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Conference at Kings College London, Strand Campus

8.45am to 9am

Welcome address and introduction

The Honourable Mrs Justice Kelyn Bacon, President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) UK

9am to 9.20am

Collective proceedings: overview of the new landscape for mass tort claims in the UK and EU

Chair: The Right Honourable Lady Rose of Colmworth, Justice of the Supreme Court
Speaker: Pedro de Sousa, European Commission’s Legal Service, Competition Team

The last 10 years have seen huge strides for collective redress across the EU and the UK with the advent of the class actions under the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, the implementation of the EU Collective Redress Directive 2020/1828 across the EU27 alongside the Digital Markets Act as well as important Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and national jurisprudence on key concepts introduced by the Damages Directive.

This session will provide an overview of the most recent developments and the impact for mass tort litigation across the EU.

9.20am to 10.20am

A comparative approach: EU group litigation and collective redress in Directive 2020/1828 versus UK Consumer Rights Act 2015

Chair:
Professor Andrea Biondi, Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union

Speakers: 
Nicholas Khan KC, former member of the Legal Service of the European Commission, Monckton Chambers
Thomas Funke, Gerardin Partners LLP Germany

In this session, the panel will compare and contrast the scope of the EU collective redress regime with the UK class action and group litigation regime and compare how litigation is conducted in different Member States. It will also explore the impact of Brexit and the extent of divergence between the EU and UK for jurisdiction, limitation and effective redress.

10.20am to 10.40am

Question and answer on morning sessions

11am to 11.45am

Class representatives and opt-in versus opt-out claims

Chair: Dr Rachael Kent, Senior Lecturer, King’s College London and the first female Class Representative in a UK collective claim

This session will explore the latest developments on identifying class members, selecting the class representative and certification on an opt-out or opt-in basis, including recent rulings in Evans v Barclays Bank & Ors and Airwave (Clare Mary Joan Spottiswoode CBE v Airwave Solutions Limited, Motorola Solutions UK Limited & Motorola Solutions, Inc).

11.45am to 1pm

How to establish a breach that sounds in damages

Chair: Professor Suzanne Kingston SC, Appointed Judge of the General Court of the European Union
Speakers:
Philip Moser KC, joint Head of Chambers, Monckton Chambers
Professor Herke Kraneborg, Member of the Legal Service for the European Commission, Professor at Maastrict University and Judge at the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal

This panel will discuss from the claimant and defendant perspectives how to prove (or defeat) an actionable breach across competition, consumer, data, environmental and regulatory breach claims – including follow on litigation or evidential reliance on foreign and domestic antitrust and regulatory decisions and the principle of effectiveness for remedies in the EU27 and the UK. Includes discussion of Evans, Crossley (VW), Dieselgate KBA, Roberts UK Water claims, Qualcomm, Meta (UK) and German rulings in Facebook.

2pm to 2.45pm

Theory of harm, causation and quantification

Speakers: 
Derek Holt, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners
Stefan Hunt, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners
Michael Davis, Director, AlixPartners

A multi-disciplinary team from the leading economists, AlixPartners will discuss the use of forensic accountants, economists and behavioural economists in establishing the theory of harm and counterfactuals for quantifying different types of breach in mass tort claims.

2.45pm to 4pm

Case management "bake off": handling complex multiparty litigation 

Chair: Lord Justice Nicholas Green, Senior Presiding Judge
Judicial panel to be confirmed

Practitioner panel:
Sonia Nolten KC, 2 Temple Gardens
Geraint Webb KC, Henderson Chambers
Sarah Houghton, Partner, Mishcon de Raya LLP

This “Bake Off” session will have two teams comparing judicial and practitioner perspectives on core case management problems for mass claims – including consolidation of multiple claims under one umbrella set of proceedings and treatment of different lead or stayed parties; managing disclosure and confidentiality, collateral use and extrapolation from other parties’ documents and evidence, joint experts and costs management.

4.30pm to 5pm

Funding group litigation and class actions across the EU

Chair to be confirmed
Speakers:
Ben Williams KC, 4 New Square Chambers
Professor Rachel Mulheron, Professor of Tort Law, Civil Justice and Honorary King’s Counsel, Queen Mary University of London

In this session, Professor Mulheron and specialist cost counsel will discuss funding regulation with the recent Civil Justice Council Review of Litigation funding, PACCAR ruling and consultation along with practical issues relating to managing conflicts and costs management. 

5pm to 5.30pm

Distribution and settlement issues

Chair: Anneli Howard KC, Monckton Chambers
Speaker: Clare Ducksbury, Senior Vice President, Epiq Class Action Solutions Europe

This session will provide practical insights from the leading class action administrator on claims management and collective settlements along with the latest on distribution.