What is a Class Action Lawsuit?

“Where there’s a will, there’s a lawsuit,” and that’s completely true! In our everyday life, many legal actions are filed every single day because people always make mistakes, become a part of rogue activities or do something bad that leads them to the courts. This happens even in Amazon, one of the largest e-commerce platforms across the United States. Damages are unavoidable, and that’s why we have lawsuits!

What do you know about class action lawsuits? Nothing? Then let’s fix this huge mistake! If you’re an Amazon seller, you will certainly face class action lawsuits if you are not careful. So, “suit up,” pun intended, and let’s get going!

Class Action Lawsuits: The Basics

Imagine a situation when a person makes a mistake, thereby hurting more people than it was initially expected. This is when more than one individuals files a legal action against that single defendant, in other words, class action. This happens quite a lot, especially when a single mistake or wrong activity makes other people suffer.  In reality, class action lawsuit is used when the damages claimed by plaintiffs (the two opposing parties) are too minor, and won’t have a real value.

Here’s the question: what happens when the defendant reaches a settlement for the class action in court, or what’s even worse, loses at trial? This can be done in two possible ways. Class members, or the so-called class of plaintiffs, are either issued a percentage of the total amount or getting the fund is possible only if a person is able to prove that they suffered because of the actions of the defendant. For example, if a product was defective, faulty or out of order, a person should demonstrate that they suffered because of the product they purchased, easy! Sometimes class actions are a good idea, and we will present not only the pluses but also the minuses class members usually face.

Remember, to file a lawsuit, you first need one certain document (complaints) that will lead to the intended lawsuit. In general, your state’s civil court will provide a complaint filing sheet, so that you can file your complaint.

Apart from that, the plaintiff should file a complaint that includes the allegations of the lawsuit. The next step is serving the complaint (the above-mentioned necessary document) on the defendant. But the most important step comes only now when it is about the certification of the class. The certification process is done by the court, but the process can be initiated either by the court itself or by the plaintiff who should file a motion for the certification of the class.

There are practically the same rules for the certification process, however sometimes, depending on your state, there are extra requirements. If the representative plaintiff wants the judge to certify the class, they should do the following:

1. Prove that the representative suffered the same harm/injuries as the members of the class did.
2. Prove that it is easy to determine who is and is not a member of the class. So the class should be defined as clearly as it is possible.
3. Prove that the joining of class members is impractical and unrealistic.
4. Prove that the common facts trigger all the alleged injuries/harms of the members.
5. Prove that plaintiff’s claims are similar to the claims of class other members, and that litigating this plaintiff’s case will have the same impact on the cases of members that are absent.
6. Prove that there is no better way to solve the issue, resolve the claims.

Why Class Actions?

One of the advantages of filing a class action lawsuit is that it’s possible to provide compensation to the plaintiffs – to the members of the class. Without this option, plaintiffs wouldn’t get anything, because we all know about attorney costs, right?

Apart from that, the costs of litigation would be reasonably high if this wasn’t a class action lawsuit, and the courts would be literally blocked if so many people filed complaints against one defendant separately. Number of people can be huge, let’s not forget that! Action class can really help, when wrong activity harms so many people. So tell us, what do you think? Would you go for it? Read the cons and only make your decision.

Why Not to Choose Class Actions

Right to the pluses, there are always minuses to consider. For example, it would be way faster to resolve the case if it was filed separately. Just because class actions are full of complicated and problematic procedures and details, cases take too long to be settled.

What’s more interesting, it’s an advantage that people get their compensation, but at the same time, that amount is significantly smaller than it could have been in the case of separate lawsuits. So it turns out that class actions achieve the result, but the result is better for attorneys, their law firm, and not the plaintiffs themselves… Let.s be honest: sometimes law firms and legal advice of attorneys generate income, but the class member gets practically nothing. They paid for the defense, but sometimes they lose even when they win… However, this highly depends on the case. Just remember that law is not law if it violates the principles of eternal justice.

Everything depends on the lawyer: if your legal attorney loses the case, every member of the class loses as well! And the most important thing is that plaintiffs usually can’t the defendant separately, as an individual would do.

Types of Class Action Lawsuits

Generally, there are two types of class action lawsuits. In the first case, everything occurs and proceeds in a state court. In the second case, federal court must handle the process of filing and hearing the case.

Knowing about class action lawsuits and everything related to the legal world is important if you want to succeed. It doesn’t really matter where, when and for whom you’re working: this is the basic knowledge each of us must have. We find it very important for Amazon sellers to know about everything that is related to the legal side of Amazon, because it’s not only about having the knowledge, it’s about being protected.

Every single day we see clients who despite being legitimate sellers get suspended on Amazon. Very often, Amazon suspends or let’s say, deactivates accounts of its sellers, because there are several rules that must be maintained. Even though Amazon is one of the largest U.S e-commerce stores that takes care of its customers, it still ignores its sellers and deactivated their accounts every day.

Defendants, attorneys of these defendants, plaintiffs, their lawyers exist everywhere, and we can’t do anything about that. We have law, we have certain rules and policies that are needed for a productive work, significant income and for people who won’t be affected in case of mistakes or rogue activities. We all opt for success, we never want to lose, but there are several rules we all must follow, especially on Amazon.

What Legal Risks Exist on Amazon?

The most common risk is Amazon suspension which is followed by the evil text in which the so-called plaintiff or let’s say, accuser, files an Intellectual Property complaint. If you, as an Amazon seller, receive an IP complaint, you should, first of all, negotiate with the complainant party. Who knows, maybe simple negotiations can help you reach a settlement? How to do that? Just find their contacts, write them a letter, call or reach them however you’d like, and try to explain the issue. What was the problem, and why do you have what you have? Rule number one: if you want to avoid litigation, you have to avoid it at all costs! Litigation is possible to circumvent if you are polite, reasonable and diplomatic. Rule number two: you may be rejected! There are different types of companies and brand. First type can accept your apologies and explications, another type simply won’t. IP claim is one of the hardest suspensions that exist on Amazon: these cases should be handled solely by professionals.

Settlements are difficult to reach

Your lawyer can contact those companies on your behalf. Again, we all opt for success, and if you want to achieve the wanted result, you have to work with professionals! Remember class actions? Unfortunately, they can happen even in the case of Amazon sellers! Just know that class action settlements are always more dangerous, since there is more proof, and more evidence!

If the brand doesn’t retract the complaint, your negotiations will continue in the court. Luckily, there is civil procedure, together with others that are used by the courts to resolve issues during the lawsuits. Also keep in mind that these cases work differently depending on the state and federal jurisdiction, and federal rules. Attorney client privilege is also a big deal when working on these cases.

We’ve got you covered!

We at Got Suspended Clients encourage you to trust all types of Intellectual Property Complaints to our professional reinstatement appeal service! Number of cases increases, but our appeal service is ready to resolve all of them. If you contact us, your account will no longer be affected by Amazon! We write individual appeals that suit perfectly their owners, and that reinstate their accounts in an extremely short period of time! Our attorney-group will make sure your case is properly handled in accordance with your state rules and laws, and what’s more important, your individual appeal will reach the settlement you’re waiting for!