Consumer Protection Class Action attorneys

Champions for transparency and
consumer rights.

We protect consumers across the United States from corporate malfeasance, including false and misleading advertising, product defects, personal data theft, fraudulent billing, and other types of unfair or deceptive business practices. 

Consumer Protection Class Action Attorneys 

Cohen Milstein represents consumers and small businesses across the United States who have been harmed by corporate wrongdoing. From data breaches to defective products to false advertising, we take a stand against unfair, deceptive, and unlawful business practices. Our attorneys lead complex consumer class actions against some of the largest companies in the world.  

Our goal is simple: recover meaningful compensation for our clients and drive real change in corporate behavior. 

What is a consumer class action? 

A consumer class action is a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of consumers who have suffered similar harm as a result of the same unlawful, unfair, or deceptive business practice. By combining many individual claims into a single case, consumer class actions provide an efficient way for consumers to seek compensation and hold companies accountable for misconduct. 

What We Do 

We handle consumer class actions involving: 

  • Defective or unsafe products 
  • False and misleading advertising
  • Data breaches and privacy violations
  • Fraudulent billing and hidden fees
  • Unfair or deceptive business practices

We represent clients in state and federal courts nationwide, across industries such as: 

  • Automotive and trucking
  • Consumer products
  • Financial services and insurance
  • Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
  • Technology (including social media) and software
  • Telecommunications 

Our Track Record

  • MGM Resorts International Data Breach Litigation (U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, 2025): $45 million settlement in a class action alleging failure to implement reasonable data security practices.
  • Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation (U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, 2021): Up to $500 million settlement fund concluding litigation involving unfair and deceptive business practices.
  • Equifax Data Breach Litigation (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 2109): $1.5 billion data breach settlement – the largest in U.S. history – stemming from a 2017 hack of Equifax’s systems.
  • Lumber Liquidators Flooring Litigation (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2018): $36 million settlement in litigation alleging that Lumber Liquidators made false statements about formaldehyde emissions of its flooring products.
  • Herrera v. JFK Medical Center and HCA, Inc. (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 2018): $220 million injunctive relief settlement on behalf of patients who were allegedly overcharged for emergency X-rays and CT scans.
  • Caterpillar Engine Products Liability Litigation (U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2016): $60 million settlement in a class action alleging design defects in MY2007 CAT engines. 

Why Clients & Co-Counsel Choose Us

Leadership in Major Cases: Courts routinely appoint our firm to leadership roles in nationwide class actions. Currently, we serve as Co-Lead Counsel in the MOVEit Data Breach Litigation, involving a massive, global data breach which impacted more than 2,500 organizations and more than 67 million individuals worldwide.  

We also serve as Class Counsel for a certified class of advertisers who claim that Meta Platform’s potential reach metric for Facebook and Instagram is false and misleading due to systemic inflation of the potential reach.  

Trial-Tested Team: We are not just litigators; we are trial lawyers prepared to take cases through verdict when necessary.  

Track Record Against Major Corporations: We have successfully taken on companies including Equifax, Anthem, Caterpillar, Lumber Liquidators, Vizio, Meta, TikTok, General Motors, Apple, Symantec, HCA, and Providian Financial. 

Widely Recognized: Cohen Milstein’s consumer protection practice has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions, including: 

  • Legal 500: Product Liability Mass Torts Class Actions: Plaintiff Nationwide – Tier 1
  • Chambers USA Litigation: Mainly Plaintiffs: Washington, DC – Band 2
  • Chambers USA Product Liability: Plaintiffs: USA – Nationwide – Band 3
  • Law360: Consumer Protection Group of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 

Our Core Practice Areas

DATA BREACH & CYBERSECURITY LITIGATION

We represent those whose personal, sometimes sensitive, information has been compromised as the result of negligent cybersecurity practices. 

We have played a leadership role in nearly every major data breach class action litigated to date. We are highly regarded by co-counsel and the judiciary alike for our collaborative efforts in pre-litigation investigations and work with data privacy and economic experts. And we are deft in handling complex discovery for large-scale data breach class actions, ensuring efficiencies of scale. 

PRODUCT LIABILITY

We represent consumers and small businesses in state and federal product defect, manufacturing defect, and breach of warranty class actions. Our experience extends to numerous industries including: 

  • Automotive, Trucking & Recreational Vehicles 
  • Airbags & Safety Systems 
  • Exhaust & Emissions Systems 
  • Engines 
  • Transmissions 
  • Home Improvement Products 
  • Technology Devices & Software 
  • Medical Devices 
  • Pharmaceuticals 
  • Machinery & Tools 
  • Children’s Products 
FALSE ADVERTISING & UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES

We take on deceptive behavior, representing consumers and small businesses in cases involving false advertising, deceptive marketing, and unfair business practices. This includes: 

  • Bait-and-switch and “negative option marketing” schemes 
  • Failure to disclose 
  • False advertising and mislabeling claims, including claims regulated by the USDA, FDA, and EPA 
  • Hidden, inflated or excessive fees 
  • Algorithmic inflation/ Inflated metrics 
  • Social media bots and deceptive online marketing 

We have the resources to investigate and file, often novel consumer class actions, sometimes in advance of Federal Trade Commission or state attorney general investigations. We deftly handle complex discovery, ensuring streamlined, efficiencies of scale, in large class actions. Given our national footprint, we have access to, and experience with, many of the top industry and economic experts across the United States. 

