Lex Machina is proud to release its 2024 Class Action Litigation Report, which provides insights into class action litigation trends in federal district court and appellate court over the three-year period from 2021 to 2023. This report surveys emerging trends in case filings (including federal appellate cases), most active venues, judges, law firms, attorneys, parties, timing metrics, case resolutions, and damages. The report often focuses on different sets of data, e.g., filtering cases in order to provide analytics on general class action cases, civil rights class action cases, consumer protection class action cases, employment class action cases, and class action appellate cases.

Key Trends and Highlights from the report include:

  • In 2023, 9,705 class action cases were filed in federal district courts.
  • In the three-year period from 2021 to 2023, the highest number of class action cases was filed in the Southern District of New York, while Judge Broderick from the Southern District of New York was the most active judge for class action cases.
  • All of the most active plaintiffs were individuals, while the most active defendants included a mix of financial, retail, automotive, and tech corporations.
  • In the three-year period from 2021 to 2023, Stein Saks was the most active law firm representing plaintiffs in class action cases, while Dentons represented defendants in the highest number of class action cases.
  • For class action cases that were appealed to a federal appellate court and terminated from 2021 to 2023 with a decision on the merits of the appeal, 33% were ultimately reversed.
  • $30.4 billion in total damages were awarded as Approved Class Action Settlements from 2021 to 2023.

View our infographic.

Legal Analytics is used for planning, budgeting, and litigation strategy. The metrics in this report can help readers decide who to pursue as clients, whether to file a particular motion, or when to settle (and for how much). This research supplements traditional legal research and anecdotal data in order to gain a competitive edge in litigation.

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