The class action glossary: 50+ terms explained in plain English

A–B

Adequacy — The Rule 23 requirement that the class representatives and their lawyers will fairly protect the whole class; a reason courts won't let someone represent a class without counsel (can you file a class action yourself?).

Administrator (settlement administrator) — The court-appointed company (Epiq, Kroll, Angeion, JND, Verita and others) that runs the settlement website, processes claims and sends payments. What a settlement administrator does.

Allocation plan (plan of allocation) — The formula for dividing the net fund among claimants: flat tiers, pro rata shares, documented-loss caps.

Appeal — A challenge to the final approval order, usually by an objector; it freezes payments until resolved, often for months.

Arbitration clause / class action waiver — Fine print in a contract requiring disputes to go to private arbitration and barring class actions. How arbitration clauses affect your right to sue.

Attestation (sworn statement) — Your signed declaration on a claim form, under penalty of perjury, that you meet the class definition; it replaces receipts in no-proof settlements.

Attorneys' fees (fee award) — Class counsel's court-approved pay, typically 25–33% of a common fund. How much class action lawyers make.

Bellwether trial — A test trial of a few representative cases in mass-tort litigation, used to price the rest. Class action vs. mass tort.

BIPA — Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, with $1,000–$5,000 statutory damages; the reason Illinois residents get larger privacy checks. BIPA settlements guide.

C

CAFA — The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, which moved most large class actions into federal court and added scrutiny of coupon settlements.

Certification — The judge's ruling that a case may proceed as a class action because it meets Rule 23. What happens after certification.

Claim form — The online or paper form you submit to get your share. How to file a class action claim.

Claim ID / notice ID — Codes printed on your notice that pre-fill the form; most settlements let you file without one. Claim ID vs. notice ID.

Claims deadline (bar date) — The last day to file a claim; late claims are accepted only at the administrator's discretion. If you miss a deadline.

Claims rate — The share of eligible people who file; the FTC found a median of 9%. What happens to unclaimed settlement money.

Claims-made settlement — A deal where the defendant pays only the claims filed, up to a cap; unclaimed money is never paid.

Class / class member — The group of people covered by the lawsuit, defined by product, dates and geography; you're a member if you fit the definition, letter or no letter.

Class counsel — The law firm(s) appointed by the court to represent the class.

Class period — The date range the class definition covers; purchases or use outside it don't count. Who is eligible.

Class representative (lead or named plaintiff) — The individual(s) who sue on behalf of the class and may receive a service award. What a lead plaintiff does.

Common fund — A fixed sum the defendant pays into escrow for the class; if non-reversionary, none of it goes back to the company.

Commonality — The Rule 23 requirement that class members share legal or factual questions.

Coupon settlement — A deal paying class members in vouchers rather than cash; disfavored under CAFA.

Cy pres — Leftover settlement money donated to nonprofits whose work relates to the case.

D–F

Damages (actual vs. statutory) — Actual damages are what you lost; statutory damages are fixed amounts a law allows per violation (BIPA's $1,000, the TCPA's $500) regardless of loss.

Deficiency notice (cure letter) — The administrator's email or letter saying your claim is incomplete, with a deadline (usually 14–30 days) to fix it.

Defendant — The company being sued; in a settlement, the party paying.

Discovery — The pre-trial exchange of documents, data and testimony; in consumer cases it's often how the class size and damages are calculated.

Distribution — The payment of approved claims after final approval, by check or digital transfer. How settlement payments are sent.

Documented losses — Out-of-pocket costs you can prove with receipts or statements, reimbursed up to a cap in data breach and fee cases. Data breach settlement claims.

Escheat — Transfer of abandoned property, including uncashed settlement checks, to the state, where it remains claimable. How to claim unclaimed property.

Exclusion (opt-out) — Formally removing yourself from the class so you keep the right to sue individually; you also give up the settlement payment. What opting out means.

Fairness hearing — The court hearing where the judge considers objections and decides whether to grant final approval.

Final approval — The order making the settlement binding; payments follow it (and any appeals). How long settlement checks take.

FTC refund program — Money the Federal Trade Commission recovers from a company and returns to consumers through its own claims process, separate from class actions. Kids' privacy and in-app purchase refunds.

G–L

Gross vs. net settlement fund — Gross is the headline number; net is what's left for class members after fees, costs, administration and service awards — usually 60–75% of gross. Why settlement checks are so small.

Incentive award (service award) — A court-approved payment, commonly $1,000–$10,000, to class representatives for their time and risk; banned in the Eleventh Circuit.

Injunctive relief — Non-cash terms requiring the defendant to change its conduct: new disclosures, deleted data, security upgrades.

