class action lawsuit

A class action, class suit, or representative action is where a group (a class) sues another party. It is pleonastic to refer to a class action as a “class action suit”. Collective lawsuits originated in the United States and are still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon. But in several European countries with civil law, contrary to Anglo-American common law, changes have been made in recent years to allow consumer organizations to bring claims on behalf of consumers.