First collective action launched in the CAT

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has published a notice of application to commence collective proceedings under the amended section 47B of the Competition Act 1998.  If the CAT decides to make a collective proceedings order (CPO) the case will be the first opt-out class action following the Consumer Rights Act reforms.  The proposed action combines follow-on damages actions relating to the 2014 mobility scooters decision of the Office of Fair Trading. 

The application is brought by the proposed class representative (Ms Dorothy Gibson), the General Secretary of the National Pensioners Convention that represents around 1000 UK pensioners’ organisations.  The relief sought is damages to be assessed on an aggregate basis.  The application states that the action should proceed on an opt-out basis as it would be highly impractical for it to proceed on an opt-in basis in view of the vulnerability of the members and the sums at stake.

The CAT may only make a CPO if it considers that the person who bought the proceedings is a person who the CAT could authorise to act as the representative and if the CAT considers that the claims raise the same, similar or related issues of fact or law and are suitable to be brought in collective proceedings.

The procedural rules governing collective proceedings are set out in Rules 73-98 of the CAT Rules, with guidance in Section 6 of the 2015 Guide to Proceedings.

Case 1257/7/7/16 - Dorothy Gibson v Pride Mobility Products Limited