We have taken on industry giants including Facebook, Apple, Symantec, Lumber Liquidators, and many others in the financial, insurance, telecom, software, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors. 

Our primary objective is to bring a full measure of justice to consumers and small businesses through the courts, while holding corporate wrongdoers responsible. 

HEALTHCARE FRAUD CLASS ACTIONS

We represent healthcare participants in a range of healthcare fraud-related class actions against hospitals, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and other healthcare providers, as well as insurance companies, pharmacies, and third-party administrators involving: 

  • Billing Schemes, including Excessive, Hidden, or Inflated Fees 
  • Diagnostic Testing Facility Fraud 
  • Co-Pay & Insurance Premium Increases 
  • Delay or Denial of Care (class only) 
  • Deceptive Marketing, including “Off-label” Marketing of Non-FDA Approved Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices 
  • False Advertising & Non-Disclosure Claims 
  • False Medical Claims & Records Management Fraud 
  • Hospice & Homecare Fraud 
  • Hospital & Health System Fraud 
  • Insurance Fraud 
  • Medicaid & Medicare-related Fraud 
  • Nursing Home & Skilled Nursing Fraud 
  • Pharmacy Schemes 
  • Telehealth Fraud 

How We Approach Every Case

Our practice is built on three core principles: 

1. Thorough Investigation: We develop cases through deep factual and expert-driven analysis. 

2. Strategic Litigation: We handle complex discovery at scale while maintaining efficiency and focus. 

3. Accountability & Results: We pursue outcomes that not only compensate clients but drive meaningful change in corporate practices. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifies as a consumer class action? 

A case may qualify when many people are harmed in the same way by the same company, such as through defective products or deceptive practices. 

What is class certification? 

Before a case can proceed as a class action, the court must certify the class, confirming that the claims may be litigated on a group basis. 

Do I need to pay upfront legal fees? 

In most class actions, there are no upfront costs. Fees are typically recovered from settlements or judgments. 

Can small businesses bring class action claims? 

Yes. We represent both individual consumers and small businesses affected by unlawful conduct. 

How long does a consumer class action take? 

It varies widely depending on the case’s complexity and whether it goes to trial or appeal. Some cases are resolved within a year or two; large-scale litigation can take several years from filing to final settlement. 

What should I do if I think I have a claim? 

You should speak with an attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your situation and protect your rights.

Contact Us

If you believe you have been impacted by unfair or deceptive business practices, we can help you understand your legal options.

We welcome co-counsel opportunities with other law firms nationwide. 

Current Cases

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Social Media Addiction Litigation

Social Media Addiction (Sup. Crt. Cal., LA Cty.): Cohen Milstein represents families of minors and young adults in personal injury, wrongful death, and product liability mass tort lawsuits against social media platforms, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Google, for knowingly and recklessly creating addictive platforms which can be harmful to users, and failing to warn minor users and their parents about the risks of addiction and resulting harm.

In re Marriott International Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation

In re Marriott International Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (D. Md.): Cohen Milstein serves as Co-Lead Counsel to oversee a putative nationwide class action related to the data breach of personal information of nearly 400 million customers of Starwood-branded hotels, subsequently acquired by Marriott in 2016, making it one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history.

General Motors Litigation

General Motors Litigation (E.D. Mich.): Cohen Milstein, as court-appointed Lead Counsel and Plaintiff Steering Committee Chair, represents a certified class of consumers in more than 25 states who purchased or leased new and used vehicles manufactured by GM in a consolidated breach of warranty and deceptive and fraudulent business practices class action against GM. Plaintiffs bring their claims under state consumer protection statutes and express and implied warranty law of their respective states, related to GM’s manufacture and sale of defective eight-speed automatic transmissions (GM 8L90 or the 8L45), manufactured by between 2015 and 2019.

Past Cases

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In re Google LLC Street View Electronic Communications Litigation

In re Google LLC Street View Electronic Communications Litigation (N.D. Cal.): Cohen Milstein was co-lead counsel in a nationwide class action alleging that Google violated the Wiretap Act when its Street View vehicles secretly collected payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Plaintiffs defeated a motion to dismiss raising novel Wiretap Act issues, and the ruling was affirmed on interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit. The court approved a $13 million settlement on March 18, 2020.

Caterpillar, Inc. Engine Products Liability Litigation

Caterpillar Product Liability Litigation (D.N.J.): Cohen Milstein was co-lead counsel in a nationwide product liability class action lawsuit alleging Caterpillar sold diesel engines with defective exhaust emissions system that resulted in power losses and shutdowns. The case was settled in September 2016 for $60 million.

Herrera et al v. JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership and HCA, Inc.

Herrera v. JFK Medical Center and HCA, Inc. (M.D. Fla.): Cohen Milstein was lead counsel in a class action lawsuit alleging that four Florida plaintiffs and others like them were billed inflated and exorbitant fees for emergency radiology services, in excess of the amount allowed by law, covered in part by their mandatory Florida Personal Injury Protection insurance. When the district court struck plaintiffs’ class claims, Ms. Martin successfully petitioned the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to accept immediate appellate review and obtained a reversal of the district court’s order. Cohen Milstein resolved the case and secured final approval of a $220 million injunctive relief settlement.