On Mar. 26, 2015, the Consumer Rights Act received Royal Assent.
Schedule 8 of the Act, which amends the UK's Competition Act,
gives the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT") the
power to hear stand-alone private damages actions as well as
actions arising from an infringement decision with respect to a
finding of a cartel or an abuse of dominance. Infringement
decisions by both the UK Competition and Markets Authority
("CMA") and the European Commission will be relevant for
the purposes of a private damages action before the CAT. The Act
permits collective proceedings to be brought before the CAT, either
as opt-in or opt-out proceedings, and the CAT will also have the
power to approve the settlement of claims in collective
proceedings. Furthermore, the Act makes it possible for redress
schemes to be approved by the CMA.
