Solicitors welcome proposal to let legal groups bring court cases in own name
The prospect of legal groups such as the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) bringing court actions in their own name has been welcomed by solicitors.The Law Society, APIL and the Forum of Insurance Lawyers are among those to have responded positively to a government consultation on allowing representative claims by organisations and institutions.
The consultation reflects European Union initiatives which require such claims to promote access to justice.
Most attention has focused on consumer and environmental groups bringing actions.APIL president Frances McCarthy said: 'The most obvious example of where such a system would be enormously useful for APIL is when a decision on the interpretation of the law has a huge impact on clients, for example, in Wells v Wells, which dealt with the discount rate applied to damages for future loss.' She said it would also help when a decision is needed on a particular part of a claim which affects many people - determining, for example the exact date when tobacco companies became aware of the effects of cigarettes on the body.
Fraser Whitehead, a litigation partner at City firm Russell Jones & Walker, and chairman of the Law Society's civil litigation committee, said: 'This is very much welcome, as there is a serious need to reform current methods for bringing group actions.' He said that, although not likely, it would be possible that the Society itself might bring an action where, for example, solicitors are disadvantaged by a bank lender.
Paul Bowden, head of the environment, planning and regulatory group at City firm Freshfields, said the proposals would affect many businesses involved in financial services and utilities, as well as manufacturing and retail.
'The new system would change the litigation climate for all companies facing "action group" litigation, whether resulting from a defective product line, a transport disaster or a financialcollapse,' he said.Jeremy Fleming
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