Class action: beware the US market

By Kenneth Malin, Bryan Cave

BEWARE the American marketplace. Amid the well-known dangers associated with its product liability laws that shift legal liability for most accidents to manufacturers under the doctrine of strict liability, US lawyers are now attacking foreign and domestic manufacturers using a procedural device known as the class action lawsuit. A class action lawsuit is like any other lawsuit except that the plaintiff (in fact, one plaintiff is usually enough) asks a court for permission to represent all potential claimants against a single defendant.