First of all, thank you to Nikki Snowe for this information. I have been going back & forth, talking with Edelson, and they said that if you are an American citizen, and have BTC and/or money in an account with these Mtgoxuckers, there is no need to actually "join" or be "added to" the suit, you are already a part of it as "putative class members", so no further action is required on your part. They added that "If this case reaches the class certification stage, you will be contacted and can identify yourself as a class member at that time."
As some have mentiontioned, a similar class action lawsuit was recently filed in Canada, which follows suits that (I believe) have been filed in Japan (?) and the UK (right?). They are currently exploring their options and reaching out to lawyers in other countries to find out if similar cases can be filed in other countries.
They told me they are interested in any communications between Mtgox and people affected by this that have reached out to find out what was going on: "emails, chats, or other exchanges you had with Mt. Gox about any 'bug,' the prohibition on withdrawals, and the shutting down the exchange entirely. Please forward any such communications to [email protected]."
If you contact them about this, they will send you an invite to a site that has been set up to provide those "added to the group" information regarding the most recent developments in the case, as well as links to any relevant documents.
If you have anything to send them, please do so. I know we all want to get this handled as soon as possible.
If I had known, prior to moving some BTC from Coinbase over to Mtgox, (just before this withdrawal freeze happened ) that MTGOX stood for Magic The Gathering Online Exchange, I never would have even considered it. I only found that out recently and I wish I didn't know that. It's a bit of embarrassment on top of everything else. Damn.