Name: Allison Brown & Caitlin Morray
Lesson: Model Lesson Plan - Class Action Lawsuits and Small Claims
Sources: Original material drawn from class notes and the Washington Courts Home Page
(http://www.courts.wa.gov/)
Time: 50 minutes
Taught: Monday, April 12, 2010
I.
II.
III.
Goals
a. Provide students with a basic understanding of how class action lawsuits work
and what they can do if they ever receive notice of a class action.
b. Provide students with a basic understanding of how small claims are handled in
Washington State.
Objectives
a. Knowledge Objectives – as a result of this class, students will be better able
to:
i. Understand how class action lawsuits originate, how they are handled by
the courts, and what students can do if they ever receive notice of a class
action.
ii. Understand how small claims are handled in Washington State and what
steps students will need to take if they ever wish to file a claim in Small
Claims Court
b. Skill Objectives – as a result of this class, students will be better able to:
i. Exercise their rights to be part of a class action lawsuit or “opt out” if they
so choose.
ii. Resolve minor, personal conflicts using the Small Claims Court system.
c. Attitude Objectives – as a result of this class, students will feel:
i. Empowered rather than bewildered if they ever receive notice of a class
action lawsuit.
ii. Empowered to represent themselves in Small Claims Court if they ever
wish to bring a claim in Small Claims Court or defend themselves if a
claim is brought against them.
Classroom Methods
a. Powerpoint Presentation - Introduction to Class Action Lawsuits (10 minutes)
i. Using Powerpoint presentation, provide an introduction to Class Action
Lawsuits
ii. Distribute outlines to students so they can take notes throughout the
lecture
iii. Discuss the following:
1. What is a class action lawsuit?
2. How does a class become certified by the court?
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3. What happens once the case is certified?
4. What does it mean to “opt out”?
5. What happens if a person doesn’t receive notice of the class
action?
6. How is recovery divided?
7. How long do class actions typically take?
iv. Quick Poll:
1. Do students think this is a reasonable way to hold businesses and
corporations accountable?
2. Is the process fair?
b. Powerpoint Presentation – Introduction to Small Claims Court (10 minutes)
i. Using Powerpoint presentation, provide an introduction to Small Claims
Court actions in Washington
ii. Tell students to flip their outlines over to the “Small Claims Court” side of
the outline and take notes on the lecture
iii. Discuss the following:
1. Who can be sued in small claims court in Washington?
2. What are the typical cases in small claims court?
3. How long do people have to file small claims?
4. How much does it cost to file a claim in small claims court?
5. What are the first steps of filing a claim in small claims court?
6. How should a person prepare for trial?
7. What is involved in a trial?
8. Can you appeal in small claims court?
iv. Quick Poll:
1. Would you ever bring a claim in small claims court?
2. Is the process fair?
3. What do you think about the fact that attorneys aren’t allowed to
participate in the process? Is that a good or a bad thing?
c. Activity (25 minutes)
i. Explain to students that we’ll be holding our own small claims courts in
class today.
ii. Before dividing students into groups, explain that each side (plaintiff and
defendant) will have than five minutes to argue their case and the judge
can interrupt with questions at any time. At the conclusion of the
argument, the judge will announce his or her decision.
iii. Divide students into groups of three and have students assign themselves
roles as plaintiff, defendant, and judge.
iv. Distribute the small claims court scenarios to the groups. Make sure each
student is aware of their role within the role play and the time constraints.
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IV.
v. At the conclusion of the exercise, the class will reconvene.
vi. Each judge will come to the front of the classroom, read to the class the
description of the case he or she was adjudicating, announce his or her
verdict, and explain the reasoning behind the decision.
Evaluation
a. Students will be evaluated on:
i. Their participation in the small claims exercise
ii. Attentiveness during lecture
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CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS
1) What is a class action lawsuit?
2) How does a class become certified by the court?
3) What happens after the court certifies the class?
4) How does “notification” work?
5) What does it mean to opt out?
6) What happens if you don’t receive notification?
7) If the plaintiffs win, how is recovery divided?
8) How do the plaintiffs’ attorneys get paid?
9) How long do class action lawsuits typically last?
10) List one example of a class action lawsuit
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SMALL CLAIMS COURT
1) Who can be sued in small claims court in Washington?
2) What are the typical cases in small claims court?
3) How long do people have to file small claims?
4) How much does it cost to file a claim in small claims court?
5) What are the first steps of filing a claim in small claims court?
6) Can attorneys represent you in small claims court?
7) How should a person prepare for trial?
8) What is involved in a trial?
9) Can you appeal in small claims court?
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SMALL CLAIMS COURT ROLEPLAYS
SCENARIO #1: Fits of rage allegedly gave way to the kicking of a truck and the breaking a
cell phone; ex-boyfriend and girlfriend fight over the resulting damages.
 Facts:
o Tommy and Tanya dated for 2 years but broke up last month after Tommy
discovered that Tanya had been actively searching for love on Match.com. When
Tommy confronted Tanya about her profile on the dating website, a violent fight
ensued. During the course of the fight, Tanya kicked Tommy’s beloved Ford
F150, badly denting the driver’s side door. In retaliation, Tommy threw Tanya’s
new iPhone, shattering the screen and badly scratching the case.
o Tommy is suing Tanya for the $300 worth of damage to his truck and Tanya is
counter-suing Tommy for the cost of a new iPhone ($600).
SCENARIO #2: Jane accuses Jamie, her ex-boyfriend of purposely destroying her
computer and printer; Jamie countersues for the return of his clothes.
