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Mass tort cases and class action lawsuits are both legal mechanisms to handle claims involving multiple plaintiffs, but they have distinct differences:

The most notable distinction is that mass tort cases involve individual lawsuits filed by each plaintiff, even though the plaintiffs may be grouped together for the judge’s convenience. This means that each plaintiff’s case is treated and judged separately, allowing for individualized attention to their specific damages and circumstances. In a class action lawsuit, on the other hand, plaintiffs are grouped into a single, collective lawsuit. One or a few plaintiffs will represent the entire class, and the outcome will apply to all members.

That’s not to say that there is no coordination in a mass tort case. On the contrary, mass torts are often strategically coordinated, especially in multidistrict litigation. This is to streamline the process, all while maintaining individual claims. Class action lawsuits, however, are managed as a single case with a unified approach to legal arguments and representation.