Class action lawsuits are on the rise.

• Position: Interview

The number of class action lawsuits is increasing both nationally and in the Carolinas, according to recent research and law firms in both states.

Jim Werner of Parker Poe in Columbia said his firm has seen "more than four years of steady increase in the number of purported class actions that get filed."

But Werner said he doesn't think that means there is necessarily an increase in meritorious class action suits, just that more people are seeking class action certifications "that maybe aren't legitimate."

"People believe they can get a lot more traction or leverage with the threat of extra cost and exposure from class actions," Werner said.

Nationally, the trend of increasing numbers of class action lawsuits being filed has been building for years, according to data from BTI Consulting, a legal industry research group that named class action suits one of six trends "shaping litigation in 2019." The industries most affected so far include health care, banking, consumer goods, chemicals, and food products.

"Top legal decision makers see the nature of the claims becoming broader and driving ever bigger exposure. Higher risk and broader assertions translate into a willingness to pay higher rates," the group found.

Increased complexity is also slowing settlement rates in some cases, BTI reported, which means client spending is going up. Companies nationwide are planning to add $2.5 billion to litigation budgets in 2019, BTI reported. Attorneys say they're seeing similar trends play out at the state and local levels.

"Businesses across a variety of sectors are having to handle time-consuming, expensive litigation to a greater degree than before," said Katie Iams of Parker Poe in Charlotte.

A spokesperson for the firm said while there isn't statewide data for the Carolinas on the precise number of class action suits, the firm is seeing a significant increase based on its own practice and what it's hearing from clients.

The trend of more class action suits could be a bit of "monkey see, monkey do," Werner said.

"It's become the cool, or in-vogue, thing to do," he said. "These class actions are being filed and sometimes it's with no real understanding of what a real class action is supposed to look like.

"If judges would be more circumspect about them, I think many would be disposed of quickly. The truth of the matter is that the reason class actions were created is very rarely present in the claims that get filed these days."

Going vogue

Hunter...