DWF has a core team for class action representation that has an extensive record of advising and successfully acting for defendant corporations and/or their insurers in some of the most high profile class actions to date, both pre-action and through the High Courts, often concerning hundreds of thousands or potential and actual claimants. We have specialist expertise in advising clients in the areas where class actions are most likely, including; ESG; data and cyber breaches; content and product liability, and; personal injury.

Our dispute resolution capabilities are strategically aligned to the exacting requirements and challenges that these claims often bring. We are unique in being able to manage the entire class action process globally, from early resolution to successfully defending claims to the Supreme Court. Led by our team of litigators and supported by Business Services and Legal Operations we are able to deliver efficiencies, automation and scale to significant advantage in managing the volume claims process and provision of legal services, delivering exceptional results.

A number of factors are contributing to a rise in class action activity, particularly across Europe:

An increasingly challenging economic climate is causing an increase in litigation
Improvements in technology and better access to funding means that group actions have become more attractive to claimants.
In the UK, there has been a significant increase in "class action specialist" law firms, some of which have the benefit of overseas investment to promote and advertise claims about which potential claimants might otherwise have been unaware. These specialist firms also have the resources to pursue claims for large volumes of claimants.
Class action activity is increasing in Europe as opt-out mechanisms become more widely available. EU member states are implementing the EU’s Representative Action Directive, a legal framework for consumer representative actions, by the end of 2022.
ESG and its associated compliance requirements is driving a growing number of class action cases as investors, consumers, and employees are increasingly looking beyond bottom-lines and assessing what businesses are doing to address climate change, tackle human rights abuse and improve diversity.

We have advised on some of the biggest cases, in multiple jurisdictions and across multiple sectors.

Case studies

How we have supported our clients

British Airways

British Airways

DWF are instructed on behalf of British Airways Plc in respect of a well-publicised cyber-attack and data theft concerning its website and mobile application which BA announced in September 2018, and which potentially affected several hundreds of thousands of individuals.

Specifically, we continue to represent BA in respect of the defence of all civil litigation arising from the cyber-attack in the English courts. This culminated in a Group Litigation Order in the specialist Media and Communications list at the High Court in London in which a significant volume of claimants from multiple jurisdictions were seeking damages for alleged loss suffered as a result of the cyber-attack. The claim was the first data Class Action brought under GDPR and concerned many untested legal and procedural issues. The long-running Class Action, which involved all three of DWF's integrated legal and business services, was settled in summer 2021 without admission of liability. DWF continue to advise BA in respect of related matters.
Grenfell Tower litigation

Grenfell Tower litigation

DWF are instructed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the defence of civil claims arising from the tragedy on 14 June 2017. Over 1,000 claimants, comprising members of the community and emergency responders, have brought claims for personal injury, loss and damage against 23 defendants. Proceedings have been issued in the high court, but in parallel, a number of the claimants have entered into an ADR process with a number of defendants. This process is mediated by Lord Neuberger and Bill Marsh. The matter is ongoing.
WM Morrisons Supermarkets

WM Morrisons Supermarkets

DWF achieved a victory for WM Morrisons Supermarkets in a UK Supreme Court appeal relating to a class action brought by over 9,000 of the retailer’s employees. It was the first mass data breach claim of its kind before the Courts. The claim for direct fault-based liability was successfully defended at the original trial however, Morrisons was found liable for no-fault vicarious liability as employer. In Morrisons' successful appeal, the Supreme Court clarified how the law of vicarious liability should be applied and in so doing reversed the High Court and Court of Appeal decisions against Morrisons.