Proposal to be made on consumer class actions in EU
The European Union is reportedly getting ready to introduce US-style class actions into their legal system in order to strengthen protections to consumers by allowing what is being called “collective redress” claims against firms that provide faulty or substandard goods and services. Currently, some EU nations have class action provisions in place, but there is no option for such actions on a EU-wide basis.
EU consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva defends the upcoming proposal as a way to keep businesses an incentive to keep the quality of the goods and services they offer high and to give consumers more confidence in cross-border transactions. She claims that this is especially necessary as e-commerce grows. Ms. Kuneva says that while the new proposal will take its inspiration from the US system, it will not reproduce it exactly.
The US class action system allows individuals to put separate claims against one company into one collective lawsuit, which encourages them to pursue compensation on claims that would be too expensive and time-intensive to be pursued individually. Such suits have been criticized, however, as benefiting the law firms that bring the suits more than that they benefit the wronged consumers. Ms. Kuneva has reportedly looked at possibly having collective claims in the EU handled by national consumers’ bodies, although some officials think that lawyers or other groups might also become involved.
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