How Many Plaintiffs Are Needed to File a Class Action Lawsuit?

Recognized by Super Lawyers as a 2015 Rising Star in Washington, DC, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel serves as a partner at Kaliel, PLLC. In this capacity, Jeffrey Douglas Kaliel takes on state-specific and nationwide class action lawsuits.

Technically, there is no specific number of plaintiffs that must be involved before a class action lawsuit is filed. However, having enough plaintiffs to validly make claims against a single defendant increases the chances of the action being successful. Courts may also refuse to certify a class (an important part of pursuing compensation) if there are not enough plaintiffs to warrant the case.

Normally, federal courts require that class action cases have enough plaintiffs that the entirety of the class bringing individual claims against a single defendant would be impractical. This impracticality is due to the complexity of handling separate class action claims in court. Since there is no specific number recognized by federal courts, the courts will consider the size and severity of each claim, the ease of finding plaintiffs, and the geographical distance of each plaintiff when considering whether the amount is impractical or not.

Similarly, many state courts also follow a rule saying a class action has enough plaintiffs when those plaintiffs making separate claims would be impractical. On average, both state and federal courts find that cases involving more than 40 plaintiffs are suitable for a class action suit. There are exceptions to this rule, and some cases with 20 plaintiffs or less are still successful.