Law.com turned to McGuireWoods Richmond partner Bryan Fratkin, leader of the firm’s Class Action Practice Group, for insight about the Virginia General Assembly’s passage of legislation that would allow class actions to be filed in the commonwealth’s courts.
Virginia lawmakers passed the bill during the 2026 legislative session but rejected amendments proposed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. The governor can either sign the bill without her amendments or veto the legislation. Virginia is one of two states that does not allow class actions in its state courts. Supporters of the bill argue that class actions are necessary for consumers whose alleged losses are under the $5 million aggregate requirement to bring a class action in federal courts.
But not all class actions in state courts would be small, said Fratkin in Law.com’s May 12, 2026, story. He pointed out that, under the bill, disputes involving parties that are both based in Virginia must remain in state courts as class actions, even if they exceed $5 million. Those could result in “a little bit of death by a thousand cuts,” Fratkin said.
“A $5 million class action for a company not used to getting sued in court is still pretty substantial, even if you’re under $5 million, and if there’s an incentive to keep suing, there’s certainly some potential for bigger exposure, even if each case itself is $5 million or under,” Fratkin explained.