FactsHerald – Juan Monteverde Helps Shine Light on Class Action Lawsuits

Class-action lawsuits are a commonly used method for helping groups of people find a resolution to a legal issue. Despite how often they are used, these types of lawsuits are sometimes not well understood by the general public. This can be unfortunate since they can be a powerful means of finding justice when used correctly. To help individuals better understand this legal tool, we’ve turned to work by Juan Monteverde. An overview of that work, along with information about the history and usage of class action lawsuits, can be a useful teaching tool for those seeking to learn more about the legal field. 

History of class action lawsuits

A class-action lawsuit can be defined as a lawsuit in which one of the parties is a group of individuals and that group is collectively represented by one of its members. Examples of forms of class action lawsuits can be seen quite far back in legal history. There are written records dating back to the 12th century that show a thriving legal custom in England that allowed large groups to choose a much smaller collection of individuals to represent them in court. At the time, these were referred to as representative actions and they continued on from that time through English history, eventually making their way into usage in Colonial America. 

Lawsuits involving groups of individuals persisted in one form or another throughout U.S. history but were not defined in their current context until 1937 when the Supreme Court adopted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. These rules were intended to govern the manner in which civil proceedings take place in U.S. district courts. Their stated purpose is “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” 

These rules directly addressed the idea of class action lawsuits in Rule 23, however, there was still some argument over how to address the matter of absent parties. That ambiguity persisted until 1966 when Rule 23 was amended to explicitly state that all absent parties are bound to the ruling in such a lawsuit. It also established a procedure for notifying involved parties and allowing them to opt-out of the group. Though there have been some changes since that time, this is often pointed to as the birth of the modern class action suit in the U.S. 

Early career choices 

Let’s now take a look at the early career of Juan Monteverde, to better understand how he reached his current position as head of his own firm that regular works in class action law. That career originally began with a decision to attend university for a B.S. in Finance. At the time, the future attorney was interested in the stock market and the workings of the modern economy. Though his undergraduate studies helped to encourage that interest, this time in his life also introduced him to a new topic of study — law. 

That introduction came about when he took a part-time job working at a local law firm. Though he hadn’t worked in the field before, work at the firm soon spurred the finance major to reconsider his career choice. A pivotal moment in that change occurred when he had the opportunity to participate in a two-week-long trial. In that trial, the firm was able to successfully argue for its clients and win a court ruling in their favor, significantly impacting their quality of life. Seeing the power of the legal field to positively impact the lives of the disenfranchised, he made the decision to switch his focus and attend law school after graduation. 

Work in class action 

Owing to his background in finance and his motivation to help victims of legal misconduct, it is perhaps unsurprising that the attorney would eventually form his own firm that would make frequent use of class action lawsuits. The size of these suits have the potential to influence large groups of people at once and can be of use in situations where there may have been a breach of fiduciary duty. 

This often manifests in the attorney’s career through his work with corporate merger cases. One example of this would be cases in which a company representative may have failed to accurately disclose the company’s true worth, perhaps to give a more favorable deal to the company buying them out. Such an instance would be a breach of the company’s duty to its shareholders and may sometimes require legal action to win fair value for those shareholders. This is an instance in which the attorney may employ a class action lawsuit in order to simultaneously represent the many individuals involved in the case. 

Lawsuits in action 

This example helps to represent how class action lawsuits can be used in the present day and age. One of the benefits of such a case is that they can help to simplify the decisions involved in bringing a legal suit against an entity that may have acted improperly. In this instance, were each individual to bring their own suit against the company, the burden on the legal system would be quite high. Additionally, the potential damages owed to each plaintiff may not justify the expense of bringing a lawsuit on their own. 

By contrast, the use of a class action lawsuit in this case not only allows the courts to streamline the legal process, it also helps to make the situation more financially viable for the plaintiffs. In this way, the attorney is helping to bring justice to those who may have been wronged by improper corporate conduct through the use of class action, helping to showcase just one of its many powerful uses. 

While class action lawsuits are often used in the manner highlighted above, there are still many people who are unaware of how this important legal tool is typically used. Through the above information, a greater understanding can be gained as to how these legal actions have evolved throughout history and how they are used in the modern U.S. legal system. Work by Juan Monteverde and other attorneys in his field helps to provide real-world examples of these lawsuits in action, further showcasing the important role they can play in helping people find justice.