Most of the firm’s class action cases start the same way: a client calls about a specific problem affecting their property, their mortgage, or their rights as a property owner. During the evaluation, it becomes clear that the same thing is happening to hundreds or thousands of other people. The company or entity causing the harm is doing it systematically, not as a one-off mistake, and the individual harm to each person may not be large enough to justify a standalone lawsuit. That is when a class action becomes the right tool.
The firm does not chase class actions. It identifies them in the course of representing clients with real problems, and it pursues them when the facts support class treatment and the case can produce meaningful results for the affected group. The firm has handled class action litigation since its earliest years, in both Florida state and federal court, as lead counsel and as co-counsel with other firms.
Not every widespread harm qualifies for class action treatment. Beyond the procedural requirements for certification, many consumer contracts now contain arbitration clauses with class action waivers that prevent class treatment regardless of the merits. The firm focuses its class action practice on categories of claims where class action waivers are unlikely to exist, either because the governing contracts are standardized by federal regulators, because the claims arise from property rights rather than consumer contracts, or because the relationship between the parties was never contractual in the first place.
Mortgage servicing abuse. Mortgage servicers that engage in systematic misconduct affecting large numbers of borrowers. The firm is currently litigating a class action against mortgage servicers engaging in dual tracking, the practice of simultaneously processing a borrower’s loss mitigation application while advancing the foreclosure process. Dual tracking is prohibited under federal regulations and causes the same harm to every borrower it affects. Residential mortgages originated under FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac programs use standardized loan documents that do not contain class action waivers, which means the borrowers affected by systematic servicer misconduct retain their right to pursue relief as a class.
Property interest claims. Claims involving mineral rights, timber rights, easements, or other property interests asserted against large numbers of parcels. The firm is currently litigating a class action against companies claiming mineral rights interests on properties where those interests should have been extinguished by tax deed sales. These claims do not arise from contracts; they arise from competing interests in real property. There is no arbitration clause because there is no agreement between the property owner and the party claiming the interest. When a company asserts the same invalid claim against hundreds or thousands of parcels, a class action resolves the question for all affected property owners at once.
HOA and condominium assessment disputes. When a homeowners’ association or condominium association imposes assessments that are unauthorized by the governing documents, miscalculated, or imposed in violation of the statutory requirements under Chapter 718 or Chapter 720, every owner in the community is affected in the same way. The governing documents of HOAs and condominiums are recorded declarations and bylaws, not negotiated consumer contracts, and they generally do not contain class action waivers. A class action allows the affected owners to challenge the improper assessment collectively.
Utility overcharges. Electric, water, sewer, and gas customers do not sign arbitration agreements with their utility company. Utilities are regulated monopolies; customers receive service without negotiating a contract. When a utility systematically overcharges customers through improper rate calculations, unauthorized fees, or billing errors applied uniformly across thousands of accounts, every affected customer has the same claim. There is no class action waiver because there is no negotiated contract. These cases often involve modest individual amounts that no single customer would sue over, but substantial aggregate harm when multiplied across the entire customer base.
Environmental contamination affecting property owners. When a company contaminates groundwater, soil, or air affecting a large number of properties, the affected property owners have no contractual relationship with the polluter. No contract, no waiver. Environmental contamination class actions arise when the contamination affects property values, habitability, water quality, or health across an entire neighborhood, subdivision, or community, and the source of the contamination and the harm caused are common across the affected properties.
Systematic landlord practices. Large landlords and property management companies that systematically retain security deposits in violation of section 83.49 of the Florida Statutes, impose unauthorized charges, assess improper late fees, or engage in other uniform practices affecting hundreds of tenants. Residential leases, particularly the standardized FAR forms widely used in Florida, generally do not contain class action waivers. When a large landlord or management company applies the same unlawful practice across its entire portfolio, every tenant subjected to that practice has the same claim. The individual amounts (a wrongfully retained $1,500 security deposit, a $200 unauthorized charge) are often too small to justify individual litigation, which is precisely what the landlord is counting on. A class action changes that calculation.
