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NLJ this week: Product liability, WAMCA & Dutch legal innovation

10 May 2024
Issue: 8070 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Damages , EU
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A recent Dutch ruling could have potential impact for product liability lawyers in the UK, write Sarah Moore, partner, and Lily Parmar, paralegal, Leigh Day, in this week’s NLJ

In February 2024, an Amsterdam court certified the first ‘opt out’ product liability group action anywhere in Europe. The case concerns textured breast implants and is brought on behalf of about 60,000 women. The relevant legislation is the Dutch Act on Collective Damages Claims (WAMCA).

Could the UK Law Commissions follow the Netherlands’ lead? Moore and Parmar look into the case, the legislation and the scope for similar action in the UK. They write: ‘There can be little doubt that in order to facilitate real access to justice, in the context of product liability claims and beyond, claimant lawyers need access to the type of collective/group actions that are now available in the Netherlands through procedural innovations such as WAMCA.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

mfg Solicitors—Brian Hession

mfg Solicitors—Brian Hession

Birmingham commercial property team bolstered by partner hire

STEP—Sara Morgan

STEP—Sara Morgan

Fieldfisher director re-elected as deputy chair of England Wales committee

Osborne Clarke—Andrew Eaton

Osborne Clarke—Andrew Eaton

Restructuring and insolvency expert joins as partner

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
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