Governing Law

• Class-action suits in federal court are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. State courts have their own rules for class actions. Although the two sets of rules may differ slightly, the requirements for class representatives are very similar. Courts will look closely to make sure that the choice of a certain plaintiff as the class representative will not negatively affect the rights of the rest of the class.
  
  

Class Certification

• Once chosen, the class representative makes a motion for class certification. Courts will certify a group of plaintiffs as a class if they meet the following requirements: the plaintiffs are too numerous to all join the lawsuit, and all of their claims share common questions of law or fact; the named representatives' interests are typical of those of the rest of the class; and the choice of class representative will result in fair and adequate representation of all other members of the class. If the court doesn't certify the class, the representative's lawsuit will remain before the court, but the other plaintiffs will need to bring their suits individually.
  
  

Category of Class

• A class representative is also responsible for demonstrating to the court that the proposed class of plaintiffs falls within one of three categories described in Rule 23. One is the "prejudice" class, meaning that if the plaintiffs are not treated as a class, it will harm their case. The second category includes a class of plaintiffs who were all treated alike by the defendant. And the third, the "damages" class, is satisfied when the legal questions common to the class outweigh those questions that apply to individuals. Membership in one of these categories basically demonstrates to the court that a class action is the appropriate method to try to the case.
  
  

Class Representative's Counsel

• Plaintiffs choose their own counsel. However, the court must approve the lead counsel for a class-action suit. In addition to scrutinizing the fitness of the class representative, the court will also look at that representative's counsel to make sure that his experience in complex litigation makes him an appropriate advocate for a class of plaintiffs. Part of the court's concern in class-action suits is the source of motivation for the lawsuit: Scrutiny of the lawyer and the class representative together can reassure the court that the real moving force behind the lawsuit is the plaintiff, not his lawyer.
  
  

Notice Requirement

• Depending on the type of lawsuit, the class representative may need to provide notice of the class-action suit to all potential members of the class. This notice gives each member the opportunity to not be part of the lawsuit, in case a member prefers to sue individually. Many people have received notices in the mail informing them of their involvement in a class action. Due to overuse of unclear legalese in these notices, amendments to the Federal Rules in 2003 requires the class representative and his counsel to make sure the notice is in plain, concise English.