Manufacturers of components
incorporated into consumer products increasingly find themselves
involved in product liability class action lawsuits. Manufacturers
can be drawn into these types of lawsuits when their own customer
(the end manufacturer of the final product) gets sued and comes
knocking on the manufacturer's door. Manufacturers also may be
named as defendants directly by the plaintiffs. Being named in a
consumer class action lawsuit sometimes can come as a shock to a
manufacturer that has no direct relationship with the end
consumers. However, in some jurisdictions, a manufacturer can be
held liable in certain circumstances.
Class action lawsuits are a form of lawsuit
provided for under the law of most jurisdictions. Class action
lawsuits allow a small number of representative plaintiffs to sue
on behalf of a much larger class of individuals. Class action
lawsuits are particularly notable because, even if the individual
claims are relatively small, the
