Percent of Cases in Sample
Case Type Analysis
Year Figure 3. Major case types as a percent of all class action cases reviewed in the study sample, by year4 ―Employment‖5 and ―Business Tort‖ cases are the most frequently filed case types in California, comprising more than half of all cases reviewed. ―Employment‖ cases represented a yearly average of 29.3% of all class action cases. ―Business Tort‖ cases represented a yearly average of 27.4% of filings during the same period. The employment category showed the most significant change since 2000, growing from 29 cases in 2000 to 120 cases in 2005, an overall increase of 313.8%. In comparison, filings of business tort cases steadily fell in California, starting in 2002. This case type dropped below employment for the first time in 2004, decreasing by 31.4% from a high of 105 business tort class actions filed in 2002 to 72 cases in 2005. Other notable case types include ―Breach of Contract‖ (―contract‖) and ―Antitrust.‖ The percentage of contract class action cases declined during the study period, dropping from 15.9% of yearly filings in 2000 to only 8.0% in 2005, with a six-year average representation of 10.3% of all cases filed. The reason for the decline in contract cases is unknown. Likewise, antitrust cases all but disappeared in 2005, dropping from a high of 4
In the study, 1,572 class action cases were reviewed, 47 of which were filed in 2006. Of the remaining 1,525 study cases filed between 2000 and 2005, 1,474 had an associated case type designation listed on the Civil Case Cover Sheet when filed. Figure 3 represents the four most frequently filed case types as a percentage of the total cases with a designation. Further case type analysis is available in Appendix A, Table A.1. 5 For purposes of this report, ―Employment‖ cases are those filed under case type 15, ―Other Employment,‖ on the Civil Case Cover Sheet. These include all employment cases except wrongful terminations.
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