Judgment — The court's final decision; after final approval it dismisses the case and enforces the release.

Late claim — A claim filed after the bar date; sometimes accepted before distribution, never after.

Lead plaintiff — See class representative.

Lodestar — A fee method: hours worked times hourly rates, sometimes with a multiplier; courts use it to cross-check percentage fees.

Long-form notice — The full settlement notice (usually a PDF on the settlement site) with the class definition, release, deadlines and fee request; the summary notice is the postcard or email version.

M–O

Mass arbitration — Thousands of individual arbitration claims filed at once against a company whose contract bans class actions. Class action vs. mass arbitration.

MDL (multidistrict litigation) / mass tort — Many individual lawsuits (often injury cases) consolidated before one judge for pre-trial proceedings; each plaintiff keeps an individual claim.

Motion for preliminary approval — Class counsel's request that the judge tentatively approve the settlement and authorize notice to the class.

Non-reversionary — A fund structure in which unclaimed money stays with the class (second distribution or cy pres) rather than returning to the defendant.

Notice (class notice) — The court-approved communication — postcard, email, text, publication — telling class members about the settlement and their options. Is this settlement email legit?

Numerosity — The Rule 23 requirement that the class be too large for everyone to sue individually; typically 40 or more people.

Objection / objector — A class member's formal statement that the settlement (or fee request) is unfair, filed before the fairness hearing; objectors stay in the class.

Opt-out vs. opt-in class — Most Rule 23 class actions are opt-out (you're in unless you exclude yourself); wage-and-hour collective actions under the FLSA are opt-in.

P–R

Pending settlement — A deal that has been announced or preliminarily approved but not finally approved; claims often open during this stage. What "awaiting approval" means.

Predominance and superiority — Extra Rule 23(b)(3) requirements for damages classes: common questions must outweigh individual ones, and a class action must be the best way to resolve them.

Preliminary approval — The judge's initial finding that a settlement is likely fair, which triggers notice and the claims period.

Pro rata — Dividing the available money proportionally among valid claims, so each check shrinks or grows with the number of filers. How much no-proof settlements pay.

Proof of purchase — A receipt, order email, statement or account record showing you bought or used the product. What counts as proof.

Release — The legal promise every class member who doesn't opt out gives the defendant: you can't sue again over the claims covered by the settlement.

Residual funds — Money left after the first distribution from uncashed checks, rejected claims and interest; handled by second distribution, cy pres or reversion.

Reversion — A clause returning unclaimed money to the defendant; courts view it skeptically.

Rule 23 — The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure governing class actions: certification requirements (23(a)–(b)), notice (23(c)), settlement approval (23(e)), and attorneys' fees (23(h)). Full text at Cornell LII.

S–Z

Second (supplemental) distribution — A further pro rata payment of residual funds to claimants who cashed their first check.

Settlement website — The administrator's official site for a case (often casenamesettlement.com) with the notice, documents, claim form and FAQs; always verify a notice against it. Spotting settlement scams.

Statute of limitations — The legal deadline to file a lawsuit, which varies by claim and state; class actions can pause it for class members (see tolling).

Subclass — A subgroup of the class with different claims or damages and its own allocation — e.g., an Illinois subclass in a privacy settlement or a California subclass in a data breach case.

Tolling — Pausing the statute of limitations; under the American Pipe doctrine, filing a class action tolls the deadline for absent class members.

Typicality — The Rule 23 requirement that the representatives' claims are typical of the class's.

Uncashed check / void date — Settlement checks expire, usually 90–180 days after issue; ask for a reissue before the fund closes.

Verdict — A trial outcome; the vast majority of certified class actions settle instead. Settlement vs. trial verdict.

W-9 / Form 1099 — Tax forms: some settlements ask for a W-9 before paying larger amounts, and administrators may issue a 1099 for taxable payments. Taxes on settlement money.

Class action terms glossary: the 10 that affect your check most

If the vocabulary still blurs together, these ten decide whether you get paid, how much, and when. Check each against the long-form notice before you file — and if you'd rather have software read the notice for you, Owed extracts the class period, proof rules and deadline for every open case in its settlements directory.

Not legal advice: definitions here are general; the notice and settlement agreement for a specific case control.

Glossary

Class period

The date range covered by the class definition; only purchases or use inside it count.

Pro rata

Dividing the fund proportionally among valid claims, so your share depends on how many people file.

Claim form

The form you submit — online or by mail — to receive your share of a settlement.

Release

The promise class members make not to sue the defendant again over the settled claims.

Final approval

The court order that makes a settlement binding and allows payments to begin once appeals end.

Settlement administrator

The court-appointed company that runs the claims website, reviews claims and sends payments.

FAQ