Most in Charleston might assume that large corporations are the typical targets of class action lawsuits. This may be reasonable, given that class actions require that a number of potential plaintiffs have a common complaint, and in order to affect a large number of people, whatever entity becomes the target of such litigation would likely have a large footprint. At the same time, many might not guess that the federal government would end up facing a class action, despite the fact that in terms of size, it may be perhaps the largest organization in the country.
It is the alleged failure of that organization which has drawn the ire (as well as legal action) from hundreds of people affected by wildfires in Tennessee in 2016. Their complaint centers specifically on the devastation that occurred in one county, where may people lost homes and properties. They believe that the Park Service was negligent by not dedicating sufficient resources to combat the blaze before it could be stopped from causing the damage that it did. As many who owned in this area have a common complaint, they have chosen to initiate a class action lawsuit.
Some might think that legal principles such as sovereign immunity would prevent people from suing the government, yet it many jurisdictions (federal included) government entities waive that right. That should not be taken as a sign that such entities will not dispute any actions brought against them (case in point: the government has already responded to the aforementioned case by saying that it will seek to have the lawsuit dismissed). Thus, those who choose to seek such an action may be wise to enlist the help of an experienced attorney.
