|  | | 2004 News and Press Releases | | |
HEADLINE NEWS:
Class Actions; Dutch Businesses Push To Allow The Broad Settlements Their U.S. Counterparts Disdain
Michael Bobelian
Broward Daily Business Review. December 30, 2004
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EXCERPT: The Dutch parliament is set to change the way class action lawsuits are litigated. The first such step in Europe, it will move the Netherlands toward the American system by expanding the scope of class actions. Businesses operating in the Netherlands have pushed for the legislation, saying it would ease the cumbersome settlement process currently in place. This is in sharp contrast to their U.S. counterparts, which have lobbied to narrow the scope of class actions. Experts say the legal change in the Netherlands is part of a broader European shift toward a litigation model resembling that of the United States. These changes include a growing plaintiff bar and increased desire by Europeans who think they have been injured by businesses to partake in class actions. The biggest change under the new Dutch law will be a broadened scope of settlements. "We don't have a lead plaintiff and class certification," said Daan Lunsingh Scheurleer, a lawyer in the Amsterdam office of NautaDutilh. His firm has 500 lawyers worldwide with offices across Europe and in New York. Instead of a lead plaintiff, an association or entity acts as a representative of the class, Scheurleer said by telephone from the Netherlands. The problem with the existing system is that the parties can only enter into a declaration whereby the defendant admits wrongdoing, he said. The settlement is not binding on class members, forcing the defendant to litigate or arrange for settlements with all the affected members of the class. This can be burdensome and costly. The proposed law, called the Act on the Collective Statement of Mass Claims, would correct this handicap. |
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