Rule 26.10 Class Actions

When a group of similar lawsuits (called Mass Litigation) has been sent to a special panel of judges, something can change if a court later decides to treat the case as a class action. A class action is a lawsuit where one or more people sue on behalf of a larger group who all have similar claims.

If a court officially approves the case as a class action, the panel handling the Mass Litigation can ask the Chief Justice to move the case out of the panel's hands. The case would then go to the regular circuit court that would normally handle it.

This rule basically gives the panel a way to hand the case back to a standard court once it becomes a formal class action. It keeps the process flexible, so cases end up in the court setting that fits them best.