FAQ

Securities class action lawsuits are formed when numerous people have been similarly affected by a company’s unlawful conduct. This type of lawsuit enables shareholders and consumers who have suffered relatively small losses or injury to compete on the same playing field as large corporations who possess much greater legal and financial resources.
A typical securities class action takes at least 2-3 years to litigate, although the actual time it takes to resolve a case varies, depending on the complexity of the case.

A class period is a specific time period during which the unlawful conduct is alleged to have occurred. In a securities class action, the class period typically is the time frame during which it is believed that the alleged fraud or other securities law violations artificially inflated the price of the stock at issue in the case. Only individuals who purchased stock during this period are included in the class action suit.

To participate in a securities class action, you must have purchased the security at issue during the class period. You do not need to continue to own the security. You can sell your securities in the company after the class period has ended without losing your rights to be part of the lawsuit.

Near the beginning of a securities fraud class action, the court will appoint a lead plaintiff to act on behalf of the members of the class. The court usually appoints the class member with the largest financial interest in the recovery to serve as lead plaintiff.

The lead plaintiff has control over the course and direction of the litigation. Quite often, the court will compensate the lead plaintiff with an additional monetary award for their time overseeing the case.

You will not have to pay any fees! The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz will cover all costs of your class action case. We prosecute these class action cases on a contingency fee basis. Therefore, we only get paid if we win the case at trial or if there is a settlement.
Furthermore, The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz will cover all out of pocket costs on behalf of our clients, and we only seek reimbursement of these expenses from the court if we are successful in obtaining a recovery for the class.

When more than one case has been filed on behalf of a class, those cases eventually will be consolidated by the courts. Once the lawsuits are consolidated, we may co-counsel with other firm(s) on the case.