Page "Class action" Paragraph 17

The ancestor of the class action was what modern observers call " group litigation ," which appears to have been quite common in medieval England from about 1200 onward.

These lawsuits involved groups of people either suing or being sued in actions at common law.

These groups were usually based on existing societal structures like villages, towns, parishes, and guilds.

What is striking about these early cases is that unlike modern courts, the medieval English courts never questioned the right of the actual plaintiffs to sue on behalf of a group or a few representatives to defend an entire group.