11 May 2022
The Court of Appeal has unanimously rejected BT’s argument that a collective proceedings order (CPO) should be ‘opt-in’, in a mass action claiming it abused its dominant market position by charging excessive landline prices
Delivering the court’s judgment in BT Group Plc v Patourel [2022] EWCA Civ 593, Lord Justice Green said ‘the power to order opt-in or opt-out proceedings is one for the tribunal to make upon the basis of all the circumstances of the case. There is no prior legislative predisposition one way or another’. He said the financial position of parties and ability to attract third-party funding was ‘relevant to access to justice and is a factor the CAT should necessarily take into account’.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal granted a CPO on an opt-out basis last year, meaning potential claimants are automatically included.
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