Class Action Lawyers in Montana

What is a class action lawsuit?Class Actions and Common Claims

When a number of consumers file claims for similar injuries, they may find that they are stronger working together in a class-action lawsuit. This type of legal action allows these individuals to come together and seek justice and compensation as a collective, rather than having to pursue individual lawsuits.

Plaintiffs in class-action suits may be able to hold defendants liable for larger payouts to plaintiffs than if they had decided to go it alone. They also have the advantage of being able to pool their resources and work with the same legal representation, such as that provided by Heenan & Cook.

The rules specifically allow injured parties to join together to bring a class action lawsuit. The lawyers at Heenan & Cook have successfully used the class action process to bring common claims such as:

  • Against a debt collector who sent the same demand for illegal interest to multiple people.
  • Against an employer who failed to properly pay employees their wages under Montana law (this is called a “wage and hour” class action).
  • Against a hospital who was hacked and had the private healthcare information of its patients compromised (this is called a “data breach” class action).
  • Against a bank that charged improper junk fees to its customers.
  • Against a subdivision developer on behalf of homeowners with home settlement problems.

These are just some of the types of cases that are best prosecuted as class actions.

Is a Class Action Suit Right for You?

While class actions are intended to bring numerous plaintiffs together, it only takes one plaintiff to file a suit and get a case started. Individuals with similar claims can be added to the case later, even after a settlement agreement has been reached.

But even if a group of injured plaintiffs decides to band together in the same petition, their case must be certified by a judge before it can move forward as a class-action suit.

A class-action lawsuit may be a good course of action for a plaintiff whose individual injuries cost them less than filing an individual lawsuit, but who belong to a larger group of individuals who collectively suffered a high price for their damages.

A unified front by plaintiffs – and a larger claim for damages – could present a defendant with a stronger incentive to cease its fraudulent or abusive behavior.

Under Rule 23 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs class-action lawsuits, a judge must find that there are so many plaintiffs filing similar claims that it would not make practical sense for them to each move forward with individual cases.

In addition to potentially providing relief for a large number of plaintiffs, class-action lawsuits may help the courts by more efficiently dealing with a large number of similar claims.

Speak to Our Experienced Class Action Lawyers at Heenan & Cook

The class action lawyers at Heenan & Cook have extensive experience handling complicated class action claims on behalf of Montana consumers. To date, Heenan & Cook has recovered over $80,000,000 for consumers, sending settlement checks to tens of thousands of Montanans. If you believe you may have a claim which should be prosecuted as a class action, contact the lawyers at Heenan & Cook for a free and confidential case review.