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Europe class actions record high overview:
- Who: A record number of class action lawsuits were filed in Europe in 2021, according to a new study by international law firm CMS
- Why: The numbers were driven by a spike in UK class action lawsuits
- Where: Europe
A record number of class action lawsuits were filed in Europe in 2021, driven by a spike in claims filed in the UK, according to a new study by international law firm CMS.
In the CMS European Class Actions Report 2021, the firm found that the number of class actions filed in Europe increased by over 120% between 2018 and 2020.
“Class action risk continues to increase across Europe, and it is high on the risk register for multinationals,” CMS litigation and arbitration partner Kenny Henderson said.
However, according to the report, UK activity accounted for 54% of European claims, with the number of people involved in UK competition class actions almost tripling to 171 million from 69.4 million in 2020.
“The UK has seen particular growth in class actions in recent years. Areas of risk are: competition class actions; data protection class actions; product liability and foreign torts/environmental claims,” the study states.
A total of 110 class action lawsuits were filed across Europe last year, one more than in 2020, the study found.
Higher damages sought, with more backing from funders
In addition to the increasing number of class actions, claims seeking extremely high damages awards are also being filed more frequently, particularly in the UK, the study’s authors said.
“Examples of these megaclaims include: Merricks v Mastercard, a UK competition class action seeking £14 billion; McCann v YouTube, a UK data protection claim seeking £2 billion+; Oracle and Salesforce, UK and Dutch data protection claims seeking €15 billion+; and Gomes v Mastercard, a Portuguese competition class action seeking €400 million+.”
Meanwhile, litigation funding is increasingly part of the mainstream of litigation culture in Europe, the study found.
While it said precise figures on growth were difficult to come by, it found that from 2009 to 2014, assets under management from litigation funders active in the UK grew from £180 million to £1.5 billion (up by 743%).
“Claimant law firms and litigation funders are more active than ever before, looking for new claims to bring – which they see as profitable opportunities,” Henderson said.
Meanwhile, consumer losses from fraud are also up in the UK. In 2021, UK consumers lost £1.3 billion due to online payment fraud with an increase in authorised push payment fraud playing a significant role in the 10-digit figure, according to new research by UK Finance,
Authorised push payment fraud accounted for £583.2 million in consumer losses last year, an increase of 39% compared to 2020, the study found.
What do you think of the increase in class action claims filed in the UK? Let us know in the comments!
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