Overview
- The Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed lenders’ appeals on June 30 and confirmed Mr Justice Ritchie’s case management approach allowing multi-claimant or omnibus claim forms to proceed.
- The judgment remitted the litigation to Birmingham County Court for further directions and endorsed lead-case trials and generic pleadings under Civil Procedure Rule 7.3.
- Judges said individual claims are modest, often about £1,000 each, and that separate trials for 5,000-plus cases would be disproportionate in cost and risk leaving many claimants unable to pursue claims.
- Barings Law has launched a 'My Free PCP Claim' model that promises successful clients 100% of damages and limits the firm’s fees to amounts recovered from losing defendants.
- The ruling raises immediate questions about court capacity, disclosure and rule 7.3 oversight and arrives while the FCA’s industry redress scheme is delayed and facing legal challenges, so motorists may now choose litigation or the regulator’s plan.