A New Consumer Class Action Regime For The UK?

The Proposed System

This Autumn, the Law Commission intends to consider whether the UK should introduce a new class action regime designed to make it easier for groups of consumers to bring claims relating to unlawful business practices.

The proposals could represent a significant change in the way large-scale consumer claims are handled, particularly where a large number of people have been affected by the same or similar conduct.

How Do Group Claims Currently Work in the UK?

There are already several ways for groups of people to bring claims together under the Civil Procedure Rules.

These include Group Litigation Orders (GLOs), which allow claims involving common or related issues to be managed collectively by the courts; representative actions, where one person brings a claim on behalf of a wider group with the same interest; and omnibus claim forms, which allow multiple claimants to be included within the same proceedings.