Class Actions

A class action is a representative action in which one or more plaintiffs bring an action on behalf of themselves and as representative for a defined class. The primary purpose of such actions is to allow plaintiffs to combine their claims any one of which would, standing alone, not be sufficient to pursue. The Janssen Law Firm has been class counsel in a number of class action lawsuits both large and small. The Janssen Law Firm has also defended such actions on behalf of companies that have been named in such cases. Among cases representative of those actions are:

  1. Cosmetics Anti-Trust Litigation. This action was filed against producers and retailers of high-end cosmetics, alleging that they fixed the prices of such cosmetics to the detriment of retail customers. Action settled for $175 million dollars.
  2. American Continental/Lincoln Savings & Loan Securities Litigation. This action involved the sale of securities to the elderly by Lincoln Savings & Loan and claims that the value of those securities were misrepresented. Jury verdict $2.1 billion dollars.
  3. Beals v. Sun Valley Floral Farms. This action was brought on behalf of undocumented workers contending that they were not properly paid for their overtime. Action settled for $1.4 million dollars.

Both state and federal law prevent businesses from wrongfully monopolizing markets or restraining trade in order to restrict competition. The Janssen Law Firm has brought a number of actions on behalf of both direct and indirect purchasers under both state and federal law to prevent such conduct. Among such are:

  1. In re: Natural Gas Litigation. This action has been brought on behalf of power generators who purchased natural gas to fire their boilers. This litigation is ongoing. There have been $24 million dollars in settlements to date.
  2. Cosmetics Anti-Trust Litigation. This action was filed against producers and retailers of high-end cosmetics, alleging that they fixed the prices of such of such cosmetics to the detriment of retail customers. Action settled for $175 million dollars.