class action
Do class action lawsuits even exist in UK?
I always thought of it is a purely american thing.
But there seem to be "representative actions" in UK which are rarely used.
I think lawyers who wanna start "class action" lawsuit in UK are just using the phrase to please customers.
Representative actions in England
The use of the existing representative action framework in England is relatively rare: the court at first instance considered only two cases reported since the introduction of the CPR in 2000. Other forms of collective action have also proved unpopular or unworkable in England.
Group Litigation Order. The primary mechanism is a Group Litigation Order (GLO), but this is a means of managing multiple cases rather than bringing representative claims. Most importantly, it requires the involvement of all the claimants, who must bring individual claims that are then included in the group register and administered together. This precludes the possibility of commencing any form of "opt-out" claim on behalf of a group whose members may fluctuate and cannot be identified by name at the outset.
With only 74 GLOs made over the decade since their introduction, they cannot be said to have changed the litigation landscape. (For background, see feature articles "Cartel damages claims: obtaining redress for loss" and “Competition litigation reform: what next for private enforcement?”.)
Opt-in actions. The other form of English collective action, specific to competition follow-on damages claims, is a representative action brought under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998 (section 47B). This allows a group of consumers to be represented by a body specified by the Secretary of State in actions before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. However, it is an "opt-in" mechanism that still requires the claimants to be named on the claim form.
The difficulties of identifying and contacting potential claimants were evident from the meagre 600 participants in the Consumer Association v JJB Sports PLC case concerning replica football shirts, despite Which?'s belief that around two million consumers were affected (
www.practicallaw.com/1-380-9423). Following this case, Which?, the designated body for this type of proceeding, has not shown any further interest in bringing actions under section 47B.
Reform on hold. Against the background of the limited use of the above mechanisms for representative actions, the previous government proposed a reform of representative actions focused on a sectoral approach, with the possibility of opt-in or opt-out group actions being authorised by the court, but limited to sectors specified in legislation.
The Finance Bill (the Bill) was to have been the first step in this direction, introducing the possibility of collective redress for consumers of retail financial products. However, these elements of the Bill were dropped in the "wash up" when the legislation was passed before the last election, and the new government has yet to give any indication of whether such ideas will be resurrected. It seems unlikely to be a priority.
source:
http://uk.practicallaw.com/7-504-0554?sd=plcfyi: I am not a law professional and may be totally wrong. Perhaps there are trade agreements between USA and UK that allow US class action to be successful?
