Legal professionals and campaign groups have clashed over research by CMS that showed considerable growth in the number of UK competition class actions.  

The 2024 European Class Action Report stated that claims encompassing more than 500 million class members had been filed in the UK by the end of 2023, which, given the country’s population of 67 million, equated to over 8.1 class actions per person.  

The report's author, CMS partner Kenny Henderson, said: “The numbers are so other-worldly because very few of those involved – particularly in the case of opt-out claims – are aware of these actions on their behalf.”

Others challenged that assertion. Desiree Maghoo, founder of public relations firm Questor Consulting, commented: “To say consumers and businesses aren’t aware of claims being brought on their behalf is not backed up by any facts in this report.” She also noted the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) required class representatives to publicise class actions.  

Class representatives, Maghoo said, had kept affected consumers and businesses updated on developments in the legal action, with the media proving to be very effective in this regard.

Gus Selitto, founding partner of Byfield Consultancy, said building awareness of claims, why they are being launched and how they are being defended needed consideration as part of a long-term strategy.

“As the class action system continues to mature across Europe, there is also a job to build consumer awareness, trust and confidence in how the system works and why it’s important for access to justice and consumer redress," Selitto said. "Again, effective PR and communication lies at the heart of this.”

Elsewhere, there was support for CMS’s findings from former Conservative MP Seema Kennedy OBE, the executive director of the Fair Civil Justice group and a senior consultant at Global Counsel, a public affairs firm headed by Lord Mandelson.  

Fair Civil Justice was launched in London in 2022 by the Institute for Legal Reform, a group affiliated to the US Chamber of Commerce, to raise awareness of the "increasing presence of a predatory claims culture" in the UK and find ways to tackle it, according to its website. CMS was commissioned by Fair Civil Justice last year to conduct research into the way that claimant law firms advertise so-called “no-win/no-fee” claims.

Kennedy commented that CMS's class action report "should act as a wake-up call for policymakers and consumers across the country. The UK is sleepwalking into a US-style litigation environment, where lawyers and funders benefit at the expense of claimants and true access to justice. The evidence is clear: the rapid growth in class actions in the UK is not good for consumers, business or our society.”

However, the CMS report was roundly criticised by Charlie Morris, chief investment officer at litigation funder Woodsford, who said: “The commentary in and around this report is nakedly one-sided, focusing on the risks for big business rather than the benefits for consumers and small business, and needs to be taken with a large dollop of salt."

Morris accused the Fair Civil Justice campaign of being “a mouthpiece for the US Chamber of Commerce”, adding it was “not truly interested in fairness for consumers". 

Morris emphasised the importance of giving consumers and small businesses greater access to justice and equality of arms in holding large businesses accountable, saying that the courts recognised that class actions were crucial for deterring bad corporate behaviour, which he said benefited society as a whole.

Noting the differences between the US and UK legal systems, including the absence of the loser-pays rule, he added it was “nonsense” to suggest that the growth of class actions in the UK meant welcoming US-style litigation. He stressed the use of funding by small businesses, corporate claimants and consumers, noting that for consumers “legal aid from the government has all but dried up.”

Henderson, however, stood by the findings. "The report reflects a true picture of class action risk, analysing key data and trends from recent years," he said. "The numbers don't lie: this year's data shows a continued rise in class actions across Europe, with the main beneficiaries of these claims being law firms and litigation funders – not consumers.”

Kennedy added: “We represent British consumers and businesses. If litigation funders truly prioritise access to justice over profits, they should welcome greater transparency and stronger safeguards for this high-risk financial product.”