A class action is a legal proceeding in which one or more individuals, called representatives, sue on behalf of a larger group of people who have been affected by the same harm. The representative plaintiffs attempt to prove that the defendant has committed some wrongful act against all members of the class and seek relief for everyone involved. This type of lawsuit is often used in cases where numerous individuals have suffered small amounts of damage, making it impractical or uneconomic to pursue individual claims. The court must approve the class action before it can proceed, ensuring that the representatives are adequate and that the claims of the class members are typical and not too diverse for a single lawsuit.