Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » Retailers and wholesalers warn of risks in collective redress proposal

    Retailers and wholesalers warn of risks in collective redress proposal

    npsBy nps6 December 2018Updated:28 June 2024 No Comments2 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Focus
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    — last modified 06 December 2018

    Speaking today after the vote of the European Parliament JURI Committee report on collective redress, EuroCommerce Director-General Christian Verschueren warned of the risk that the proposal as amended will spark a wave of vexatious litigation:


    Advertisement


    “We fully support fair and balanced civil justice systems with effective enforcement of consumers’ rights. We have, however, concerns whether this proposal can deliver on these goals. The proposal should not provide incentives to competitors, third-party investors and law firms to litigate against companies at the expense of consumers.”

    We recognise the efforts made in the report to bring legal clarity to some of the elements of the proposal. This includes strengthening principles such as the loser pays rule, the prohibition of punitive damages, and the admissibility criteria for compensation claims, as well as rules on out-of-court settlements, and on evidence gathering to make discovery claims subject to a proportionality test subject to the opinion of a judge.

    However, despite improvements, there is still a danger that the proposal could lead to vexatious litigation in Europe. The text contains no clearly-stated safeguards that need to apply to all claims, including a requirement for consumer opt-in, a prohibition of contingency fees, and the prevention of overlapping claims. We regret the absence of more transparency and stronger safeguards on the relationship between by third-party litigation funders and law firms. We also miss sufficiently robust criteria for a qualified entity, including proof of stability and seriousness, and a guarantee that awards are properly passed on to consumers.

    Finally, there needs to be more clarity on how this Directive will interact with existing national collective redress systems, and a minimum level of procedural principles and safeguards at EU level to avoid the pitfalls of forum shopping and a race to the bottom between national jurisdictions.

    EuroCommerce

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    Sustainable finance - Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay

    Brussels eases corporate sustainability reporting requirements

    Tochytskyi - Micallef - Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU offers support for Ukraine culture and heritage

    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Poor GDP performance marks end of tough week for the Pound – Euro currency news daily

    Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU announces EUR 2.3 billion package for Ukraine recovery

    Ecommerce - Photo by AS Photography on Pexels

    Euro-Parliament moves to stop sub-standard products from outside EU

    Deforestation - Image by Robert Jones from Pixabay

    EUDR saga: Parliament votes to undermine enforcement and EU credibility

    Sponsor: WWF European Policy Office9 July 2025
    LATEST EU NEWS
    Sustainable finance - Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay

    Brussels eases corporate sustainability reporting requirements

    11 July 2025
    Tochytskyi - Micallef - Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU offers support for Ukraine culture and heritage

    11 July 2025
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Poor GDP performance marks end of tough week for the Pound – Euro currency news daily

    11 July 2025
    Ukraine Recovery Conference - Photo © European Union 2025

    EU announces EUR 2.3 billion package for Ukraine recovery

    10 July 2025
    Ecommerce - Photo by AS Photography on Pexels

    Euro-Parliament moves to stop sub-standard products from outside EU

    10 July 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?