Editing Class action (section)

=====Jurisdiction=====
Class actions may be brought in [[United States district court|federal court]] if the claim arises under federal law or if the claim falls under 28 [[U.S.C.]] § 1332(d). Under §&nbsp;1332(d)(2) the federal district courts have original jurisdiction over any civil action where the [[amount in controversy]] exceeds $5,000,000 and
* any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State different from any defendant; or
* any member of a class of plaintiffs is a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state and any defendant is a citizen of a State; or
* any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State and any defendant is a foreign state or a citizen or subject of a foreign state.<ref>{{USCsub|28|1332|d|2}}</ref>

Nationwide plaintiff classes are possible, but such suits must have a commonality of issues across state lines. This may be difficult if the [[Civil law (private law)|civil law]] in the various states lack significant commonalities. Large class actions brought in federal court frequently are consolidated for pre-trial purposes through the device of [[multidistrict litigation]] (MDL).<ref>{{cite journal 
|first=John G. II |last=Heyburn
|title=A View from the Panel: Part of the Solution
|journal=Tulane Law Review
|volume=82
|pages=2225–2331
|url=http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/PartoftheSolution_Heyburn.pdf
|access-date=2011-12-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426050306/http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/PartoftheSolution_Heyburn.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-26 }}</ref> It is also possible to bring class actions under state law, and in some cases the court may extend its jurisdiction to all the members of the class, including out of state (or even internationally) as the key element is the jurisdiction that the court has over the defendant.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}