What are class action lawsuits?

Class action lawsuits are collective legal actions taken by a group of individuals who share common claims or grievances against a defendant, which is typically a corporation or an entity. This legal mechanism allows a large number of people to group together to sue for damages or seek a remedy for violations that impact all of them similarly. The purpose of a class action is to improve judicial efficiency and ensure that individuals with similar claims can pursue their case without each having to file a separate lawsuit.

In a class action, one or a few plaintiffs represent the interests of the overall group, known as the "class." This allows the court to rule on the issues of law and fact that affect the entire class, rather than requiring each member to prove their case separately, which can be burdensome and inefficient.

The other options do not describe class action lawsuits accurately. Individual legal actions or claims, whether against a corporation or in small claims, describe lawsuits that do not involve multiple plaintiffs or a collective grievance, which distinguishes them from the nature of class actions.