The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word LITIGANTS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
L
I
T
I
G
A
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T
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "people taking legal action" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case people taking legal action = litigants.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does LITIGANTS mean?
LITIGANTS noun- A party suing or being sued in a lawsuit, or otherwise calling upon the judicial process to determine the outcome of a suit.