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08 November 2024 / Elaina Bailes , Tom Otter
Issue: 8093 / Categories: Features , Profession , Class actions
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Representative actions: status & the future

196001
Elaina Bailes & Tom Otter chart the recent resurgence of representative actions post Lloyd v Google
  • Representative actions now warrant serious consideration as a mechanism for bringing multi-party claims.
  • They could assist investors in obtaining redress when it would not otherwise be realistically available to them, with a key Court of Appeal judgment expected next year.
  • Reform is needed to the CPR to assist the courts, maximise the utility of representative actions for claimants as a recovery mechanism and to ensure England retains its position as a global centre for litigation.

Does England & Wales have an opt-out class action system? This seemingly straightforward question that often comes from foreign lawyers has a ‘yes and no’ answer; ‘yes we do, but only for some causes of action’.

This article considers one of the two existing procedural mechanisms for opt-out actions: representative actions permitted under rule 19.8 of the Civil Procedure Rules (the other being opt-out procedures in the Competition Appeal Tribunal).

In particular, we focus on

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

HFW—Simon Petch

HFW—Simon Petch

Global shipping practice expands with experienced ship finance partner hire

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Freeths—Richard Lockhart

Infrastructure specialist joins as partner in Glasgow office

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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