Class Actions in England and Wales provides essential reference for practitioners looking to bring or defend class action litigation in the courts of England and Wales. This is an increasingly important area of law and procedure, with growing numbers of high-value and high-profile claims being brought by large groups of claimants.
The text begins with an overview of the development of class action mechanisms in England and Wales. It then looks at when the English courts will have jurisdiction over collective claims, as well as the challenging issues of applicable law and enforcement of judgments that arise in this context. In a practical and comprehensive manner, it then takes the reader through each stage of the group litigation process, from commencement and conduct to trial and settlement, also addressing issues relating to costs and the important question of how such actions can be funded. Throughout the text, the discussion is illustrated by examples of decisions the courts have reached in practice.
Coverage draws on applicable procedural rules, legislation, case law, comparative analysis and the authors’ own experience of class action litigation.
The second edition:
Adds four new chapters on specific areas of law: insurance, product liability, data class actions and employment;
Updates the text throughout to reflect case law and developments since publication of the first edition;
Contains further detail on the representative action procedure under CPR 19.6, and the circumstances in which it may be used in the light of the Supreme Court's decision in Lloyd v Google;
Completely overhauls the chapter on jurisdiction, choice of law and the recognition and enforcement of judgments to take account of the significant impact of Brexit;
Adds a particularly large volume of new content to the chapter on competition claims, relating to the Supreme Court's judgment in Merricks v MasterCard and the subsequent decisions in a number of cases that had been on hold while the Supreme Court's judgment was awaited;
Revises substantially the chapter on environmental and human rights-based claims to reflect the Supreme Court's decisions in Vedanta and Okpabi, as well as the impact of Brexit;
Updates the chapter on shareholder actions to reflect the decision in the Lloyds/HBOS litigation, which was the first in a shareholder class action in this jurisdiction, and the decision in the Autonomy litigation, which is significant in particular in relation to claims under s.90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The text looks at the participation of foreign claimants and the enforcement of foreign class action judgments or settlement
It explains how to commence and conduct a group action, including case management, disclosure and evidence, giving examples of cases
It outlines the trial, judgment and settlement processes of a group action, looking at practical issues
Costs and third party funding of group actions are explained
