Businesses can expect a continued influx of class action cases as we move into 2025, according to dispute resolution lawyers at Fladgate, with a perceived unfairness among consumer and consumer rights activists the major driver.

“The English courts – the CAT in particular – are currently packed with class action claims. The introduction of opt-out collective actions undoubtedly set the stage but is not the sole driver for the recent surge in such claims,” commented Leigh Callaway, partner and dispute resolution lawyer at the law firm. “More generally, the determining factor is likely to be a perceived unfairness among consumer and consumer rights activists about the way large corporates operate and the seeming failure of successive governments to hold them to account.”

Those drivers, he said, are unlikely to go away in the short-to-medium term, ensuring a continued influx of cases, with the only ‘brake’ likely to be the availability of third-party funding and the capacity of the Court.

Both of those matters are interlinked, according to Calloway, with funders currently having significant resource ‘locked-up’ in claims currently working their way through the court system, but often taking many years to resolve.

"...if funders can get comfortable with the timeframe to resolution and the courts receive further resource, then we can expect to see collective actions continue to be a valuable way for consumers to achieve redress and corporates held to account,” Callaway noted.

Looking ahead to the major cases that will shape class actions in 2025, funders and lawyers will be closely watching for the decision in Le Patourel v. BT Group plc. The trial, heard in January for eight weeks, was the first trial in the UK of an opt-out collective action.

“The judgment, expected shortly, is likely to provide critical guidance on a number of key issues, such as the CAT’s overarching attitude to collective actions of this type and (if the claim is successful) the steps taken in opt-out collective actions post-trial, including the distribution of damages and the funder’s returns,” Callaway said.

“The ‘mega-claim’ of Municipio de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group (UK) Ltd and Anor, regarding the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Brazil, is currently part way through a 12-week trial. The claim, which is generally considered to be the largest claim issued in the English Court with some 600,000 claimants seeking up to £36bn, is being closely watched by ESG practitioners. Success for the claimants will further emphasise the importance group claims have to holding large multi-national corporates to account for ESG and ESG adjacent failures.”

The new year will also bring about a “sea-change” for litigation funding, according to the law firm.

“Although the immediate concerns caused by the decision in PACCAR were relatively easily addressed by the funding market though variation of their funding terms, the sector nevertheless remains in a state of flux," Callaway said. "Practitioners will know that the previous government’s attempt to reverse PACCAR via the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill fell down with the general election and we now await the outcome of the CJC’s consultation on litigation funding. A recently published interim report indicates the types of issues being contemplated, noting the importance litigation funding plays in providing access to justice, whilst highlighting some areas of potential concern.”

Of particular importance will be the CJC’s deliberations over statutory regulation of the market (which is currently self-regulated); as well as the question of whether funders’ fees should be capped.

He added: “The CJC’s consultation, which follows wider moves across the EU to create a greater governance structure around litigation funding, is a key area to watch in 2025."

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