These claims are made both as a class action or as a large bundle of claims organised through the assignment model. The introduction of the new Dutch class action regime (Wet afwikkeling massaschade in collectieve actie or WAMCA) has contributed to this trend.
Furthermore, the Representative Actions Directive empowers European consumers by introducing EU-wide collective redress mechanisms for EU consumer law infringements, further increasing the risk of being confronted with such actions.
Class action litigation: a dynamic of its own
Mass claims bring much publicity and involve high stakes. Therefore, these claims can have a huge impact on the defendant’s organisation and its business. The proceedings tend to revolve around a wide array of complex issues. Claimants often add complexity to the matter by targeting not only defendants seated in the Netherlands but also foreign companies with activities in an EU jurisdiction. Claim vehicles and their funders are driven by their business models and tend to design the class as wide as possible, often including members who are resident in a foreign jurisdiction, which may give rise to jurisdiction and applicable law discussions.
A tailored strategy to effectively manage and defend class actions
These dynamics require a thorough understanding of the company’s challenges when confronted with a mass claim. Designing a bespoke strategy to get the most favourable result can only be achieved in close cooperation with our clients. Our class actions team is well suited to address these challenges. Over the past two decades, our team has accumulated an impressive amount of experience in handling cases mainly representing foreign and Dutch defendants. We have proved that we are able to master and oversee the complexity in these types of cases. Whether the strategy requires reaching a class settlement, challenging jurisdiction and admissibility or litigating the matter all the way to the Supreme Court, our team offers the full set of skills, capability and experience required for this.
Houthoff Class Action Survey 2024
Five years after our first Class Action Survey, we have once again partnered with 11 other law firms to investigate the key trends in class actions in 12 leading jurisdictions. This research involved interviewing experts and practitioners in these jurisdictions and soliciting their views on current and future developments. The jurisdictions include the Netherlands, the UK, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the United States and Israel. The results of this research will provide an insight into what we can expect in the future.
Download the Houthoff Class Action Survey 2024
Houthoff’s class actions team is involved in many of the foremost complex mass litigation cases, both in national and international contexts. These cases include securities class actions, diesel emission cases, financial mass claims, competition litigation, health and safety claims, environmental claims and consumer claims (EU law related). The team closely collaborates with colleagues in other practice areas, such as privacy & data protection, ESG, competition, energy, and employment & pensions.
Feel free to contact us and find out how our class actions team can help you protect your organisation and effectively manage your legal risks.
