The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") recently issued an important ruling in the case of Società Italiana Lastre SpA (SIL) v. Agora SARL (C-537/23). The decision addresses the validity criteria of asymmetric...more
5/5/2025
/ Business Litigation ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies
The European Union's Directive 2024/1069 (the "Directive") aims to protect individuals and organizations engaged in public participation (such as NGOs, journalists and academics) from strategic lawsuits against public...more
4/4/2025
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Damages ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
International Litigation ,
Journalism ,
Journalists ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lis Pendens ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Member State ,
NGOs
Spain is moving forward with transposition of the EU Representative Actions Directive, aiming to unify rules and strengthen consumer protection....more
Dramatic changes to EU product liability rules are expected to drive an increase in litigation....more
12/2/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
Manufacturers ,
New Regulations ,
Product Defects ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Software ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Strict Product Liability
The Situation: The French Supreme Court recently considered whether a limitation of liability clause could be enforced against a third party to a contract claiming compensation for a breach of contract that caused it damage....more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
In Short -
The Situation: The EU Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC ("PLD") was adopted nearly 40 years ago and has remained almost unchanged since its inception....more
11/13/2023
/ Burden of Proof ,
Damages ,
Distributors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Product Defects ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
UK
Class actions have been a feature of the litigation landscape in the USA for decades. Claimant-friendly procedures combined with an aggressive and well-funded plaintiffs’ bar have created fertile ground for these large,...more
10/5/2023
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Breach ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Litigation Funding ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
8/9/2023
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
Opt-In ,
Opt-Outs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Remedies ,
Settlement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Standing
Pursuant to Decree No. 2022-207 dated February 18, 2022, companies receiving discovery demands or requests for information from foreign authorities now must turn to the Strategic Information and Economic Security Department...more
The Background: In 2019, the European Commission and the European Council jointly approved a regulation that will require new safety measures in motor vehicles starting July 2022, including the installation of so-called...more
7/2/2021
/ Automation Systems ,
Automotive Industry ,
Black Box ,
Car Accident ,
Data Collection ,
EU ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safety Standards
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: Belgian class actions are currently available to consumers, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") seeking damages from businesses for violations of a number of EU and Belgian...more
The Situation: After a lukewarm start since their introduction in 2014, class actions in France have gradually seen their field broaden. Still, while the regime of class action is already quite comprehensive in France...more
The Situation: Autonomous cars with incorporated artificial intelligence ("AI") are now a reality whereas French regulations have yet to adjust.
The Issue: The phenomenon of new autonomous cars using AI gives rise to...more
11/27/2018
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Automotive Industry ,
Breach of Warranty ,
Connected Cars ,
Cybersecurity ,
Driverless Cars ,
EU ,
France ,
Manufacturers ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Strict Product Liability
The Situation: The liability regimes for product liability related to driverless cars in various European countries remain far from harmonized, and lawmakers trail behind the faster moving reality.
The Plan: The European...more
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
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
A proposal released by the European Commission for tightening consumer protection regulations in the European Union includes an expansion of both class actions and enforcement powers. The proposal, titled "The New Deal for...more
The Situation: Interest in drone technology continues to grow across Europe....more
10/16/2017
/ Air Traffic Control Systems ,
Airports ,
Civil Aviation Authority (the CAA) ,
Commercial Use ,
Data Protection ,
Drones ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
GPS ,
Italy ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
No-Fly Zones ,
Operator Training ,
Pilots ,
Registration Requirement ,
Safety Precautions ,
UK ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems