Even with new technology available to funders, solid estimates for the amount of time it might take for a class action to reach completion remain elusive. One way to shorten the start-to-finish length of a class action, is to follow an opt-out plan rather than one that requires book building.
Law Gazette details that collective proceedings may require a long wait to reach an award or settlement. Sometimes, several resolutions can drop in rapid succession. Three collective proceedings orders have been approved in rapid succession after a six year wait.
In Merricks vs Mastercard, the court pointed to opt-out CPOs as a means for consumers to get justice when anti-competitive conduct harms consumers en masse. In fact, the court’s reasoning included the idea that it makes no financial sense for individual consumers to seek justice one by one. The outcome in Merricks vs Mastercard is considered a landmark verdict, one that may pave the way for opt-out proceedings. That’s good news for legal funders and claimant legal teams, who prefer opt-out proceedings that do not require a lengthy and complicated book build.
Two subsequent cases, Gutmann vs First MTR South Western Trains & Others, (class members backed by Woodsford Litigation Funding) and Justin le Patourel vs BT Group plc (class backed by Harbour Litigation Funding), affirmed that a trend is growing in favor of opt-out CPOs as an efficient and suitable method for customers to seek redress.
Perhaps those who suggested that Merricks vs Mastercard would open the floodgates to widespread use of CPOs are correct. According to third-party litigation funders, claimant lawyers, and consumers who have been taken advantage of by anti-competitive actions, that’s just fine.
At the same time, Lloyd vs Google suggests that some situations are not appropriate for opt-out proceedings. The ruling denying an opt-out model implies that further clarification is on the horizon.
