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class legal definition
noun
- A category of activities, objects, people, or qualities that have, or are considered to have, certain attributes or characteristics in common.
- An identifiable group of individuals that a regulation or statute deals with or acts upon differently than it does other people. If the group is identified by gender, race, national origin, or religion, such a group is called a protected class or a suspect class. See also suspect classification.
- A group of individuals who have, with the plaintiff in a civil action, a common interest in the subject, facts, and legal issues that the action is based on and who seek to collectively participate in the action so all their claims can be adjudicated in a single proceeding. For example, the passengers of a cruise ship who became ill due to the cruise lineÂ’s negligence may constitute a class.
testamentary class
A group of individuals who will share a testamentary gift upon
the death of a testator but whose exact number and identity is not known until
the testator’s death. For example, if a gift is “to my children who survive
me,” it will not be known until the testator’s death who those children are.
See also gift.
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