Class action: a comparative law study

In 2014, the concept of group action came into force in France.

Group action is defined as the possibility for several victims of identical damage caused by the same company or the same professional to bring a joint action before the courts.

 This group action was initially designed to help consumers who had suffered prejudice in this area.

Group action has now been extended to other areas, including health, the environment, discrimination, personal data protection, property rental and anti-competitive practices.

A number of conditions must be met before a group action can be brought:

 – At least two consumers must wish to bring the action;

– The aim of the action must be to repair material damage;

– The consumers must be represented by a lawyer.

While these conditions are fairly simple to meet, one is more difficult.

This is the condition relating to standing.

Only approved consumer associations have standing.

In other words, in order to bring a group action, a consumer association must agree to bring the action on its behalf.

In practice, however, consumer associations are not interested in bringing these actions, which prevents the mechanism from being effective.

This is why only 32 group actions have been initiated since it came into force in 2014.

In contrast, the American class action does not impose such a condition.

More specifically, in the United States, lawyers can initiate class actions.

This simplifies access to this mechanism for litigants.

Similarly, in the United Kingdom, class actions are also easier to access because there are no conditions relating to standing.

To date, the DAMY law firm is working with an American law firm as part of a “class action” it has brought in the United States to defend the interests of victims of cryptocurrency scams.

Have you suffered damage at the hands of a company or professional? Do you think your case is not isolated? Do not hesitate to contact Maître DAMY so that he can assist you in class actions in France, the United States or the United Kingdom.