Complete with a state-by-state analysis of the ways in which the class action rules differ from the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, this comprehensive guide provides practitioners with an understanding of the intricacies of a class action lawsuit. Multiple authors contributed to the book, mainly 12 top litigators at the premiere law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski, L.L.P.
Since the 1960s, the class action lawsuit has been a powerful tool for holding businesses accountable. Yet years of attacks by corporate America and unfavorable rulings by the Supreme Court have left its future uncertain. In this book, Brian T. Fitzpatrick makes the case for the importance of class action litigation from a surprising political perspective: an unabashedly conservative point of view. Conservatives have opposed class actions in recent years, but Fitzpatrick argues that they should see such litigation not as a danger to the economy, but as a form of private enforcement of the law. He starts from the premise that all of us, conservatives and libertarians included, believe that markets need at least some rules to thrive, from laws that enforce contracts to laws that prevent companies from committing fraud. He also reminds us that conservatives consider the private sector to be superior to the government in most areas. And the relatively little-discussed intersection of those two beliefs is where the benefits of class action lawsuits become clear: when corporations commit misdeeds, class action lawsuits enlist the private sector to intervene, resulting in a smaller role for the government, lower taxes, and, ultimately, more effective solutions. Offering a novel argument that will surprise partisans on all sides, The Conservative Case for Class Actions is sure to breathe new life into this long-running debate.
The true story of Lois Jenson, a petite single mother, who was among the first women hired by a northern Minnesota iron mine in 1975. In this brutal workplace, female miners were relentlessly threatened with pornographic graffiti, denigrating language, stalking, and physical assaults. Terrified of losing their jobs, the women kept their problems largely to themselves—until Lois, devastated by the abuse, found the courage to file a complaint against the company in 1984. Despite all of the obstacles the legal system threw at them, Lois and her fellow plaintiffs enlisted the aid of a dedicated team of lawyers and ultimately prevailed. Weaving personal stories with legal drama, Class Action shows how these terrifically brave women made history, although not without enormous personal cost. Told at a thriller’s pace, this is the story of how one woman pioneered and won the first sexual harassment class action suit in the United States, a legal milestone that immeasurably improved working conditions for American women.
NO. MORE. HOMEWORK. That’s what sixth grader Sam Warren tells his teacher while standing on top of his desk. He's fed up with doing endless tasks from the time he gets home to the time he goes to sleep. Suspended for his protest, Sam decides to fight back. He recruits his elderly neighbor/retired attorney Mr. Kalman to help him file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all students in Los Angeles. Their argument? Homework is unconstitutional. With a ragtag team—aspiring masterchef Alistair, numbers gal Catalina, sports whiz Jaesang, rebel big sister Sadie and her tech-savvy boyfriend Sean—Sam takes his case to federal court. He learns about the justice system, kids’ rights, and constitutional law. And he learns that no matter how many times you get knocked down, there's always an appeal...until the nine justices have the last say. Will Sam's quest end in an epic fail, or will he be the hero who saves childhood for all time?
Multi-party litigation is a world-wide legal process, and the class action device is one of its best-known manifestations. As a means of providing access to justice and achieving judicial economies, the class action is gaining increasing endorsement - particularly given the prevalence of mass consumerism of goods and services, and the extent to which the activities and decisions of corporations and government bodies can affect large numbers of people. The primary purpose of this book is to compare and contrast the class action models that apply under the federal regimes of Australia and the United States and the provincial regimes of Ontario and British Columbia in Canada. While the United States model is the most longstanding, there have now been sufficient judicial determinations under each of the studied jurisdictions to provide a constructive basis for comparison. In the context of the drafting and application of a workable class action framework, it is apparent that similar problems have been confronted across these jurisdictions, which in turn promotes a search for assistance in the experience and legal analysis of others. The book is presented in three Parts. The first Part deals with the class action concept and its alternatives, and also discusses and critiques the stance of England where the introduction of the opt-out class action model has been opposed. The second Part focuses upon the various criteria and factors governing commencement of a class action (encompassing matters such as commonality, superiority, suitability, and the class representative). Part 3 examines matters pertaining to conduct of the action itself (such as becoming a class member, notice requirements, settlement, judgments, and costs and fees). The book is written to have practical utility for a wide range of legal practitioners and professionals, such as: academics and students of comparative civil procedure and multi-party litigation; litigation lawyers who may use the reference materials cited to the benefit of their own class action clients; and those charged with law reform who look to adopt the most workable (and avoid the unworkable) features in class action models elsewhere.
