Cartt v. Superior Court

Opinion

KAUS, P. J.

This writ proceeding arises out of a typical consumer class action in which the damages sought by each of the class members are paltry—a few dollars at most—yet if there is any merit to the suit, the total recovery may run into six or seven figures. This, therefore, is precisely the type of action which results in “substantial benefits . .. both to the litigants and to the court” (Daar v. Yellow Cab Co., 67 Cal.2d 695, 713 [63 Cal.Rptr. 724, 433 P.2d) because “separate actions would be economically unfeasible” (id., at p. 715), which action, if meritorious, “produces several…