Key Findings

  • According to the 2026 Class Action Review released last month by global law firm Duane Morris, U.S. class actions reached record financial levels in 2025, with key areas such as privacy and antitrusttop ten settlementstotaling $79 billion.
  • Jennifer Riley, vice chair of Duane Morris's class action defense team, noted that this wave of massive settlements highlights the growing financial risks of corporate litigation and underscores the urgent need for CFOs and other corporate leaders to strengthen risk mitigation strategies, such as reinforcing legal compliance systems.
  • In an interview, Riley said the findings "confirm the trend we have been observing over the past several years—we are witnessing a snowball effect: high settlement figures continue to breed more lawsuits, which in turn drive up subsequent settlement amounts."

In-Depth Analysis

The report noted that this finding indicates corporate defendants "are in a new era of significantly escalated class action risk." The report also warned: "Companies should expect that these numbers will continue to incentivize plaintiffs' class action attorneys to take equally or even more aggressive positions in 2026."

The $79 billion figure is the highest total ever recorded for top-tier case settlements tracked in the firm's annual review. The review covers a broad range, from antitrust and consumer protection to product liability and securities fraud. In the latest study, generative artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency were included as statistical categories for the first time.

Duane Morris stated in a press release that in 2025 alone, more than 13,000 class action lawsuits were filed in federal courts, equivalent to more than 36 new cases per day.

Landmark Cases of the Year

Among last year's massive settlements was a deal reached between Visa and Mastercard and a group of merchantsworth $38 billion, with merchants accusing the two payment giants of charging excessive fees for accepting credit cards.

In another high-profile case, insurer Blue Cross Blue Shieldagreed to pay $2.8 billionto resolve claims by hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals of inadequate reimbursement.

"In 2025, companies paid more than $70 billion to settle class actions—the highest figure ever recorded in U.S. legal history, and its impact is staggering," Gerald Maatman II said in the press release. He co-authored the report with Riley and serves as chair of the firm's class action defense team. "To put it in perspective, this amount exceeds the annual budgets of several U.S. states and the GDP of more than half the world's countries."

Certification Rates and Privacy Litigation Surge

The study shows that record settlement amounts and rising case numbers may be closely linked to higher class certification rates. Last year, judges approved class certification motions at a rate exceeding 68%, up from 63% in 2024.

The report states that privacy litigation has become a "core pillar" of plaintiffs' attorneys' business models. "Plaintiffs' attorneys continue to rely on a fixed strategy: combining modern ubiquitous technologies with statutory damages provisions enacted decades ago, calculating damages on a per-violation basis. The result is that routine business conduct faces outsized liability exposure."

Last year, data privacy class actions exceeded 1,800 total filings, averaging more than 150 per month—an increase of over 25% from 2024 and more than 200% since 2022. Although courts continue to dismiss such lawsuits at a high rate, this trend is not expected to slow down.

The report specifically highlighted that the California Invasion of Privacy Act offers plaintiffs an attractive option, as it allows for $5,000 in statutory damages per violation, making it "one of the most generous privacy damages mechanisms, if not the most generous."

The Dual Impact of Artificial Intelligence

Meanwhile, the study shows that artificial intelligence has been continuously impacting class actions at multiple levels. AI-related class actions filed in courts have increased in the copyright and employment litigation categories, and the number of litigation documents generated by the technology is also on the rise.

"Unfortunately, some attorneys rely on generative AI without adequate verification, leading to fictitious citations or erroneous legal authorities appearing in public court records," the report said. AI is also accelerating litigation processes, shortening timelines, and reshaping strategies for both plaintiffs and defendants in areas ranging from predictive analytics to document review.

Riley said the report is partly intended to present "active areas of focus for plaintiffs" so that companies can review their own practices accordingly and strengthen legal compliance measures. "Of course, companies can take proactive steps to harden their business processes against risk and avoid class actions altogether at the source," she said.