In a class action, how many people must be involved?

In a class action, how many people must be involved?

• A. 7 or more people
• B. 3 or more people
• C. 10 or more people
• D. 1 or more people

Answer: (A)

In a class action, the group of claimants must be large enough to justify pooling their claims into one proceeding. The formal mechanism for this is a representative proceeding, and the rules set a minimum size for the class: seven or more people with common issues. That minimum ensures there are enough similarly situated claims to be efficiently handled together, with a single set of common questions of law and fact and one certification process. If there are fewer than seven, the matter isn’t treated as a class action under these rules, because the efficiency and commonality aims of a class action aren’t met. More than seven people can still be part of a class action, but seven is the required starting point.

In a class action, the group of claimants must be large enough to justify pooling their claims into one proceeding. The formal mechanism for this is a representative proceeding, and the rules set a minimum size for the class: seven or more people with common issues.

That minimum ensures there are enough similarly situated claims to be efficiently handled together, with a single set of common questions of law and fact and one certification process. If there are fewer than seven, the matter isn’t treated as a class action under these rules, because the efficiency and commonality aims of a class action aren’t met. More than seven people can still be part of a class action, but seven is the required starting point.