The Situation: Negotiators for the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (the "Council") have reached an agreement on new European rules on collective consumer action. The Council has thus published a...more
The Situation: Spain currently has a system that allows the filing of collective actions but it has not been employed frequently to date, and most consumer-related issues are still litigated on an individual...more
The Situation: Under the new Italian framework, class actions will no longer be limited to consumer protection matters, and collective redress may be sought through simplified proceedings.
The Developments: A recently...more
The Situation: In 2018, Germany introduced a model declaratory action giving qualified institutions the right to raise liability claims on behalf of groups of consumers in a representative action. Once the court has issued a...more
The Situation: The Netherlands has a comprehensive system for collective actions and the collective settlement of claims but currently, there is no possibility to seek monetary damages in collective actions.
The...more
The Situation: The European Commission ("Commission") has requested that the European Chemicals Agency ("ECHA") investigate the need for an EU-wide restriction on "intentionally added' micro-plastic particles.
The...more
11/29/2018
/ Chemicals ,
Cosmetics ,
ECHA ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Landfills ,
Manufacturers ,
Member State ,
Nanomaterials ,
Public Consultations ,
Public Health ,
REACH
The Situation: The German Parliament has approved the Act on Model Declaratory Proceedings ("Act"), which introduces, for the first time, class action-style litigation for consumer claims.
The Plan: The Act will give...more
7/5/2018
/ Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Collective Redress ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Germany ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Member State ,
New Legislation ,
Settlement Offer
The Situation: Currently, European law provides only for representative actions to stop or prohibit infringements of EU consumer law, but not for collective redress. As a result, significant differences exist in the...more
6/13/2018
/ Class Action ,
Collective Redress ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cross-Border ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Member State ,
Proposed Legislation
On April 26, 2018, the French administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d'Etat) issued a ruling that annulled Decree 2016-1716 of December 13, 2016 ("2016 Decree") related to the summary of characteristics for medical devices....more
5/24/2018
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Distributors ,
EU ,
France ,
French National Drug and Health Product Agency (ANSM) ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Member State ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sanctions
The Situation: As agreed in the Coalition Contract of the current German government, the Federal Ministry of Justice officially presented the Act on Model Declaratory Proceedings ("Draft Act") on May 9, 2018, after protracted...more
The Situation: The recent EU Commission proposal for a tightening of consumer protection regulations envisages, in one of its pillars, to step up government enforcement of EU consumer rules, including by introducing a...more
The Situation: German law does not provide a means of collective redress for consumer claims. Attempts to introduce a corresponding act in the previous legislative term were made; however, no political agreement was reached...more
The Situation: The French Intellectual Property Office ("IPO") previously refused to adjust the expiration date of a granted supplementary protection certificate ("SPCs") when it had been calculated on the date of grant of...more
On April 27, 2017, the European Medicines Agency ("EMA") held a meeting with the heads of the National Competent Authorities ("NCAs") of the European Union ("EU")/European Economic Area ("EEA") Member States to discuss the...more
5/12/2017
/ Biosimilars ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Medicines Agency (EMA) ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
Member State ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Standards ,
UK Brexit