A class action (“class action” in English) is a lawsuit brought by one or more individuals on behalf of a large group of people (called the “class”) to claim a right that is sought to be recognized for all those people, even if they do not participate in the lawsuit and may not even be aware of it. Class actions originate in U.S. law and have spread to many other countries. In Argentina, they were expressly accepted through the “Halabi” ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
By their very nature, class actions involve a large number of people who, when the judgment is favorable, are recognized as having a certain right. That right may consist of compensation for a fixed amount, or a variable amount that will depend on and be determined based on the particular circumstances of each member of the class.
Some typical examples of class actions include cases of shareholders who bought or sold financial instruments (shares, bonds, etc.) due to false or misleading information issued by the company, homeowners who suffered a loss in the value of their homes as a result of environmental damage in their neighborhood, among many others.
Although there are mechanisms to notify all members of the class who have something to collect, in the vast majority of cases there are many people who never learn about the rights that were awarded to them. These rights may be lost irrevocably, since deadlines are usually set for filing a claim.