What happens when you bring a class action a lawsuit

Basically you can't. A judge can grant class action status if there is
sufficient evidence of a "class" in a pending suit. A class would be
additional plaintiffs harmed in the same way by the same defendant.

A Google search for: class action definition 
turns up various definitions and examples of its use
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oi=defmore&q=define:CLASS+ACTION

http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c044.htm

http://www.lieffcabraser.com/about.htm

Often other plaintiffs can be found by searching:

A Google search for: ripoff bad business
turns up 
http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reporter.asp

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Request for Answer Clarification by seeker2112-ga on 08 Oct 2004 13:03 PDT

Do attorneys generally take these cases based on a percentage of the
class settlement as a whole or will I be billed by the hour and the
rest of the class shares in the benefit?

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Clarification of Answer by chris2002micrometer-ga on 08 Oct 2004 19:27 PDT

I am not a lawyer. In my non-legal opinion, only the former situation
makes sense. A very large class, or a very large potential judgement
from a substantial defendant is attractive work for attorneys to take
a chance on receiving a percentage. If you pay your own way, you would
not ordinarily want to share the settlement with anyone else. You may
opt out of a class to pursue a larger award but you will pay for
litigation of separate claim and assume all risks including an adverse
ruling and/or bankruptcy of the defendant.

You may want to post a new question that I will leave to expertlaw-ga
and others. (Thanks for your input, expertlaw-ga.) I hope I have been
able to help you initially. I have personally had some experience in
small claims and probate but all was pro se (legalese for "do it
yourself").

You file a proposed class action suit with a trial court with
jurisdiction over the claims. You then petition the court to certify
the class. If the judge does so, the case typically then proceeds with
one or more named plaintiffs, who represent a class of similarly
situated individuals. The precise procedures for commencing a class
action vary between jurisdictions.

I wonder how members of the class are notified to join the class? Do
you do a discovery of the defendant's customer records or post public
notices?

Every now and then you may see an ad in the newspaper or a magazine
stating that "you may be eligible to receive compensation"