Introduction
A mass tort is a civil action involving plaintiffs with similar claims against a few defendants in the state. Mass torts most often filed by individuals who have suffered a physical, financial injury because of negligence, misconduct.
A class action a legal proceeding in one or several plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of a larger group. The judgment or settlement agreed to arise from the suit covers all members of the group or class, where penalties paid by the defendant are divvied up among class members.
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) a type of legal proceeding can occur after multiple lawsuits filed in federal court by individuals who have sustained similar injuries or harm by a company’s conduct.
The lawsuits joined before one federal judge for the purpose of discovery and important legal rulings. The judge overseeing the litigation appoints a select group of attorneys to pursue the discovery on behalf of all individuals injured. This group of attorneys is referred to as the “plaintiffs’ steering committee” (the PSC)[1].
Multi-District Litigation Cases vs. Class-Action Cases
A class-action case includes a solitary claim recorded by an enormous gathering of individuals who have experienced comparable damage by a similar respondent (or litigants). The people inside the class solidify their cases into the one legitimate action. Class action cases might be brought under the steady gaze of the government court if the specific case manages bureaucratic law. To document a class action case, you should record with a few expressed offended parties for the benefit of a proposed class. This proposed class is needed to be comprised of people or organizations that have supported a typical injury.
Multi-District Litigation Cases may involve multiple lawsuits filed by different parties. The different legal actions are consolidated for pre-trial proceeding convenience, including discovery, and may be sent back to the courts where they came from for the trial[2].
Difference Between Mass tort and class action cases.
The main difference between mass torts and class actions is how the large group of plaintiffs is treated.
Mass torts often involve a group of distinct individuals sometimes from the same geographic area. Because of this, mass tort cases typically consist of a smaller group of injured plaintiffs than a class action suit. Although plaintiffs in a mass tort part of a large group, each member still treated as an individual. In addition, means each plaintiff must prove certain facts, including how each person injured defendant.
Types of Class Actions
Types of class actions include securities litigation, civil rights proceedings such as school funding, and consumer product liability cases. Therefore, Congress laid out additional rules for securities class action lawsuits in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) of 1995.
Successful class action cases often result in hefty pre-trial settlements. The lawsuit Enron shareholders filed after the company’s collapse resulted in a $7.2 billion settlement. Another famous class action the product liability case filed against Toyota for faulty brakes. Consequently, It resulted in a costly recall and a $1 billion settlement.
Civil rights class action cases typically involve requests for injunctive relief, meaning legal remedies, instead of claims for payment. Also, One of the most famous civil rights class actions the Brown vs Board of Education case the Supreme Court decided in 1954, which struck down school segregation as unconstitutional. These types of class actions now face greater legal restrictions than previously.
Lawyers typically take class action cases on contingency, collecting a percentage of any judgment or settlement fees make to plaintiffs. The years because in some cases, legal teams’ payout can far exceed the amounts plaintiffs receive.
Example: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla vs. TSLA Shareholders
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and its outspoken Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk slapped with two class-action lawsuits over Musk’s series of tweets in the summer of 2018, where Musk tweeted out a plan to take the company private. His tweets said he was considering taking the electric car maker private for a share price of $420, which shocked Wall Street and sent Tesla stock surging.
Since the series of Tweets and a letter to employees in which Musk laid out his thought process. There has been silence on the topic from both Musk and the company. Therefore, That has led to inquiries by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the situation and two class-action lawsuits by investors who USA Today reported contend the company violated federal securities laws via the tweets.
The plaintiff contends. Tesla and Musk “embarked on a scheme and course of conduct to artificially manipulate the price. Tesla stock to completely decimate the company’s short-sellers.”
The lawsuit alleges the tweets sent the stock up $45.47 above the stock’s closing price the day earlier. Which cost short-sellers, or those that bet a stock will go lower with borrowed shares, billions of dollars in mark-to-market losses. The lawsuits also claim Musk hasn’t lined up the financing necessary to take Tesla private and therefore made false statements. A separate class-action lawsuit also filed in federal court. In San Francisco, William Chamberlain contends Musk “materially” misled investors. Between August 7 and August 10 claiming investor support for the deal secured and that the funding was in place.
[1] https://www.levinlaw.com/legal-resources/mass-tort-class-action
[2] https://www.arnolditkin.com/common-questions/medical-pharmaceutical-injury-faqs/difference-between-multi-district-litigation-cla/
