Large corporations may seem all-powerful, but they are still subject to laws and regulations—and sometimes to class action lawsuits that hold them accountable. Class actions let many individuals with similar claims combine their cases when the individual damages are too small to justify separate lawsuits. Over time, class actions have produced some of the largest legal settlements in history, addressing everything from environmental disasters to corporate fraud and consumer harm. Below is a revised, English-language summary of some of the biggest class action settlements of all time.
20. SCANA Lawsuit
Construction on a new nuclear reactor at Plant Vogtle power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, in 2014. John Bazemore / AP Photo
Company: SCANA Corporation
Year: 2018
Settlement amount: $192.5 million
SCANA faced lawsuits after customers were charged higher electric rates to fund a nuclear plant project that ultimately failed. While SCANA reached a $2.5 billion agreement with affected customers, a later settlement of $192.5 million resolved claims from former SCANA shareholders when Dominion Energy assumed the company.
19. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Litigation
An oil-soaked bird is examined on an island in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in April 1989. Jack Smith / AP Photo
Company: Exxon Valdez
Year: 2001
Settlement amount: $500 million (reduced from $5 billion punitive award)
The 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill released millions of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. In 2001, plaintiffs were initially awarded $5 billion in punitive damages, an amount later reduced to $500 million after appeals and reductions by courts.
18. Auto Parts Antitrust Class Action
New cars. Getty Images
Companies: About 160 auto parts manufacturers, including Sanden and Tenneco
Year: 2018
Settlement amount: $1.05 billion
Numerous auto parts suppliers agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve claims that they participated in a global price-fixing conspiracy that artificially raised the cost of vehicle parts. The original agreement was expanded as additional plaintiffs joined the litigation.
17. Syngenta Corn Litigation
The agrochemical corporation Syngenta is based in Basel, Switzerland. Georgios Kefalas / AP Photo
Company: Syngenta
Year: 2018
Settlement amount: $1.5 billion
Farmers and exporters sued Syngenta after it commercialized a genetically modified corn seed before receiving import approvals from key markets such as China. Rejections of shipments led to significant losses for growers and exporters. The approved settlement of $1.5 billion provided compensation to affected producers.
16. USDA Racial Discrimination
Demonstrators take part in a National Black Farmers Association rally outside the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., in 2002. Dennis Cook / AP Photo
Defendant: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Year: 2010
Settlement amount: $2.3 billion
Roughly 20,000 Black farmers received cash payments and debt relief as part of settlements addressing longstanding claims that the USDA discriminated against them in administering federal farm loan and assistance programs. Combined with prior settlements, the total reached about $2.3 billion.
15. Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch
John Thain, Merrill Lynch chairman and CEO, left, and Ken Lewis, Bank of America chairman and CEO, at a 2008 news conference in New York. Craig Ruttle / AP Photo
Company: Bank of America Corp.
Year: 2013
Settlement amount: $2.4 billion
A settlement resolved claims that Bank of America withheld material information from shareholders when it acquired Merrill Lynch during the 2008 financial crisis. The approved agreement provided compensation to millions of investors as part of the resolution.
14. Actos Diabetes Drugs Case
Takeda is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company. Getty Images
Company: Takeda Pharmaceutical
Year: 2015
Settlement amount: $2.4 billion
Takeda agreed to pay around $2.4 billion to resolve claims that its diabetes drug Actos was linked to increased cancer risks. Thousands of patients alleged harm; some lawsuits accused the company of failing to disclose safety information.
13. Nortel Accounting Fraud
Nortel Networks Corp. offices in Santa Clara, California, in 2009. Paul Sakuma / AP Photo
Company: Nortel Networks
Year: 2006
Settlement amount: $2.45 billion
Two shareholder class actions accused Nortel of recording improper sales and manipulating financial results in the early 2000s. The 2006 settlement included cash payments and the issuance of company shares to compensate harmed investors.
12. AOL Time Warner Accounting Fraud
Pedestrians pass by AOL Time Warner headquarters in New York’s Rockefeller Center. Suzanne Plunkett / AP Photo
Company: AOL Time Warner
Year: 2006
Settlement amount: $2.5 billion
Shareholders alleged that AOL Time Warner and its auditors overstated advertising revenue around the time of the merger and afterward. The approved settlement compensated investors who suffered losses tied to the alleged accounting misconduct.
11. Tyco Accounting Scandal
Tyco International chairman and chief executive Dennis Kozlowski in 2002. Shawn Baldwin / AP Photo
Company: Tyco International Ltd.
Year: 2007
Settlement amount: $3.2 billion
The SEC charged Tyco executives with accounting fraud and schemes that inflated reported earnings. The resulting settlements totaled about $3.2 billion. Key executives faced criminal convictions, prison sentences, and large restitution orders.