 Facts:
o Jane and Jamie met in law school and dated happily for 1 ½ years. Jane, always
the better student, helped Jamie prepare for his Constitutional Law exam. Despite
Jane’s best efforts to tutor Jamie, Jamie failed the exam. Believing that Jane’s
poor tutoring skills were responsible for his failure, Jamie flew into a fit of rage
and destroyed Jane’s laptop computer and her HP printer.
o Jane is suing Jamie for the cost of the computer and printer; Jamie is countersuing Jane for the return of a jacket, sweatshirt, hat, and t-shirt that Jane borrowed
while they were dating.
SCENARIO #3: After knocking out a friends's teeth with his elbow during a game of
basketball, a player offers the injured party a clear shot at his face so “they'll be even.”
 Facts:
o Lance and Larry have been good friends since they met while playing varsity
basketball for Chief Sealth High School. Now in college, Lance and Larry still
meet up once a week for a friendly game of pick-up basketball at a local gym.
Two weeks ago, during their regular game, Lance accidentally knocked out
Larry’s two front teeth while going in for an offensive rebound.
o Larry is suing Lance for the cost of his medical bills (approximately $2,100);
Lance is refusing to pay the bills because he claims it was a harmless accident.
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Because Larry has always been a good friend, however, Lance says he’ll let Larry
take a swing at his face so “they’ll be even.”
SCENARIO #4: A bloody fight between dogs leaves pet owners fighting over veterinary
bills.
 Facts:
o As she does most Sundays, Chris took her beloved Chihuahua, Beast, for a walk
in a local dog park. The park was relatively empty on a recent Sunday so Chris
decided to let Beast off the leash so he could run around. After Chris let Beast off
the leash, she bent down to tie her shoe and a moment later, she her loud barking
and Beast’s unmistakable cry for help. Chris looked up in horror to see that Beast
was being attacked by a large Doberman named Tinkerbelle, who had also been
let off her leash by her owner, Carol. Chris and Carol managed to separate the
dogs but not before Beast and Tinkerbelle inflicted serious harm on each other.
o Chris is suing Carol for the cost of Beast’s vet bills (approximately $900) and
Carol is counter-suing Chris for the cost of Tinkerbelle’s vet bills (approximately
$250).
SCENARIO #5: Accused of stealing a neighbor's furniture, a woman claims it was
abandoned during a move.
 Facts:
o As Shannon left for work on Friday morning, she noticed that a large moving van
was parked outside her neighbor’s house. As she walked past her neighbor’s
house, she overheard her neighbor telling the movers that she needed the move
completed by that evening because the weather was supposed to turn bad the
following day and she didn’t want to have to move her furniture in the rain. When
Shannon returned home from work that evening, she saw that the moving van was
gone and her neighbor’s house appeared to be completely empty. Shannon also
noticed that her neighbor had left an old couch and loveseat on the front lawn.
Shannon assumed that her neighbor meant to give the old couch and loveseat
away, which is why she had left it outside. Shannon was looking for some new
furniture but decided that she would wait until Sunday to see if her neighbor came
back to retrieve the couch and loveseat. Sunday evening rolled around and
Shannon’s neighbor had not returned to collect the loveseat and couch. Shannon
moved the new furniture into her living room. The following weekend, Shannon’s
neighbor knocked on her door and accused her of stealing her furniture.
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o Shannon’s neighbor is suing her for the cost of the couch and loveseat
(approximately $300). Shannon is arguing that by leaving the furniture outside all
weekend, the neighbor had clearly decided to abandon the furniture.
SCENARIO #6: When a teenager is at fault in an uninsured car accident, his divorced
parents fight over who should pay to fix the vehicle.
 Facts:
o Billy is 17 years old and just recently got his driver’s license. Billy’s parents are
divorced and Billy splits his time between his parents. He lives with his mom
during the week and spends weekends at his dad’s house. Billy is not insured to
drive either his mom or his dad’s cars. On Friday afternoon after school got out,
Billy took the bus to his dad’s house, as he always does. Billy arrived to find that
his dad was unexpectedly not at home (on a whim, he had decided to go to Vegas
for the weekend). Using the hidden key, Billy let himself into the house to wait
for his dad to return. Billy’s dad had not returned after five hours, so Billy called
his mom to see what he should do. Billy’s mom told him to borrow his dad’s car
and drive back over to her house. On the way to his mom’s house, Billy got into a
car accident with another uninsured driver.
o Billy’s dad is arguing that he should not have to pay for the repairs to his car
because he was out of town when the accident occurred and did not give Billy
permission to drive his car in the first place. He think’s Billy’s mom should have
to pay for the cost of the repairs because she’s the one who told Billy to borrow
his car. Billy’s mom is refusing to pay for the repairs because the car belongs to
Billy’s dad and Billy wouldn’t have gotten in the accident in the first place if
Billy’s dad hadn’t jetted off to Vegas without telling anyone.
SCENARIO #7: A man is suing his ex-girlfriend for unpaid rent and utility bills from their
shared apartment.
 Facts:
o Kobe and Katrina, both dental students at the UW, had been dating for 5 years
and had lived together for 3 years. Both Kobe and Katrina’s names were on the
lease agreement and all of the utility bills. Kobe desperately wanted to get married
but Katrina kept insisting they finish school before talking about marriage. Kobe
was running out of patience. After unsuccessfully begging Katrina to marry him
one last time, Kobe lost his temper, threw Katrina and all her belongings out of
their apartment, and told her never to come back. With nowhere to go, Katrina
moved in with her best friend, Kim. Katrina immediately began helping Kim with
the cost of rent and utilities. Two months after Kobe had kicked her out of the
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apartment, Katrina got a letter from Kobe, informing her that she owed him two
month’s rent and utility bills from the apartment they had shared.
o Kobe is suing Katrina for two months unpaid rent and utility bills because Katrina
never bothered to take her name off the lease or utility bills. Katrina is refusing to
pay because she claims Kobe threw her out against her will and without any
notice.
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