Cohelan on California Class Actions

Timothy D. Cohelan
Cohelan & Khoury, San Diego, California

[A] In General
Getting a case certified as a class action in California requires adherence to this state's unique rules. (See discussion under [B]-[D], below.)

[B] Code of Civil Procedure § 382
California CCP § 382 provides that in issues of widespread interest or with a substantial effect upon a number of people too large to practically bring to court, one or more claimants may litigate on behalf of all. This is the basis for class actions in California.

[C] Consumer Legal Remedies Act
The Consumer Legal Remedies Act (Civ C §§ 1750 et seq., hereafter CLRA), passed by the California Legislature in 1970, provides that any consumer entitled to bring an action under § 1780 of the Civ C may do so on behalf of others besides himself or herself if an unlawful method, act, or practice has done damage to a number of individuals in similar situations. (Civ C § 1781.) These provisions on when a class action may be filed are very similar to Rule 23(a)(1)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In certain cases, CLRA offers an effective alternative or additional way for proceeding with class actions. This approach is discussed in detail in Chapter 3.

[D] Local Rules of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties
Because certain jurisdictions impose requirements more detailed than the state's, practitioners must become familiar with the local rules of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties, as well as any other counties that defer to their pretrial procedures. The local rules of various superior courts govern the procedural process and, because of their specificity, have some substantive effect. For a complete discussion of the substantive effects of procedural rules, see Chapter 4. The class action rules for Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties are set forth in the Appendix to this book.

Copyright © 2001 West Group