[consumerpro]

Once the class has been certified and the class members have had an opportunity to opt out of the case, the plaintiff begins to prove his or her case. The first thing the class action lawyers do is engage in a process called "discovery." In practical terms this means the sides have a chance to ask each other written questions (called "interrogatories"), oral questions (called "depositions"), request important documents, and interview potential witnesses.
At the end of this process, the defendant will often make a final effort to have the case thrown out by asking for "summary judgment." Simply put, the defendant asks the court to take another look at the case now that the evidence has been gathered, arguing that the case is without legal merit.

Assuming the case survives summary judgment (and has not been settled), a trial date is scheduled. It is important to note that most cases never reach trial. That is especially true with class actions. Because they are so hard-fought before trial, both sides generally have a very good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of their positions prior to trial. And because the stakes are often so high, the parties usually have a lot of incentive to act reasonably and try hard to reach a fair result without having to go through the risk and expense of trials.

There are times when a class action lawsuit will go to trial. Because it isn't realistic to have every person in the class testify (sometimes there are millions of people in a single class), generally only a few of the class members will testify at trial. Often the parties will hire experts to talk more generally about the experiences of the class.
After the class action trial, the parties have the right to file appeals - asking a higher court to review the case to make sure the law was properly applied by the trial court.