Representative Actions Under CPR 19.8: Practical Lessons To Learn From Barclays Bank UK Plc v Terry

Introduction

The writers have the privilege of having been counsel for the Defendants in what is believed to have been a first case of its type in terms of the 'bifurcated' procedure used to dispose of a large number of related causes of action in a single representative claim.

Across a total of six hearings spanning only a little more than four months, the claim in question dealt with rectifying the consequences of a single bulk discharge by Barclays of its legal mortgages registered over more than 5,000 registered titles ("the Discharge"). Judgments from two of those hearings have been reported at:

Barclays Bank UK Plc v Terry [2023] EWHC 2726 (Ch) (23^rd October 2023, HHJ Paul Matthews sitting as a High Court Judge); and