Improving access to justice for all New Zealanders.
Class actions make it easier for individuals to access effective legal representation, hold corporations and governments to account, and promote corporate and social responsibility.
Class actions enable people to come together to bring a single claim for wrongdoing that has impacted each of them. This means a dispute involving many people can be resolved in a single case, sharing the cost and risk involved.
A class action is a court proceeding brought by one or more people who represent other people impacted by the same issue. The personal circumstances of the representative(s) become the test case for the issues in dispute.
Almost any kind of claim can be brought as a class action, including:
There are three key stages in a class action:
Stage one – starting: we consider whether a class action is suitable, including considering whether litigation funding is available to assist with the costs of bringing the claim and the risk of an adverse costs award. If the claim is meritorious and is appropriately run as a class action, the claim documentation is prepared. A potential class action may be announced, so that other people who are similarly affected can register their interest in joining a class action.
Stage two – filing: the claim is filed in court. It may be several weeks or months before the court makes orders about what will happen next. The next steps will differ from case to case. Typically they can take months or years.
Stage three – resolving: if a class action is not settled, it will go to a trial where the court considers and determines issues that are common to all claimants (called a stage one trial). Where defendant liability is established, a stage two trial may also be required to determine individual issues.
If the class action is funded by a litigation funder, then typically people who join the class action will not need to pay anything at all to participate.
Litigation funding is where a third party agrees to pay some or all of the costs of the case. This can include the legal fees, expert expenses, and court costs. The litigation funder can also take the risk of adverse costs ie costs that have to be paid to the defendants. In exchange for taking the financial risk of the case, the funder typically takes a portion of any funds recovered.
We are experts in the class action process. We have a track record of achieving meaningful redress for claimants in high-profile class actions. We are committed to providing the highest standard of advocacy and claim management.
