The Dutch Act on the Resolution of Mass Damage in Collective Action or "WAMCA" has been in force for four years. Since 1 January 2020, this law has made it possible to claim damages on an opt-out basis in the Netherlands. This new, third quantitative analysis compares developments regarding the WAMCA in 2023 with those in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
At the beginning of 2023, we anticipated more WAMCA lawsuits due to privacy violations, personal injury cases, and issues related to "ESG" (primarily climate). We also expected an increase in securities litigation, especially for private investors. Based on our third quantitative analysis, we can now confirm that indeed a steep increase occurred in privacy related WAMCA cases in 2023. However, no securities related WAMCA cases were filed in 2023 and only one ESG related case and only one personal injury case.
Authored by Deminor General Counsel Netherlands , Joeri Klein, Finch Dispute Resolution Partner, Koen Rutten and with assistance from Caspar Vermande.
Please click here to download the Whitepaper.
1. Introduction
Since the entry into force of the WAMCA on 1 January 2020, the Netherlands has a single regime for bringing collective damages claims. Associations or foundations (representative organisations) can, under the WAMCA, represent the interests of certain groups of (legal) persons or a (certain) public interest as set out in their articles of association. In cases of mass damages, litigation can be conducted for compensation, but it is also still possible to only
request a declaratory judgement from the courts.
The following questions are addressed in the 2023 analysis:
- Have more class actions been initiated in 2023 compared to 2020, 2021, and 2022 or has there been a decrease?
- What is the average processing time between the initiation of WAMCA proceedings and a decision on the admissibility of the plaintiff(s) and the designation of the exclusive representative/lead plaintiff?
- What is the overall average processing time of proceedings under the WAMCA?
- In how many cases have the appellate courts ruled in WAMCA proceedings?
- How often are WAMCA proceedings seeking damages and what are the amounts claimed?
- How many claims have been admitted or rejected under WAMCA to date?
- For what types of cases were WAMCA proceedings initiated in 2023 and what types of defendants were involved? Is this in line with 2020, 2021, and 2022 or is there a shift?
- How many WAMCA proceedings are funded externally? Does litigation funding result in a spur in class actions under the WAMCA?
- What can be expected from the WAMCA in 2024?
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Please click here to download the Whitepaper.
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