Missoula, MontanaMissoula Mass Tort and Class Action
Missoula Mass Tort and Class Action Lawyers: Multi-Plaintiff Cases, Class Actions, MDLs and Contamination Claims in Western Montana
Boland Aarab PLLP.
When one product, one data breach or one source of contamination harms many people in Missoula, the law offers two main paths. In a mass tort, each injured person brings an individual claim, often alongside others. In a class action, representatives sue on behalf of a group. Which path fits depends on the harm, and the choice affects how much control you keep over your own case.
Key Takeaways
- In a mass tort, each plaintiff has an individual claim; Montana allows plaintiffs to join in one action when their claims arise from the same occurrence and share a common question (Mont. R. Civ. P. 20).
- A class action requires numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequate representation (Fed. R. Civ. P. 23; Mont. R. Civ. P. 23).
- A federal case filed in Missoula can be transferred to another state for coordinated pretrial proceedings in multidistrict litigation (28 U.S.C. § 1407).
Harmed along with others in the Missoula area? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What makes a Missoula case a mass tort or class action?
A case becomes a group case when one course of conduct harms many people. In western Montana, those cases tend to fall into a few groups:
- Environmental contamination. The Missoula valley has lived with industrial contamination for generations. Upstream mining waste carried by the Clark Fork accumulated behind the old Milltown Dam, arsenic was found in local drinking water in 1981, and EPA placed the Milltown Reservoir Sediments site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983. The contaminated sediment and the dam were later removed, and the area is now Milltown State Park (EPA). West of town, the 3,200-acre former Smurfit-Stone pulp and paper mill site near Frenchtown, where a mill operated from 1957 to 2010, was proposed for the National Priorities List in 2015 and remains under EPA investigation (EPA site profile). Sites like these show how a single source can affect a whole community’s land, water and health. Whether any person has a claim depends on individual exposure, injury and the law that applies.
- Defective drugs, devices and products. Western Montanans are treated at Providence St. Patrick Hospital, Community Medical Center and clinics across the region, and a defective implant, device or drug sold nationwide can injure people here as it does everywhere. These cases often become federal MDLs.
- Data breaches. When a hospital, school, lender, employer or vendor fails to protect personal information, thousands of people may be affected at once. See our Missoula data breach page.
- Uniform consumer and financial practices, such as identical fees or misrepresentations, where the law allows group treatment. Montana’s Consumer Protection Act allows individual actions but not class actions (§ 30-14-133, MCA).
What happens to a mass tort or class action filed in Missoula?
The courts. A state-court group case from Missoula County is filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court at the Missoula County Courthouse, 200 West Broadway (Missoula County District Court), where Montana’s Rules 20, 23 and 42 govern joinder, class certification and consolidation. Montana’s Rule 23(f) allows an appeal from an order granting or denying class certification by notice of appeal.
Most large cases against national companies are in federal court. Cases from Missoula and seven other western Montana counties, Flathead, Granite, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Ravalli and Sanders, belong to the Missoula Division of the U.S. District Court, at the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 East Broadway (U.S. District Court, Missoula). Federal law also lets many class actions filed in state court be removed there.
Multidistrict litigation. If similar federal cases are pending across the country, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may send a Missoula case to a judge in another state for discovery and pretrial rulings. Each case remains an individual lawsuit and is to be sent back for trial if it is not resolved. For a Missoula client, that means your case may be managed far away. Having Montana lawyers who stay on it, and who make sure your own medical history and damages are developed, matters.
Notice and opt-out. If you receive a class notice, read it closely. In most damages class actions, you may opt out and keep the right to bring your own claim, but only by the deadline in the notice.
Montana law that applies
- Joinder and consolidation: Mont. R. Civ. P. 20 and 42.
- Class certification: the four Rule 23(a) requirements plus a Rule 23(b) category, commonly predominance and superiority for damages classes.
- Settlement protection: a class settlement must be approved by the court as fair, reasonable and adequate.
- Deadlines: generally 3 years for injury claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA); property damage and claims against government entities follow different rules. Montana’s discovery rule can delay the start of the clock for self-concealing injuries (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA).
For more, see our Montana mass tort and class action lawyer page.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Missoula case?
We are based in Great Falls and represent Montanans in individual, multi-plaintiff and class litigation across the state. Group cases are fought mostly in federal court and on paper, and our attorneys travel to Missoula for depositions, hearings and trial. You work directly with the lawyers, not a call center, and no one settles your individual claim without your agreement.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
- We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves. Both are AAJ and MTLA members, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
We also handle Missoula toxic exposure and Missoula product liability cases, and other Missoula personal injury claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a mass tort and a class action? In a mass tort, each injured person is a named plaintiff with an individual claim. In a class action, representatives sue for the group, and the result binds members who do not opt out.
If I join a mass tort from Missoula, will my case be heard in Missoula? It may start in Missoula, in state court or the federal Missoula Division, but a federal case can be transferred to another state for pretrial proceedings in an MDL and later sent back.
I got a class action notice in the mail in Missoula. What should I do? Read the deadlines for filing a claim, objecting or opting out. If you have a serious injury, talk with a lawyer before the opt-out deadline passes.
Can Missoula residents bring a class action under the Montana Consumer Protection Act? No. The Act allows individual actions but not class actions. Other laws may allow group claims for the same conduct.
Do contamination sites near Missoula mean I have a claim? Not by themselves. A claim requires proof of your own exposure, an injury or property harm, and a legal basis against a responsible party. We evaluate each situation individually.
Talk to a Missoula Mass Tort Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
