Rise of class actions: more and more settlements and compensation
Class actions are becoming more and more effective in reaching settlements and compensation, thanks to new legislation and the expansion of protection cases.
5' min read
Key points
5' min read
The number and effectiveness of class actions initiated is growing after the reform passed in 2019 and entering into force on 19 May 2021 superseded the previous class action (little used) and made it a general protection tool, expanding the number of plaintiffs and the scope of action. In 2023, with the transposition of the EU directive 2020/1828, representative actions were then introduced, which can be national or cross-border (i.e. initiated in Italy by subjects from other EU states and vice versa).
Today, 76 actions are registered in the telematics platform of the Ministry of Justice, but the ongoing proceedings are actually more, because the injunctive class actions (which aim at stopping the wrongdoing, not at compensation for damages) are often not published online and therefore are largely unaccounted for. Injunctive actions, on the other hand, are all there.
Many cases have already been closed because the parties have reached an agreement and the proceedings have been terminated. In others, the decision on admissibility and, for some actions for injunctions, thefinal judgment has been reached.
Performance and competence
.The actions registered in the ministerial platform increased from ten in 2021-2022 to 19 in 2023, to 38 in 2024. "Underlying the growth is the possibility given by Law 31 to file class actions not only on consumer matters but on all subjects. The influx started in 2023-2024 and has been substantial,' explains Angelo Mambriani, president of section B of the Milan Business Court. Among other novelties, Law 31/2019 also assigned jurisdiction over class actions to the specialised business sections dealing with corporate law, competition, copyright and trademarks. 'In Milan,' Mambriani continues, 'we have 42 proceedings on matters such as the advertising of electronic cigarettes or the contracts of riders, which are completely outside our competence. The additional workload is heavy and the number of staff has remained unchanged'.
After Milan, it is the Company Court of Turin that is the most popular: 'Last year, several appeals were filed,' says the president, Silvia Vitrò, 'but we are far from the success of the American class action. Many actions filed in Turin are representative: 'It is mandatory to use the Consumer Code tool,' continues Vitrò, 'when appeals concern consumer matters and then it works a little better than class action. For example, with the same appeal you can file both an application for injunction and for compensation'. Having two instruments, class action and representative action, 'creates some complications,' reasons Vitrò, 'especially when, for the same fact, they can be used alternatively: it would be better to have only one way.
