"Serle Court is an excellent set with a roster of formidably intelligent, yet approachable and user-friendly barristers."
Serle Court’s long-standing excellence in large scale, complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation, means that it is extremely well placed to tackle the increasing number of high value group claims that are being brought in the English courts. In particular, chambers’ strengths in all aspects of business law means that our barristers have the expertise to act in group claims featuring corporate liability and allegations of fraud. Our recent and ongoing cases show the breadth of our experience in group litigation, being applied to some of the largest and most novel pieces of litigation currently before the courts.
Nicholas Harrison and Jonathan McDonagh continue to act for the Claimants in Município de Mariana v BHP Group, the largest opt-in group action ever brought. With an estimated 720,000+ claimants, the case has generated global media coverage as it seeks to establish parent-company liability for an environmental catastrophe in Brazil; and along the way it has provided new precedents on issues of jurisdiction and how to conduct large-scale multi-national class actions in England & Wales. Trial is listed for October 2024. Several other members of Serle Court have previously acted on this case, including Jennifer Meech, Sophie Holcombe, Amy Proferes, Adrian de Froment, Gregor Hogan and Charlotte Beynon.
David Blayney KC and Jonathan McDonagh were instructed by Pogust Goodhead across a host of ‘dieselgate’ claims following the settlement of the Crossley v VW litigation (in which Jonathan McDonagh had also acted). They advised on behalf of more than ½ million claimants as claims were drawn up against a range of further manufacturers, including Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, Peugeot, Citreon, Fiat Chrysler, and Volvo.
Serle Court’s expertise in financial litigation was evident in members’ involvement in the RBS Rights Litigation. This case was the largest of its kind and David Blayney KC and Simon Hattan together with two juniors from Serle Court were instructed.
David Blayney KC and Sophie Holcombe acted for the lead group of claimants in relation to the breach of security systems leading to the leaking of personal data of more than 400,000 BA customers – the first mass data breach claim to proceed as group litigation in the UK. They also acted for one of the main groups of claimants in proceedings arising out of the EasyJet Data Breach Group Litigation affecting more than 9 million customers.
One of the most high-profile group litigation cases of the past few years has been the malicious prosecution claim against the Post Office. Jennifer Meech acts for a number of former sub-postmasters in relation to insolvency law aspects of their claims.
Commercial group actions will often feature jurisdictional challenges, and Serle Court member Jonathan Harris KC (Hon.) is a well-recognised expert at the Bar in this area.
Jennifer Meech acts in a significant number of group actions arising from failed collective investment schemes. In these cases investors have lost money following the collapse of care home, hotel or student accommodation schemes and seek redress against the sales agents, the seller’s solicitor or their own solicitor. This litigation involves interesting issues of insolvency, property, contractual and tort law as well as professional negligence.
Professor Suzanne Rab operates at the cutting edge of competition damages litigation. In the financial services sector, she represents the proposed class representative in a collective lawsuit against Mastercard and Visa on behalf of merchants accepting payments using UK corporate cards, and credit and debit cards from overseas visitors. The case, which has been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, seeks compensation for businesses which were charged Multilateral Interchange Fees by their banks on Mastercard and Visa transactions.
David Blayney KC, Jennifer Meech and Jonathan McDonagh are all members of The Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA).
ThoughtLeaders4 Disputes: Funding Litigation Against Financial Institutions & Big Corporates in 2024 - Issues For Your Radar
Location: Online, via Zoom Read More
Thought Leaders4 Disputes: Group Litigation and Class Actions - The 3rd Annual Forum
Location: Doubletree Tower of London Hotel Read More
