Settling Mass Claims From A Defendant's Perspective

Introduction

In our work as lawyers in an international context, we are seeing a steady increase in cases where a large number of individuals claim damages of a similar nature. There are numerous reasons for this increase; one is the rise of globalisation, another the involvement of interest groups and claims vehicles highlighting the possibility of collective actions. Further, newly enacted collective redress mechanisms in various jurisdictions (for example in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) are encouraging actions of this kind. In the Netherlands, a draft bill on redress of mass damages in collective actions was recently presented. Although a collective action and a collective settlement procedure were already in place, the proposed new collective damages action could actually force liable parties to collectively redress a mass damages claim. Further, in the United Kingdom, amendments to the Competition Act 1998 - brought into force in October 2015 -