Fifty years ago, a revolution happened in American courtrooms when class actions were invented. Cheated by your lender? Screwed over by a seller? Injured by a defective product? You no longer needed to get an attorney and fight against Goliath. Consumers could now band together and hold the offending party accountable.

Fifty years later, it is well documented how class actions got out of hand, but the interesting development is a novel strategy courts are using to subdue the litigation deluge.

The idea of class actions was excellent. Because solo actions are impractical, especially when the recovery to each victim is small, people cannot get the compensation they deserved, and companies that cause widespread harm escape liability. Class actions solve this problem. Now, if banks like Wells Fargo or automakers like VW cheat their customers, they can expect a class action tsunami that will punish them stiffly and make their victims whole.

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