RECOGNIZED WISCONSIN CLASS ACTION LAWYERS

Most civil cases feature a single plaintiff taking legal action against an individual or party that wronged them. But when a person, company, or other organization harms a large group of people in similar ways due to reckless or negligent behavior, a class action suit may be the best path forward.

Class actions offer many advantages for plaintiffs, including lower legal costs and greater leverage. They also help protect communities by making it easier for a large group of people to hold at-fault parties accountable.

If you’ve been hurt by corporate negligence that affects a large group, the class action lawyers at Barton Cerjak S.C. can help.

What Is a Class Action Lawsuit?

Class action lawsuits allow one or more plaintiffs to file a lawsuit to remedy a wrong that has affected each individual plaintiff, as well as a large group of others.

In filing the lawsuit, one plaintiff (or a small group of them) acts as a “class representative” (also known as the representative plaintiff) who brings the action on behalf of themselves and a “class” of unnamed plaintiffs. All class members, be they a group of investors, shareholders, or consumers, have one thing in common: they all suffered the same or similar harm because of a defendant’s act or omission.

The procedural device at the heart of any class action is Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (or its state law counterpart). The complaint identifies the class representative (or representatives), explains the harm suffered, and defines the class of similarly situated individuals, as well as any potential “sub-classes” for which relief is sought.

Examples of common situations that could result in class action suits include:

  • Defective products
  • Medical device failure
  • Financial fraud
  • Data breaches
  • Other consumer rights violations, such as false advertising or unfair business practices
  • Employment class actions, such as nonpayment of overtime wages or discrimination

Why File a Class Action Lawsuit?

In many situations, class actions are brought to redress harms suffered by many people that, although collectively large, would not be brought on an individualized basis because the cost of doing so outweighs the harm suffered. Because a class action lawsuit brings multiple claims at once, members of the class action are able to consolidate legal costs and exercise greater leverage.

For example, if a corporation intentionally overcharges every customer $50 for a service, no individual would bring a claim to recoup that money. But if the company has 50,000 customers, a class action allows at least one plaintiff, and his or her lawyer, to fight for the “unnamed class members” and recoup all proceeds from the company that would otherwise go unpunished.

After a successful case, class action settlements are then distributed to the larger group as part of the settlement agreement, subject to approval by the court.

Who Can File a Class Action Suit?

Once the lawsuit is filed, a court must “certify” the class (or any sub-classes) to allow the case to proceed on a class-wide basis. Whether a given class is certified turns on whether the following four prerequisites can be met, each of which is alleged in the complaint and, if successful, established at the class-certification stage:

  • The class is so numerous that joining all the class members in a single lawsuit is impractical (the numerosity requirement);
  • There are questions of law or fact that are common to the class (the commonality requirement);
  • The claims or defenses of the class representatives are typical of the claims and defenses of the class (the typicality requirement); and
  • The class representatives will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class (the adequacy requirement).

In addition to these “Federal Rule 23(a) requirements,” the proposed class must also establish that one or more of the conditions in Rule 23(b) applies: (1) litigating separate actions would create inconsistent standards of conduct for the defendant or impair the claims of absent or unknown class members; (2) injunctive or declaratory relief is appropriate to correct the defendant’s act or omission; or (3) a class action is the best method available for efficiently litigating the issue at hand.

Representative Matters

  • Represented a class of residents of College Court, a public housing complex in Milwaukee, in a first of its kind class-action case seeking to remedy uninhabitable living conditions, specifically persistent bed bug and roach infestations. The suit sought a judicial finding that the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) failed to maintain habitable living conditions and a declaration as to rent abatement for affected tenants. The highly publicized suit was brought in the context of a broader pattern of resident complaints about living conditions in Milwaukee public housing and ultimately resulted in HACM accepting responsibility and implementing a sophisticated protocol to address concerns for a 5-year period. The class-action settlement was lauded by the presiding judge. Holloway v. Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Case No. 2024CV6939.
  • Represented a group of tenants who were indefinitely displaced from their Milwaukee apartment building after health officials discovered toxic levels of cancer-causing chemicals. Records showed that the developer ignored warnings from the state and allowed residents to move in despite not performing recommended testing. The developer offered residents just $5,000 in exchange for giving up their right to sue. We filed a class action and obtained a significantly better financial settlement, while preserving their right to file additional claims if they develop adverse health effects later. Bowen v. Community Within the Corridor, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Case No. 2024CV6939.
  • Represented a group of tenants in a class action suit brought against a nationwide real estate development firm. Residents were forced to evacuate and were indefinitely displaced after the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) declared their apartment building “unfit for human habitation.” For more than two years, the developer had ignored multiple repair orders from the city to address crumbling stairwells and walkways. Holt v. Brinshore Development, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Case No. 2023CV8601.
  • Represented consumers in a Wisconsin-based suit against a dealer that knowingly sold defective vehicles due to a lack of anti-theft technology. Fox v. John Amato Hyundai, Inc., Milwaukee County Circuit Court Case No. 2023CV5530.

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