Insurance practices. When an insurance carrier engages in systematic claims handling practices that affect a class of policyholders, including systematic underpayment, improper application of depreciation, or uniform denial of covered claims based on a company-wide policy rather than an individualized assessment. Florida insurance policies are regulated by the Office of Insurance Regulation and generally do not contain class action waivers.
Government and quasi-governmental entity conduct. When a government entity, county, municipality, or quasi-governmental body engages in systematic conduct affecting a large group of property owners, taxpayers, or residents. There is no contract and no arbitration clause, because the relationship between the government and the affected individuals is not contractual. These cases often involve improper assessments, systematic procedural failures, or uniform application of unlawful policies.
The firm is currently investigating or actively litigating class action claims in the following areas. If you have been affected by any of the conduct described below, contact the firm for a complimentary evaluation.
Mineral rights claims on tax-deed-acquired properties. The firm is investigating companies that continue to assert mineral rights interests on Florida properties where those interests should have been extinguished by tax deed sales. If you purchased property at a tax deed sale and a company is claiming mineral rights on your parcel, you may be a member of an affected class. This investigation covers properties throughout Florida.
Mortgage servicer dual tracking. The firm is actively litigating against mortgage servicers that simultaneously process loss mitigation applications while advancing foreclosure proceedings. If you applied for a loan modification, forbearance, or other workout with your mortgage servicer, and the servicer continued to advance foreclosure while your application was pending, you may be affected.
This list is updated as new investigations are opened. If you believe a company or entity has done something that harmed you and many others in the same way, contact the firm even if your situation is not described above.
A class action is not just a lawsuit with a lot of plaintiffs. It is a distinct procedural framework with its own rules, its own requirements, and its own strategic considerations. The process is governed by Rule 1.220 in Florida state court and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 in federal court.
The named plaintiff. A class action is filed by one or more named plaintiffs (sometimes called class representatives) who have been personally harmed by the defendant’s conduct. The named plaintiff’s claims must be typical of the claims of the class as a whole. The named plaintiff represents the interests of all class members throughout the litigation, including at trial and in any settlement. Being a named plaintiff involves some additional responsibilities (participating in discovery, being available for deposition, attending hearings if required), but the named plaintiff is not personally responsible for the costs or fees of the litigation.
Class certification. Before a case can proceed as a class action, the court must certify the class. Certification is the procedural gatekeeping step that determines whether the case is suitable for class treatment. The party seeking certification must demonstrate four requirements (often called the Rule 23(a) requirements in federal court, with parallel requirements under Rule 1.220 in Florida state court):
Numerosity: there are enough class members that joining all of them individually would be impractical. There is no fixed number, but classes typically involve dozens, hundreds, or thousands of members.
Commonality: there are questions of law or fact common to the class. The key question is whether the defendant’s conduct and the resulting harm are sufficiently uniform across the class that a single proceeding can resolve the common issues.
Typicality: the named plaintiff’s claims are typical of the claims of the class. The named plaintiff must have been harmed in essentially the same way as the other class members.
Adequacy: the named plaintiff and class counsel will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class.
In addition to these four requirements, the court must also find that the case fits one of the categories of class actions authorized by the rules: cases where individual actions would create a risk of inconsistent outcomes, cases where the defendant has acted in a way that makes injunctive or declaratory relief appropriate for the class as a whole, or (most commonly) cases where the common questions of law or fact predominate over individual issues and a class action is the superior method for resolving the controversy.
Certification is often the most contested stage of a class action. The defendant will vigorously oppose certification, because a case that is not certified as a class action reverts to an individual claim with a fraction of the exposure. The firm has experience briefing and arguing class certification motions in both state and federal court.
Discovery. Class action discovery is typically more extensive than individual litigation discovery because it covers both the named plaintiff’s individual claims and the class-wide issues (the defendant’s policies, practices, and conduct as applied to the class as a whole).
Settlement and settlement approval. Many class actions settle after certification (or after the court signals its likely ruling on certification). Class action settlements are subject to court approval, which is a protection for absent class members who are not at the negotiating table. The court evaluates whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate before approving it. Settlement approval involves notice to class members (informing them of the settlement terms and their options), a fairness hearing, and a final approval order. Class members who do not want to participate in the settlement typically have the right to opt out and pursue their own individual claims.