10. Cendant Accounting Fraud
Cendant broke up and spun off or sold its constituent consumer businesses in 2005 and 2006. Getty Images
Company: Cendant Corporation
Year: 2000
Settlement amount: $3.2 billion
Cendant was at the center of one of the largest accounting fraud cases of its time. Investors alleged long-running deliberate misstatements that led to heavy losses. The settlement provided compensation to shareholders, and top executives faced criminal charges and restitution orders.
9. Native Americans vs. U.S. Government
Elouise Cobell in front of an oil well on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation near Browning, Montana, in 1999. Ray Ozman / AP Photo
Defendants: U.S. Department of the Interior and Department of the Treasury
Year: 2011
Settlement amount: $3.4 billion
In the Cobell case, Native American plaintiffs alleged decades of mismanagement of trust accounts held by the federal government. The 2011 settlement resolved long-running claims and authorized payments to hundreds of thousands of individual account holders.
8. Diet Pills Payout
A clinic in Nashville, Tennessee. Mark Humphrey / AP Photo
Company: American Home Products Corporation
Year: 2000
Settlement amount: $3.75 billion
The combination drug fen-phen was linked to severe heart and lung problems for many users. The large settlement provided refunds and substantial payouts for those who suffered serious injuries, making it one of the largest product-liability resolutions of its era.
7. Silicone Breast Implants Damages
Shells for NovaGold breast implants cool on molds at the company’s Minneapolis plant in 1999. Scott Cohen / AP Photo
Companies: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dow Corning, Baxter Healthcare Corporation
Year: 1994
Settlement amount: $4.25 billion
Thousands of women claimed that silicone gel breast implants caused serious health problems. The settlement provided long-term compensation schedules with payments determined by the severity and verifiability of individual injuries.
6. WorldCom Telecommunications Accounting Scandal
WorldCom was acquired by Verizon Communications in 2006. Rogelio Solis / AP Photo
Company: WorldCom
Year: 2005
Settlement amount: $6.1 billion
WorldCom’s manipulation of financial statements led to one of the largest corporate fraud scandals in U.S. history. The settlement provided compensation to shareholders who lost billions when the company’s earnings were revealed to be false. Several executives were convicted and imprisoned.
5. Visa/MasterCard Antitrust Lawsuit
Credit cards. Elise Amendola / AP Photo
Companies: Visa and MasterCard
Year: 2019
Settlement amount: $6.2 billion (upper range)
Merchants sued Visa and MasterCard over interchange fees and alleged anticompetitive practices. The settlement—set between about $5.54 billion and $6.2 billion—aimed to remedy alleged price-fixing that affected retailers and consumers.
4. Enron Energy Securities Fraud
A woman carries a box from the Enron headquarters in Houston in 2001. Pat Sullivan / AP Photo
Company: Enron
Year: 2008
Settlement amount: $7.2 billion
Enron’s collapse after accounting fraud wiped out investor value. The 2008 class action settlement distributed billions to shareholders and was financed largely by major banks that had business ties to Enron. Several executives were convicted on criminal charges.
3. Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Scandal
Volkswagen was founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front. Markus Schreiber / AP Photo
Company: Volkswagen
Year: 2016
Settlement amount: $14.7 billion
Known as “Dieselgate,” Volkswagen admitted to using software to cheat emissions tests on diesel vehicles. The settlement funded vehicle buybacks, emissions remediation, and compensation for affected owners, resolving major U.S. civil claims.
2. BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Fire boat response crews spray water on the burning BP Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig in 2010. U.S. Coast Guard / AP Photo
Company: BP
Year: 2016
Settlement amount: $20 billion
The Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, killing workers and releasing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. The multi-billion-dollar settlement resolved civil claims for environmental damage, economic loss, and cleanup costs, with a judge finding BP grossly negligent.
1. Tobacco Industry Medical Costs for Smoking-Related Illnesses
A person smokes a Marlboro cigarette, a Philip Morris product. Alan Diaz / AP Photo
Companies: Phillip Morris Inc., RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard
Year: 1998
Settlement amount: $206 billion
In 1998, the major U.S. tobacco companies agreed to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, committing to pay approximately $206 billion over 25 years to cover medical costs and related damages linked to smoking-related illnesses. The agreement also imposed restrictions on certain marketing practices and provided funds to states to offset healthcare costs tied to tobacco use.
These settlements illustrate the range of harms addressed by class actions—from environmental disaster and public-health crises to corporate fraud and consumer protection. While settlement amounts vary, each case exemplifies how coordinated legal action can provide remedies and drive corporate change when widespread harm affects many individuals.