Editorial Policy
The Lawsuit Watch publishes plain-language explainers on lawsuits, class actions, mass torts and settlements for consumers trying to work out whether a case affects them and what, if anything, they can do. This page sets out the standards our coverage is held to.
Who we are
The Lawsuit Watch is an independent publisher. We are not a law firm, we do not represent anyone in the cases we cover, and nothing we publish is legal advice. Articles are produced by our in-house editorial team. They are not reviewed by attorneys unless a page says so.
What we cover
We focus on cases where readers have a practical question: Is there a settlement? Do I qualify? Is the claim window open? What has the court decided? We prioritize settlements and active litigation, consumer-rights and class action explainers, and product liability and mass tort cases. We do not cover a lawsuit simply because it is trending, and we avoid celebrity disputes that have no bearing on ordinary consumers.
Sources we rely on
Where a figure, date or status matters to a reader’s decision, we rely on sources in roughly this order:
- Court records: orders, docket entries, filed settlement agreements and notices.
- Official settlement administrator websites authorized by the court.
- Government sources: agency press releases and orders (for example the FTC, CFPB, SEC or a state attorney general), and company filings with the SEC.
- Established news organizations and legal trade publications.
- Class counsel and settlement-tracking sites, only when nothing better is available, and labelled as such.
Pages that state settlement amounts, deadlines or case status carry a Sources section listing what the figures were checked against, and the date of that check. We are adding these to older pages as we review them. Our verification process explains the steps in detail.
How we report status and figures
- We distinguish a proposed settlement from one that has received preliminary or final court approval, and say which applies.
- We distinguish settlements from jury verdicts, and verdicts from the amounts that survive appeal.
- We describe allegations as allegations. A company named in a lawsuit has not been found liable unless a court says so.
- We do not state a claim deadline, payment amount or payment date unless we can point to a source for it. When we cannot confirm something, we say so.
- When a claim window closes, we say it has closed rather than leaving the old deadline on the page.
Updates and dates
The “Updated” date on an article reflects a substantive change to its content, such as a new court ruling or a change in settlement status, not cosmetic edits. Where we have checked a case’s status, the page says when.
Independence
Advertisers, sponsors and law firms have no say over which cases we cover or what we report about them. The Lawsuit Watch may receive referral compensation from law firms or legal service providers, as described in our Legal Disclaimer; that does not affect our coverage. How we handle paid content is set out in our Sponsored Content Policy.
Use of software tools
We use software tools, including AI tools, to help research, draft and check articles. Tools do not decide what we publish. Figures, dates and case status on our settlement pages are checked against the sources listed on each page.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and record significant corrections on our Corrections page. To report an error, email editorial@lawsuitwatch.org with the page address and what you believe is wrong.