John S. Poulos, a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith in Sacramento, specializes in class action lawsuits, where a group of individuals collectively sue for damages against a defendant. Plaintiffs must demonstrate a shared grievance and show that pursuing a class action is more efficient than individual lawsuits. The process typically begins with complaints regarding illegal or unethical corporate behavior, initiated by a named plaintiff who may receive additional compensation.

1. Class Action Lawsuits Explained
John S Poulos, Sacramento

2. Introduction
• A partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith in Sacramento,
California, John S. Poulos tries significant commercial
litigation. Living in Sacramento, John S. Poulos devotes a
considerable portion of his practice to class action lawsuits.
In a class action case, members of a group of people join
together to sue for damages. As plaintiffs, persons in the class
must demonstrate they have a common grievance against the
defendant, such as a large corporation. Some examples of
plaintiffs are employees who have all experienced similar
discrimination by a company, patients given a drug with
undisclosed side effects, and investors who lost money
because of securities fraud.

3. Class Action Lawsuits
• Usually, plaintiffs must also prove that they are
suing for the same reasons. Additionally, they need
to convince the court that the class action option is
more time- and cost-efficient than separately trying
many, sometimes thousands, of individual cases.
Many class action suits start as complaints by one or
a few people about illegal, unethical, or unsafe
corporate practices. The person who initiates the
process is known as the named plaintiff and may be
entitled to an award over and above the one received
by the other class members.