A class action is a more well-known avenue for allowing multiple plaintiffs to seek compensation for a common cause of action. Unlike MDLs, a class action is a single case, one in which “representative parties” hold themselves out as named plaintiffs acting on behalf of the class. To form a class, federal law dictates that the proponent of the class must show that joinder of individual cases would be impracticable, that common questions of fact and law exist, that the claims and of the representative parties are typical of the larger class and that the representative parties will “fairly and adequately” protect the interests of the class (see Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)). Pursuing an MDL rather than a class action allows a plaintiff and his or her attorney to maintain flexibility in the compensation you may receive and a higher relative measure of independence. Also, the ability of the JPML to draw on a national menu of district courts, rather than merely the jurisdiction where the class action is filed, can prove strategically advantageous.