THE RISE OF CLASS ACTIONS IN THE UK AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Ever more often, the filing of yet another ‘class action’ grabs the headlines in the UK and on the continent, whether in antitrust, privacy or securities misselling. Class actions, or aggregate litigation, pose risks and compliance challenges for a number of corporations. Conversely, they offer business opportunities to certain market participants. Whichever part of the value chain your organisation sits in, being aware of and keeping up to date with this rapidly developing area would be of benefit.
Why is there such a rise in class actions in Europe?
The US has traditionally been an active playing field for aggregate litigation. Until recently, that was not to anything like the same extent the case in the UK or the European Union (EU). There has, however, been a surge in filed and anticipated class actions on this side of the pond, likely driven by four key factors.
First, both the judiciary and the legislature seem to be providing significant support enabling this development. The UK Supreme Court in Okpabi and others v. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, for example, gave the green light to a significant category of collective action claims when it determined that the English court has jurisdiction over a claim brought against an English-domiciled parent company and its Nigerian subsidiary by a group of over 42,000 Nigerian farmers and fishermen seeking compensation of over $100bn for environmental pollution from pipelines operated by the subsidiary. So far as the legislature is concerned, and as described further below, the statutory regime in the EU is also changing, with the adoption of the first pan-European legislation on class actions, the Collective Redress Directive, and its transposition into domestic law by the end of 2022.
Jan-Mar 2022 Issue
Akin Gump LLP