class action

noun

: a legal action undertaken by one or more plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and all other persons having an identical interest in the alleged wrong

Examples of class action in a Sentence

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There are already dozens of copyright lawsuits against AI companies winding through the US court system—including a class action lawsuit visual artists brought against Midjourney in 2023—but this is the first time major Hollywood studios have jumped into the fray. —Kate Knibbs, Wired News, 11 June 2025 One university, Oregon, is already facing an existing Title IX class action lawsuit that includes claims of inequitable treatment related to NIL opportunities and resources. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 June 2025 One possibility advanced by some justices was to find a different legal mechanism, perhaps a class action, to accomplish essentially the same thing as the nationwide injunctions blocking Trump’s citizenship order. —Mark Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025 Another class action lawsuit filed in April on behalf of state and local employees in New York against Carelon Behavioral Health, which provides health care services through insurance plans, claims that ghost networks delayed plaintiffs’ access to mental health treatment. —Vicky Nguyen, NBC news, 5 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for class action

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of class action was in 1909

Rhymes for class action

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Browse Nearby Words

class act
class action
class-angle
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Cite this Entry

“Class action.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/class%20action. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

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Legal Definition

class action

noun
: an action in which a representative plaintiff sues or a representative defendant is sued on behalf of a class of plaintiffs or defendants who have the same interests in the litigation as their representative and whose rights or liabilities can be more efficiently determined as a group than in a series of individual suits

called also class action suit, class suit

see also certification compare consolidate, joinder, test case at case

Note: Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets out the prerequisites for having an action certified as a class action in federal court. Section (a) permits a class action if “(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.” If the action satisfies these requirements, it must then fit into one of three categories: (1) where individual litigation would have varying results requiring the opposing party to act inconsistently toward the class members or would affect the interests of class members who are not parties to the individual action; (2) where the opposing party has acted or refused to act on grounds that are applicable to the class members as a whole and therefore injunctive or declaratory relief with respect to the class members as a whole is appropriate; or, (3) where the questions of law or fact common to the class members outweigh questions that apply to only particular individuals so that a class action is the best method to determine respective rights and liabilities. Using these guidelines, the judge will decide if an action should be certified as a class action.

More from Merriam-Webster on class action

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about class action

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