Welcome back to a my series on food safety and litigation. Earlier this year, I addressed some of the most frequently asked food safety questions online, covering topics like incubation periods for foodborne infections and the most alarming recent foodborne illness outbreaks . This time, I’m shifting gears to focus on legal matters, starting with class action settlements.
In this column, I’ll explain what claimants can expect, especially in terms of the timelines for resolution. During the past two years, I’ve been immersed in a complex mass tort case that evolved into a class action settlement with hundreds of class members. Needless to say, it’s been a learning experience.
Understanding the intricate steps of class action settlements can be challenging — even for lawyers. That’s why I created this guide, to help clarify the process for everyone involved. What is a class action settlement? In a class action lawsuit, a lead plaintiff represents a large group of individuals, known as the “Class.
” This group is typically affected by the same harmful actions or omissions by one or more defendants. A Class Member is any individual directly impacted by the issues in the lawsuit. For a class action settlement to proceed, a judge must first certify the class by ensuring it meets specific criteria: Why use class actions as a settlement vehicle? What are the steps from settlement talks to settlement checks? Step 1: Execution of the settlement agreement Reaching a settl.