Case Management And Disclosure Implications Of Environmental Group Action Being Brought As "Global Claim"

The High Court has determined questions of case management and disclosure following on from its previous ruling (considered here) that group claims against Shell Plc and its Nigerian subsidiary relating to oil contamination in the Niger Delta must proceed as "global claims", in light of the claimants' failure to identify the particular spills said to have caused each claimant's loss: Alame v Shell Plc [2024] EWHC 510 (KB).

The judgment is of interest for the decision that, so long as the case is to proceed as a global claim, there cannot be a trial of lead claims as would be typical in this sort of group litigation. Instead, following a trial of preliminary issues relating to principles of Nigerian law and statutory construction, as well as the law and principles applicable to the concept of a "global claim", there will be a factual trial to examine the causes of all oil contamination in the relevant region over the period in question.