"This book provides...guidance to lawyers on how to conduct a class action, including both the plaintiff and defense perspective on the key decisions during the class action battle. It looks at each major phase of the action, from the filing of the action to settlement decisions and mechanisms."--
Charles Abrahams has spearheaded class-action lawsuits to defend the vulnerable and oppressed, but as a child he experienced oppression himself in the most visceral way. In this remarkable memoir, Charles recounts his poverty-stricken youth on the Cape Flats, amidst habitual gang fights and domestic violence. In the tiny home he shared with ten siblings, his father abused his mother, while at school he and other learners were brutalised by teachers and subjected to inferior ‘Bantu education’. Growing increasingly resilient and resistant, Charles joined the school boycotts of the late 1980s, educated himself through relentless reading, and succeeded in studying at university and qualifying as a lawyer. He made a living defending local gangsters, until a scholarship took him to the Netherlands to study international law. There, in the seedy streets of Amsterdam, he confronted the racial and sexual scars of his past. Charles returned to South Africa determined to use class-action lawsuits as a weapon of social justice. He sued multinationals in New York for supporting the apartheid govern- ment, took on food companies for xing the price of bread, and secured a R5-billion settle- ment from South Africa’s goldmining industry for miners suffering from silicosis and tuberculosis. Class Action is the honest, insightful and inspiring story of a man who wrestled with oppression and resolved to keep fighting it.
A compelling history of school desegregation and activism in San Francisco The picture of school desegregation in the United States is often painted with broad strokes of generalization and insulated anecdotes. Its true history, however, is remarkably wide ranging. Class Action tells the story of San Francisco’s long struggle over school desegregation in the wake of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. San Francisco’s story provides a critical chapter in the history of American school discrimination and the complicated racial politics that emerged. It was among the first large cities outside the South to face court-ordered desegregation following the Brown rulings, and it experienced the same demographic shifts that transformed other cities throughout the urban West. Rand Quinn argues that the district’s student assignment policies—including busing and other desegregative mechanisms—began as a remedy for state discrimination but transformed into a tool intended to create diversity. Drawing on extensive archival research—from court docket files to school district records—Quinn describes how this transformation was facilitated by the rise of school choice, persistent demand for neighborhood schools, evolving social and legal landscapes, and local community advocacy and activism. Class Action is the first book to present a comprehensive political history of post-Brown school desegregation in San Francisco. Quinn illuminates the evolving relationship between jurisprudence and community-based activism and brings a deeper understanding to the multiracial politics of urban education reform. He responds to recent calls by scholars to address the connections between ideas and policy change and ultimately provides a fascinating look at race and educational opportunity, school choice, and neighborhood schools in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education.
Mack Poyfair's new law office might have just one associate and one paralegal, but when Isaiah Garza comes through the door, Poyfair Law has one more thing: a career-making case. Isaiah Garza wants to sue Polson Reed Trucking for wrongful termination. The only problem is, he hasn't been terminated. His story, however, intrigues Mack, who takes a deeper look into how Garza and his fellow drivers are being paid. Mack knows a thing or two about the trucking laws in California, and Garza's paystub tells him something isn't right. Mack is determined to call Polson Reed on their illegal practices. He boldly pits his small, fledgling firm against a billion-dollar company in a class-action lawsuit for 665 drivers' wages. Polson Reed has the money to fight back and they hit hard. Mack must continuously shift his strategy and keep his law firm going long enough to see Polson Reed taken down. Based on the true story of Aguirre v. Genesis Logistics.