Class Action

A class action is a lawsuit brought by one or more claimants on behalf of a large group of injured people who share the same legal cause and common facts, so that a judgment benefits group members without each filing a separate case. In Saudi Arabia the Law of Civil Procedure contains no US-style class-action procedure; the only express framework is for securities disputes before the Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes, since the Capital Market Authority board approved rules for it in 2017. In real estate disputes, such as a developer's late delivery of off-plan units or defects in a residential complex, those affected rely on practical alternatives: a joint claim with several claimants in one statement of claim, with each bearing judicial costs in proportion to his share of the claim; intervening in an existing case or asking for parties to be joined; or litigating through the owners' association, which, once registered, has independent legal personality and represents the owners on matters concerning the common parts. Alongside these sits the regulatory route with the Real Estate General Authority (REGA), which under the off-plan sales law can take measures up to suspending a project, and the escrow account into which buyers' money is paid. In practice, coordinating as a group cuts costs and unifies evidence, such as one technical report on defects or a single delay timeline, but each claimant remains a separate party who must prove his own loss and whose compensation is assessed individually, and the lawyer needs a power of attorney from each. Only those who are parties benefit from the judgment, unlike the American opt-out model.