class Actions | website=[[Legal Information Institute| Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute]] | date=February 28, 1966 | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_23 | access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref>
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