A class action lawsuit is a civil action brought by one or more individuals on behalf of themselves and “all others similarly situated”. The purpose of a class action is to secure a judicial remedy which not only eliminates a wrong committed against an individual, and compensates him or her for the effects of that wrong, but which also provides such remedies for all others in a definable class who have suffered as a result of the same practice or practices. The technical legal requirements and definition of a class in federal court proceedings are contained in Rule 23 (b) of the Federal Rules of Procedure. The district court must find that the claims of the class members contain questions of law or fact in common before the lawsuit can proceed as a class action.