The CAT's Thinking On Settlement Fund Distribution: The Trains Class Action

Class Member Take-Up: When Part of the Settlement Fund Remains Unclaimed

In September 2025, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the CAT) ruled on how settlement funds, other than those which were earmarked for the class members in the collective proceedings concerning rail ticketing practices, should be distributed. This collective action was brought on behalf of rail passengers by Justin Gutmann against multiple rail operators on the basis that each defendant company effectively charged the passengers twice for a certain section of the journey on the route it operated.¹ Although passengers technically had the option to avoid the alleged overcharge, the class representative argued that the defendants, each of which according to Mr. Gutmann holds a dominant position, did not take sufficient steps to bring that option to the class members' attention, thereby abusing that dominant position.