The American class action is a legal institution that currently has no equivalent in the German legal system. However, due to increasingly close economic interconnections and an extensively interpreted American jurisdiction, it has become significantly important even outside the USA. Against this backdrop, the work provides a comprehensive analysis of the existing litigation risks for foreign companies and outlines possible avoidance and defense strategies for them. In light of important reforms that came into effect during the completion period, particularly the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, a focus of the investigation is on the resulting substantive legal changes. The work clarifies that despite these reforms, the class action will continue to pose a significant economic risk for foreign legal entities, which is difficult to assess due to inconsistent case law.