German consumers will be able to sue manufacturers and service providers by way of representative action starting on this November — just in time to suspend the statute of limitations for consumer claims based on the exhaust emissions scandal. And this new law won’t be the last step Germany will take towards allowing “consumer class actions” — because it is by no means enough to implement the planned European Union directive on representative actions (2018/089 (COD)).

While large claims are already being aggregated by different law firms and claims vehicles, this new representative action structure may lead to more small claims being filed. Consumers will still need to file individually for damages, because the new representative action will only establish liability, not damages. However, claims vehicles will probably also try to bundle individual damages claims, following the recent trend in antitrust damages claims in Europe.

Originally published in Law360 on August 1, 2018.