Class actions are lawsuits brought by a representative member(s) of a large group of persons on behalf of all the members of the group who have suffered identical or similar harm for which the same defendant may be liable -- such as a defective product class action against a manufacturer or an employment discrimination class action against a large company.
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County, whose urban area borders Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Cleveland and 61 miles (100 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Youngstown has its own metropolitan area, but is often included in commercial and cultural depictions of the Pittsburgh Tri-State area and Greater Cleveland. Youngstown lies 10 miles (16 km) west of the Pennsylvania state line, midway between New York City and Chicago. The city was named for John Young, an early settler from Whitestown, New York, who established the community's first sawmill and gristmill. Youngstown is located in a region of the United States that is often referred to as the Rust Belt. Traditionally known as a center of steel production, Youngstown was forced to redefine itself when the U.S. steel industry fell into decline in the 1970s, leaving communities throughout the region without major industry. The 2000 census showed that Youngstown had a total population of 82,026, making it Ohio's eighth largest city. A 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimate released in July 2008 placed the population at 73,818. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimate, the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) contains 570,704 people and includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio, and Mercer County in Pennsylvania. The Steel Valley area as a whole comprises 679,402 residents.