What is a group claim?

A group claim – also known as group litigation or group proceedings – is a legal term used in the UK to describe collective legal action brought by a group of claimants that have been affected by the same incident, whether by negligence, error, accident or other cause. Often, group claims are taken against a large business of corporate entity.

Many people also use the term ‘class action’ to refer to group litigation, though this term applies to the US legal system, not the courts in the UK.

What types of action could be brought to the court in a group claim?

The group proceedings procedure came into force in Scotland on 31 July 2020, making it possible for the first time for groups of two or more people with a similar claim to pursue legal action together in the Court of Session (Scotland’s highest civil court).

As you might expect, particularly with these proceedings being relatively new to the Scottish legal system, this is a very specialised area of law. This means that if you wish to pursue group proceedings, you should seek the advice of a specialist collective action lawyer.

It may be possible to pursue a group claim in areas such as:

• Financial mis-selling
• Defective products
• Data breaches
• Major accidents
• Drug and medication failures

Why should I join a group claim?

There are numerous advantages to forming or joining a group claim, but the three most important are that:

• Legal advice and documentation can be shared with other claimants and the cost of obtaining advice can be spread across the whole group.
• By coming together as a group, the risk that you might have to pay the other side’s costs can be reduced. That’s because collective action funding arrangements can be put in place to reduce costs risks, which tend to be significantly more favourable than those available to individuals.
• It’s best practice for individual test cases to be selected from within the group and funded jointly by all members. This makes for the most cost-effective use of resources, yet still enables every member of the group to benefit from favourable decisions.

If you would like to talk about joining a group to help you tackle a big corporation or organisation on a level playing field, talk to one of our experienced collective action solicitors today.

Am I eligible to join a group claim?

If you’ve suffered injury or financial loss as a direct result of the negligence or behaviour of a large company, it can be difficult to know where to turn for support. Where you believe many others have suffered in a similar way, you could be eligible to join or even instigate a group litigation claim by pooling your resources.

At Slater and Gordon, we believe that collective action is a major asset to the justice system, as it supports people with valid complaints in holding big corporations to account in court. Not only does it level the playing field substantially, but it can also mitigate the risks of losing your claim by spreading it across the many people or organisations contributing to the action.

Even if your case doesn’t meet the criteria that would lead to a court granting a group litigation order, we may still be able to treat you as a group to help deliver the benefits of sharing risk, resources and knowledge.