that's thinking too small. class actions serve many many benefits are often absolutely "worth it" - just because they might not make a tremendous amount of money for individual plaintiffs, the hope is that the damages incurred by the defendant would incentives them and others to not make those same mistakes in the future.
furthermore, if a class action is successful or even if it gets past the initial stages of complaint then there is obviously an actionable issue. by joining parties together, the hope is to avoid the cost and time associated with redundant cases working their way individually through the courts. obviously many parties join (or are joined) who might not have otherwise filed complaints but the goal is to not only give those individuals an opportunity for relief but also combine the cases of those that would have filed complaints.
the class action is a good thing
so called "frivolous lawsuits" generally don't survive much beyond complaint and are murdered with prejudice more often than not if they do make it before a judge.
i'm not saying the system is perfect or even close to it - but i do believe that if you are hearing some politician, lobbyist or figurehead prattling on about "tort reform," the chances are he doesn't have YOUR best interests at heart.
