In brief On 13 February 2024, the FCA issued a Final Notice to Floris Jakobus Huisamen, the former director and compliance officer of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF), fining him GBP 31,800 and banning him from working in financial services in relation to misconduct connected to financial promotions issued by LCF. This Final Notice follows the FCA’s previous censure of LCF in October 2023 for connected behaviour. In this alert we draw out the key takeaways that compliance…
A claim against one of the UK’s largest water companies for allegedly misleading regulators about the number of times it discharged sewage into waterways has been brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) on behalf of the company’s eight million customers. It is the first time the “opt out” collective action regime established by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 has been used to bring an environmental claim and marks a significant development in the ESG…
In brief On 30 March 2023, Members of the European Parliament endorsed proposed reforms to the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) in the form of a Regulation, intended to safeguard consumers. This new Regulation looks set to be one of the most significant updates to the EU’s product regulatory landscape in modern history – making substantial amendments to the GPSD, which has been in force for more than two decades. The objective of the Regulation…
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) has refused to certify an opt out class application brought by Liza Gormsen in relation to the alleged abuse of a dominant position by a social networking platform. The application signified a trend in claims pursued in the UK, in which it is argued that certain activities of dominant companies that strictly appear to be consumer or data law issues in fact constitute “unfair trading conditions” and/ or “supplementary…
It has been confirmed that the Hague Judgments Convention (“Convention”) will enter into force following the accession of the European Union (excluding Denmark) and the ratification by Ukraine on 29 August 2022. Under the terms of the Convention, the Convention will enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiry of 12 months after two states formally ratify or accede to it. The Convention will therefore take effect for the EU…
The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (the “Act”) received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The Act is based on the Judicial Review and Courts Bill (“Bill”) which was introduced to Parliament on 22 July 2021 after the Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) had been carried out. The IRAL was established following the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto commitment that it would “ensure that judicial review is available to protect the rights of the…
Replacement of the Brussels Recast Regulation In brief The mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the UK and the Netherlands used to be governed by the Brussels Recast Regulation. Today, post-Brexit, it is not an easy task to determine which rules apply. The key issue is whether the Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland providing for the Reciprocal…
IN BRIEF On 14 December 2021, the UK Government launched a consultation on proposals to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”) entitled “Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights” (“Consultation”). The Consultation recently closed for most recipients, and its outcome could reshape existing constitutional norms and protections, as well as opening a path to the light-touch regulatory economy reportedly envisaged as part of the UK’s post-Brexit future. IN DEPTH (a) Background to…
Bucking the trend of recent certification decisions, the Competition Appeal Tribunal refused to grant an opt-out collective proceedings order in favour of either of the two competing proposed class representatives in the foreign exchange follow-on claims.[1] In a significant victory, the respondent banks succeeded in their argument that the claims brought by O’Higgins and Mr Evans should not proceed on an opt-out basis. The Tribunal has given O’Higgins and Evans three months to decide whether…
On 8 March 2022, the Competition Appeal Tribunal published its summary of the opt-out collective claim filed by Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen against Meta, in relation to alleged abuses of dominance imposed through Facebook’s terms and conditions.[1] As the 17th application for a collective proceedings order made since the class actions regime changed in 2015, it seemed an opportune time to reflect on a few trends in collective claims. More often than not, those claims…