ABSTRACT
In Prismall v Google UK Ltd, the Court of Appeal unanimously determined to strike out a proposed representative action for misuse of private information. In so doing, the Court of Appeal remarked that representative actions of this kind are ‘always going to be very difficult to bring’. Prismall demonstrates that, in the wake of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Lloyd v Google LLC, there are limited options for prospective claimants seeking collective redress in privacy cases. Parts I and II of this note explain the background to the litigation and summarise the reasoning of the High Court and Court of Appeal. Part III argues that the status quo places undue pressure on case management judges and jeopardises justice outcomes. It contends that the introduction of a statutory class action regime, at least for data and privacy cases, is vital. Finally, it considers how best to ‘come at justice’ if statutory change does not occur, exploring potential avenues for prospective claimants in the current legal landscape.
€ (Westlaw)
Aoife Hogan, ‘In the “foothills” or the “backwater”? The future of representative actions in England and Wales: Prismall v Google UK Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 1516′ (2025) 44(2) Civil Justice Quarterly 100-112.
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