Los Angeles Class Action Attorneys

Los Angeles Class Action Attorneys

Seasoned litigators handling class action lawsuits in California

Class action lawsuits are important to our legal system and prove that there is strength in numbers. McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP is dedicated to researching the complex issues that arise from a class action lawsuit.

Our firm knows how to fight and win cases, and has been doing exactly that for more than 30 years. We have secured multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements time and again, including:

$ billion
$13.5 BILLION against PG&E for victims of multiple California wildfires.
$ million
class action settlement with Epson America, Inc., whose “smart chip” in its printers caused the printers to shut down, despite the cartridges still having ink.
$ million
and $418,000 class action settlements against home-building companies William Lyons and MBK Homes, respectively, for single-family homes and condominiums in a Ladera Ranch, CA residential community containing copper pipes that were inadequate and defective for safe water conditions.
$ million
class action settlement against a Mexican hotel chain for a breach in its exclusive book contracts.

Class action lawsuits can take many years of work and oftentimes require a team of lawyers who understand the stakes and have the experience required to see the class action lawsuit through to the end. McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP’s formidable litigators have the skills and resources to take on the most challenging legal disputes.

What is a class action lawsuit?

Class action lawsuits allow a group of people with similar grievances or claims against the same person, group or corporation to come together and seek justice for a similar resolution, even if the alleged actions of wrongdoing took place at different times. Class action lawsuits can save the courts and the clients time and money.

Harmful actions by individuals and corporations come in various forms. They can occur to anyone at any time and, sometimes, to many people, creating a class or group. Regardless of the specific harm, individuals in a class or group can band together and gain leverage when filing a class action against big companies.

How does a class action lawsuit work?

When a group of people file lawsuits alleging a harm, that group can ask the court to certify them as a class. Once the class is certified, then other potential plaintiffs are notified, and can opt-out of the class.

Example: In 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple Inc. over the price of electronic books (“eBooks”). If you purchased an eBook between a certain period of time, you received an email or notice about the action, and were given the option to opt-out. If you stayed in the class, you were given a credit toward your account once the case settled.

If a judge certifies the class, the case moves forward. If the judge does not, then the case ends.

How does a class action differ from multidistrict litigation?

Multidistrict litigation (MDL) also involves multiple plaintiffs, but unlike a class action, it also involves multiple lawsuits. In a class action, plaintiffs all join one lawsuit that is heard in one court. In MDL, all of the cases are kept separate, but they are all heard in one court. This keeps the process moving along, so that cases don’t cause a backlog throughout the entire country’s court system.

Practice Areas

Our Successes

$300,000,000
Class action settlement on behalf of consumers against Epson America, Inc. for installation of a “smart chip” in its printers that shut down when there was still a substantial amount of ink left on the cartridge.

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310-474-1582

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Common claims in class action lawsuits

Class action lawsuits can come in many shapes and sizes. As long as the individuals are harmed by the same person or entity and are harmed in a similar manner, class action lawsuits can be brought for a multitude of reasons, including:

  • Consumer fraud
  • Predatory lending practices
  • Wage violations
  • Anti-trust violations
  • Breach of warranty
  • Defective products
  • Improper business transactions

Are class actions worth it?

Most class action lawsuits have many, many plaintiffs. Even in cases where the settlements are in the billions, the plaintiffs don’t always stand to receive a large sum of money, individually. When 20,000 former Enron employees sued for compensation for their lost pension, they won $85 million – about $3,100 per employee.

But class actions are not always about the individual award. They are about holding a company accountable for its dangerous and destructive behavior, and for ensuring that these types of events don’t happen again. They allow the “little guy” to level the playing field when going up against a company or entity with vastly superior resources. Class actions can lead to real change, both legislatively and culturally: Brown v. Board of Education was a class action lawsuit in which the in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, and the country is a better place because of the case.

Your Los Angeles class action lawyers

McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP holds individuals and companies of all sizes accountable for contributing to a harm that changed your life or the life of your loved one. With the experience of a seasoned legal team, our family-owned-and-operated law firm establishes the professionalism and tenacity required to handle large class action lawsuits. Contact our office in Westwood or call 310.474.1582 to learn more.

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