Understanding Class Action Lawsuits
When many individuals or other entities experience economic harm from instances such as a dangerous or defective product, illegal business practices, cyber security attacks, or any other harm, these cases can be combined into a single lawsuit known as a Class Action. Unlike a traditional lawsuit where one person sues another, a class action involves a group of people, businesses, or other entities that are collectively called a “class,” who have all been affected in a similar way by the same or substantially similar acts. Through a class action, the class members are represented collectively.
Beasley Allen has been involved in many high-profile class action lawsuits, such as representing class members affected by defective automobiles such as the GM ignition switch and faulty airbags; defective consumer products like Rock ‘n Play Sleepers and benzene-tainted sunscreen, as well as Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder that caused thousands of women to develop ovarian cancer; data breaches by companies like Target, Home Depot, AT&T and Equifax; insurance companies who attempt to avert its commitments to the policyholder; price-fixing; and other anti-competitive acts.
Our team of class action lawyers are leaders in the country with respect to litigating nationwide disputes through the use of class action litigation.
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Dee Miles Consumer Fraud Section Head Montgomery, AL -
Clay Barnett Principal Atlanta, GA -
Demet Basar Principal Montgomery, AL -
Paul Evans Principal Montgomery, AL -
Mitch Williams Associate Montgomery, AL
Class Action Filed: Toyota Transmission TroublesNovember 13, 2024
Mazda-Denso Fuel Pump Settlement Gets Preliminary ApprovalSeptember 17, 2024
$19 Million Rock ‘n Play Sleeper SettlementJuly 30, 2024
Defective Automobiles and Auto Products Class Actions
Buying a car is a big deal, and people spend a lot of time finding the right one. They want a car they love and can rely on. But when a manufacturer makes a defective vehicle, it breaks the trust with the consumer. The car might lose value, be hard to resell, or need expensive repairs.
Beasley Allen specializes in holding car manufacturers responsible for defective automobiles or automobile products. Beasley Allen has successfully pursued auto defect class action litigation against industry giants, such as General Motors, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and more.
Consumer Products Class Actions
We use many products daily, and while they often make life easier, some can cause harm and lead to class action lawsuits. Beasley Allen is committed to protecting consumers against harmful or defective products.
Beasley Allen has handled some notable class actions involving dangerous and defective products, such as the Fisher Price litigation involving the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper that was falsely marketed as safe for infants, leading to about 100 deaths. As a result of Beasley Allen’s work in this case and its $19 million settlement, it is now illegal to sell these sleepers. Bealey Allen also leads the litigation against Johnson & Johnson in order to hold them accountable for their talcum powder products that were marketed as safe, despite studies linking the products to ovarian cancer.
Beasley Allen handles a variety of other consumer product class actions and is committed to protecting consumers from the dangers of unsafe products.
Data Breach Class Actions
A data breach happens when someone who shouldn’t have access to your personal information gets hold of it. With so much of our data stored electronically, it’s easy for it to be lost or not properly protected. Experts say cybercriminals steal around $1 billion from businesses every year and our firm works hard to restore that money back to consumers while also seeking to prevent any future breach from occurring. Our team of class action attorneys have tackled some of the country’s most notable data breaches, including the AT&T, Target, Home Depot, and Equifax data breaches and cyber-attacks.
In the data breach cases we have litigated, we have uncovered negligence in cybersecurity and slow responses to vulnerabilities. For example, our firm worked on the infamous Target data breach case that resulted in a $39 million settlement for financial institutions after a major cyberattack on their payment system occurred, causing widespread issues. Our firm also worked on the Home Depot data breach case where the settlement provided $27.2 million in cash to the class members and required Home Depot to improve its data security. Our firm continues to handle other nationwide data breaches, such as the class action lawsuit against telecommunications giant AT&T and will continue to fight for victims of data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Insurance Class Actions
When insurance policyholders are wronged by their insurance carrier, the claims may be pursued as a class action if the unlawful practices are common to all the class members. Insurance class actions occur most frequently when an insurance carrier has a company-wide policy that attempts to avert its commitments to the policyholders, causing economic harm.
Our attorneys are experienced in handling insurance class actions and are committed to holding insurance companies accountable for their unlawful policies and practices.
Antitrust Class Actions
Antitrust class action litigation was created to prevent monopolies from taking control of entire industries, limiting consumer options, and putting more wealth in fewer entities’ hands. Antitrust class actions involve monopolies, price-fixing or predatory pricing, and other acts of unfair competition.
Beasley Allen is a proven leader in antitrust litigation. Beasley Allen played a key role in recovering a $2.8 billion settlement against Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. healthcare history. In this litigation, healthcare providers and policyholders accused the insurance company of violating antitrust laws by dividing service areas among its 36 plans.
Beasley Allen handles a variety of other antitrust class actions involving anticompetitive conduct in various different industries.
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