CDR Publishes Akin Gump Article on the Continued Rise of European Class Actions

(London) – Commercial Dispute Resolution (CDR) has published the article “The rise and rise of European class actions,” written by partner and international disputes practice head Richard Hornshaw and litigation associates Jordan de la Prida and Jay Jamooji. The piece considers how class actions are changing the litigation landscape across Europe. It is available to read in full here.

Among the topics discussed by Hornshaw, de la Prida and Jamooji were:

The rise of opt-out class actions – “One of the key ways in which the UK and the EU are moving closer to the US model for class actions is though the development of mechanisms for bringing ‘opt-out’ claims… At a stroke, this type of claim circumvents the structural challenge – which can be very significant, in particular in the retail context – of book-building an economically viable class actions.”

The role of litigation funders – “The role which funders are playing in the growth of class actions is no doubt part of the spectacular growth of the litigation funding market as a whole. In June 2022, it was reported that UK litigation funders’ assets had hit GBP 2.2. billion in 2021, representing an impressive ten-fold increase in value over the previous decade.”

Any headwinds? – “Those bringing – and financing – class actions still face challenges… In one sense, the success of the litigation funding market in the class action space has created its own set of challenges. For example, we are now seeing competing classes of claimants being formed, back by different funders. Ultimately, this situation is likely to lead to an increase in the types of ‘carriage disputes’ which are common in North America and which introduce a new significant risk factor for funders.”