At long last, I'm writing my promised article on class action lawsuits. I planned to write this last August, but the vagaries of life got in the way--moving, job interviews, Netflix queues--so instead, this will be my first article of 2013. And away we go! Even if you don't know exactly what a class action lawsuit is, if you watch TV or get email, I can guarantee you have been exposed to class actions. Remember the scary-sounding TV commercials, discussing mesothelioma or transvaginal mesh, and urging you to check out a website like "badlunglawyers.com"? Or perhaps you're really hip and you don't even watch commercials anymore, thanks to DVR or Dish Hopper or piracy. Even so, if you use Facebook you may have recently received an email along these lines: NOTICE OF PENDING CLASS ACTION AND NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENTANGEL FRALEY V. FACEBOOK, INC.You are receiving this e-mail because you may have been featured in a "Sponsored Story" on Facebook prior to December 3, 2012.A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. So what does all this mean? Well, for you intrepid readers, you can research the ins and outs and state/federal laws pertaining to class actions. For purposes of this blog, I'll just provide the highlights (also obtained by watching Erin Brockovich).  A class action is a way to combine the common claims of similarly situated plaintiffs against (typically) one defendant. The advantages are efficiency in litigating or settling claims with numerous plaintiffs, as well as giving potential claimants an opportunity to benefit from a settlement without bringing their own lawsuits. As a downside, if do you want to bring your own lawsuit for the same claim, you must "opt out" by a certain deadline or be barred from doing so. Also, certain settlements can seem paltry by the time millions of plaintiffs are paid out--for instance, in a proposed settlement by Apple for in-app iTunes purchases, many claimants will only get a $5 iTunes gift card. If you are an avid consumer, you may be eligible for lots of consumer-oriented class actions. Googling "open class action lawsuits" reveals many websites where you can browse for actions to join against "deep pocket" companies like food and drug manufacturers. Sure, this could trigger deeper thoughts about the litigious nature of our society--but a few $5 coupons can quiet those inner voices pretty quickly! To get the payout for smaller settlements, you usually just have to fill out an online form, and might have to include a receipt or proof of purchase. To conclude, in no particular order I'm presenting my top 3 favorite class action lawsuits of recent history. As a disclaimer, I have no professional stake in any of these actions, although I have been known to use these products from time to time. 1. Nutella for breakfast: In a story perfect for morning TV news, two moms were shocked to read the label on the Nutella jar and realize they were essentially spreading chocolate frosting on their toddlers' toast every morning. Like any shocked moms would do, they channeled their anger and guilt into a lawsuit against Nutella for misleading advertising. In a settlement, Nutella agreed to change its slogan from "An example of a tasty yet balanced breakfast" to "Turn a balanced breakfast into a tasty one" (subtle) as well as pay out up to $20 per household of aggrieved Nutella eater (up to 4 jars at $5 per jar). Listen, I'm all for protecting the consumer, but could anyone really eat Nutella and think it's healthy? It is waaay to tasty to be health food. Status: CLOSED. 2. Watered-down Bud Light: Fresh off the tap and hot off the presses, this week brought news of a lawsuit against Anheuser Busch, claiming that Budweiser and other beers have less alcohol content than stated on the label (usually around 5%).  I'm sure those of you who prefer more, ahem, flavorful beers are finding a lawsuit that claims Bud is "too watery" to be pretty silly. But there are real victims here, people--according to NBC news, "Pennsylvania plaintiffs, Thomas and Gerald Greenberg of Ambler, said they buy six cases of the affected Anheuser-Busch products a month." According to my back-of-the-envelope calculations, over the course of a year, that's like missing out on drinking a lot of other cases of Bud Light. Sadness.  Status: OPEN. 3. Frosted Mini-Wheats make you smarter:  Do you remember the commercials where the cute/creepy talking Frosted Mini-Wheats were comparing notes on how their respective kids would get better grades, thanks to eating bowlfuls of their (presumably nontalking) kin? Kellogg's was sued for making claims that Mini-Wheats improved kids' cognitive function by 20%. Kellogg's settled for $2.75 million and also agreed to change the commercials and donate $5.5 million of Kellogg's food to charity--but Kellogg's stands by its research and claims it did nothing wrong. Status: CLOSED. If you have any class action stories, I'd love to hear them! Please leave in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Happy Litigating!