This is sometimes also referred to as a representative action. It is legal procedure used to file a single lawsuit on behalf of a large number of people whose cases involve common questions of law and/or fact. The plaintiff is an individual, who is representative of the class of people. Class actions lawsuits can be a helpful tool to people when the out of pocket damages to one person is relatively small, but the total damages to all members of the class, is significant. It can also have the benefit of forcing a businesses that has caused broad damage or one that has a “public be damned” attitude to change their practices or to pay significant damages.
