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In Class Actions

Canadian Court Denies Certification in Absence of Evidence of Compensable Loss or a Plausible Methodology for Measuring Class-wide Damages

by and 3 Mins Read

Justice Belobaba recently refused to certify a class action arising from the “diesel-gate” auto emissions scandal. In 2015, regulatory authorities announced that certain manufacturers had been installing “defeat devices” in their diesel vehicles to cheat on emissions tests and violate clean air laws. Unlike other class proceedings related to the scandal, this proposed class consisted of owners and lessees of vehicles who sold or returned their vehicles before the scandal was revealed (pre-disclosure owners). At…

In Competition Litigation

Opt out class actions certified in UK: stand-alone boundary fares claim for £100 million to proceed against train companies on behalf of 2 – 3 million commuters

by and 4 Mins Read

The expansion of opt-out class actions in the UK continues with certification of claims aimed at recovering for alleged systemic abuses of dominance across the south east and west rail networks. The judgment reinforces that certification will be viewed as only a first step in class litigation in the UK – as opposed to the immediate precursor to settlement that it can signify in the US and Canada – and reinforces the likelihood that claimant…

In Competition Litigation

EU: Subsidiaries can be held liable for the actions of their parent companies says the EU’s highest court (this is a first)

by , , , , , , , and 3 Mins Read

In a judgment handed down this week by its Grand Chamber, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) decided that, under certain circumstances, a subsidiary can be held liable for cartel activity engaged by its parent company. This judgment has potentially far-reaching consequences and may give an additional impetus to private damages litigation. Background On 24 October 2019, Sumal (an alleged victim of the Trucks cartel) brought a claim for damages in follow-on litigation in front of…

In Competition Litigation

First opt-out class action approved by UK Tribunal in Merricks judgment

by and 4 Mins Read

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT or “Tribunal”) has certified the first opt-out collective action since the UK class actions regime was introduced in 2015. The application had been dismissed on first consideration but after a series of appeals that went all the way to the Supreme Court, Walter Merricks CBE has been granted a Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) in his GBP 14 billion claim on interchange fees. The size and complexity of the claims…

In Class Actions

Australia: Settlement approval in class actions

by , and 8 Mins Read

In brief In the recent decision of Bywater v Appco Group Australia Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1877, his Honour Justice Lee of the Federal Court approved a proposed settlement of a class action commenced against Appco Group Australia Pty Ltd. The decision highlights some of the persuasive factors a Court will consider in determining whether to approve a settlement where the proposed settlement sum is significantly less than the asserted value of a group’s claims. Key takeaways His…

In Class Actions

UK Supreme Court Judgement in Mastercard v. Merricks

by and 1 Min Read

The UK Supreme Court gave its judgment in Mastercard Incorporated and others (Appellants) v Walter Hugh Merricks CBE (Respondent) [UKSC 2019/0118] on 11 December 2020. It confirmed the decision made by the Court of Appeal that a representative applying for certification of a class must show that they have a method with a realistic prospect of assessing loss across the whole class and that the data required to apply that methodology is likely to be…

In Competition Litigation

UK Supreme Court judgment confirms approach to certification in UK class actions regime

by and 1 Min Read

The UK Supreme Court gave its judgment in Mastercard Incorporated and others (Appellants) v Walter Hugh Merricks CBE (Respondent) [UKSC 2019/0118] on 11 December 2020. It confirmed the decision made by the Court of Appeal that a representative applying for certification of a class must show that they have a method with a realistic prospect of assessing loss across the whole class and that the data required to apply that methodology is likely to be…

In Class Actions

Webinar invitation: Looking Ahead: Class Actions and Consumer Claims in 2021

by and 2 Mins Read

Join Baker McKenzie for a webinar on “Looking Ahead: Class Actions and Consumer Claims in 2021” to be held on Thursday, 14 January 2021 at 14:00 UK / 15:00 CET. The rapid expansion of class actions outside of the US has brought new risks for global multinationals and a renewed need to consider strategies when defending against claims across jurisdictions. A panel of international specialists from Baker McKenzie, along with our guest speaker, Andrew Hildreth, Senior Managing Director of Ankura,…

In Foreign Judgments

Collective Redress Directive Approved by European Parliament – Class Action Countdown Begins

by , and 2 Mins Read

On 24 November, the European Parliament approved the final text of the EU Representative Actions Directive. The approved directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal. Member States will then have 24 months to transpose the directive into national law and an extra six months in which to implement it. The new rules will apply to representative actions brought on or after its date of application. Although Member…

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