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15 July 2022 / Colin Hayes
Issue: 7987 / Categories: Features , Profession , Collective action
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Group actions: Time to join forces? (Pt 2)

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In the second of a special three-part series by Penningtons Manches Cooper, Colin Hayes considers developments on costs sharing in group actions
  • Apportionment of adverse common costs.
  • High Court declines to make an order regarding early apportionment.

With the growing popularity of group litigation, the courts are increasingly facing complex questions in regard to the apportionment of costs, both within and between claimant groups, and the extent to which the court ought to make an early determination in regard to how any costs liability is to be apportioned between such claimants.

These issues were recently considered by Mrs Justice Moulder in the cases of Upham & Ors v HSBC and Akinluyi & Ors v HSBC [2022] EWHC 227 (Comm). These cases involve two separate sets of proceedings against HSBC, one by various claimants represented by Edwin Coe (the Edwin Coe claimants) and the other by Stewarts (the Stewarts claimants). It was agreed that these cases be case-managed and heard together as there are common issues between

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NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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