A class action is a type of lawsuit in which one or a few plaintiffs seek to represent hundreds or thousands of plaintiffs with the same or similar claims against the same defendants. Rules of procedure in state and federal courts permit class actions in limited circumstances for the purpose of resolving similar disputes more efficiently than if each plaintiff filed a separate lawsuit.

In Georgia, class action lawsuits are governed by the Georgia Civil Practice Act, found in Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.). Specifically, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-23 outlines the requirements and procedures for class action suits. Similar to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23, Georgia law requires that class actions must have commonality, adequacy, numerosity, and typicality. This means the class must be so large as to make individual suits impractical, there must be legal or factual claims in common, the claims or defenses of the representative parties must be typical of the class, and the representatives must adequately protect the interests of the class. If a lawsuit meets these criteria, it can be certified as a class action by the court. This process is designed to promote judicial efficiency and consistency of judgments, and to allow individuals with small monetary claims to have a mechanism to address grievances that might be too small to litigate individually. Federal class actions in Georgia are subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and can be brought in federal court if they meet certain jurisdictional requirements, such as diversity jurisdiction or involving a federal question.