While class-actions are not (yet) a recognised key feature of
the English legal system, as they are in the US or Australia,
pressure is growing in the UK to allow collective or group
litigation which appears to favour consumers rights or help promote
access to justice.
These recent decisions support this growing trend.
Richard Lloyd v Google LLC
A representative action brought on behalf of a class of more
than 4 million I-Phone users against Google, which seeks damages
for Google's alleged use of "cookies" to track
internet browser-generated information without consent, has been
granted permission to proceed.
The Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the High Court
decision and held that damages may be awarded for loss of control
of data under the Data Protection Act, without the need to show
pecuniary loss or distress. A person's control over their
browser-generated information had a value, so that the loss of that
control also had a value. The Court noted,