Attorney’s fees in class actions. Attorney’s fees in class actions are awarded by the court, not set by private agreement between the lawyer and a single client. The court evaluates the reasonableness of the fee request based on the work performed, the result achieved, and the benefit to the class. This means the class members do not individually pay attorney’s fees; the fees come out of the recovery (in common-fund cases) or are paid by the defendant (in statutory fee-shifting cases). For most class members, the practical cost of participating in a class action is zero.
What it costs the class member. For most class members, participating in a class action costs nothing. Class members do not individually hire the attorney, do not individually pay attorney’s fees, and do not individually bear the costs of the litigation. If you are a named plaintiff, the firm handles the case on contingency: you pay no fee unless the class recovers, and the firm advances all costs.
Class actions vs. mass torts. People sometimes confuse class actions with mass tort litigation. A class action is a single lawsuit in which common issues predominate and the case can be resolved in a single proceeding with class-wide damages. A mass tort involves many individual plaintiffs who were each harmed by the same defendant but whose individual circumstances differ in ways that require individual resolution. The firm handles class actions. When a potential case involves individualized harm that does not lend itself to class treatment, the firm will advise on whether mass tort or individual litigation is more appropriate and, where appropriate, refer the matter to firms with established mass tort practices.
Many class actions originate with a general practice attorney, a real estate attorney, or a consumer law attorney whose client walks in with a problem that turns out to affect hundreds or thousands of other people in the same way. The attorney recognizes the class action potential but does not have the procedural experience, the resources, or the infrastructure to prosecute a class action.
The firm accepts class action referrals and co-counsel arrangements from attorneys throughout Florida and nationwide. When a referring attorney brings a potential class action to the firm, the firm handles the class action mechanics: the investigation, the class definition, the certification briefing, the discovery, the settlement negotiation, the court approval process, and the notice and distribution. The referring attorney can remain involved at whatever level is appropriate, from active co-counsel participation to a referral-fee arrangement. Fee arrangements between the firm and referring counsel are documented in writing at the outset and are subject to court approval as part of any class action fee award.
If you are an attorney and a client has come to you with a situation that may support class action treatment, contact the firm to discuss whether the case is viable and how a co-counsel or referral arrangement would work. The evaluation is confidential, and there is no obligation.
The simplest test is whether the same conduct caused the same type of harm to a large group of people. If a company or entity did something wrong, and the same wrong thing happened to many others in essentially the same way, there may be a class action. You do not need to know whether a class action is the right vehicle; that is what the evaluation is for. You do not need to have identified the other affected people; the class is defined and identified as part of the litigation process. If your situation matches any of the active investigations described above, or if you believe a company's conduct has affected many people beyond just you, contact the firm for a complimentary evaluation.
Many consumer contracts now contain arbitration clauses with class action waivers that prevent class treatment. The firm evaluates whether a class action waiver exists and whether it is enforceable as part of the initial case assessment. The firm's class action practice focuses on categories of claims where waivers are unlikely to exist: mortgage servicing (where standardized federal loan documents do not contain waivers), property interest claims (where the claims do not arise from contracts), HOA and condominium disputes (where governing documents generally do not contain waivers), and insurance claims (where policies are regulated and generally do not contain waivers). If a waiver applies and is enforceable, the firm will tell you directly.
Class actions typically take longer than individual litigation. The certification process alone can take a year or more. Total timelines of two to four years are common, and complex cases can take longer. The firm keeps class representatives and interested class members informed of material developments throughout the process.
For most class members, very little. You may receive a notice informing you of the class action and explaining your options (including the right to opt out). If the case settles or produces a recovery, you may need to submit a claim form to receive your share. In most cases, that is the full extent of your involvement.
For most class members, nothing. If you are a named plaintiff, the firm handles the case on contingency with all costs advanced. You pay no fee unless the class recovers.
No. A single person who knows they were harmed, and who believes the same thing happened to others, is enough to begin the evaluation. Identifying and defining the class is part of the litigation process, not a prerequisite to it.
