Attorney Steven Koeppel is a shareholder and managing partner of the Fort Myers, Florida-based firm Yeslow & Koeppel PA. In this role, Steven Koeppel assists clients as a civil trial attorney and has experience with class action lawsuits. Specifically, Steven has defended the insurance industry in PIP premium cases and several builders in the Chinese drywall litigation.
A class action lawsuit refers to a claim made by a group of individuals who have experienced similar injuries brought about from the same action or product of an outside entity. When a class action lawsuit is filed on behalf of a large number of people, the case may name a lead plaintiff to represent the group in court.
On Wednesday, January 20th, 2016, the Supreme Court ruled on a case involving the ability of individuals to bring class action lawsuits. The ruling in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez established that a lawsuit does not automatically end if complainants do not accept an offer to settle out of court, even in the event that a company offers to pay the full amount of damages requested by the individual plaintiff. The settlement offer did not address the claims of the class of persons similarly situated.
The ruling was a significant victory for plaintffs in class action lawsuits. If the court had ruled in favor of companies, it would have made it more difficult for many class action lawsuits to be brought to court when the settlement demands of the individual class member are being met by the defendant.
