November 13, 2006

The French government has passed a bill creating class action procedure in that country; interestingly, they seem to have avoided many (though not all) of the pitfalls in American class action practice. Class actions may be used only for consumer goods linked to a standard contract; damages are capped at 2000 Euros; only government-approved consumer organizations may file suit; contingent attorneys' fees would not be allowed; and compensation would be negotiated individually after a finding of fault. (Rick Mitchell, "French ministers rubber stamp class-action bill", Business Insurance, Nov. 10; AP/LA Times, Nov. 8).

Relatedly, my former O'Melveny colleagues John Beisner and Charles Borden recently wrote a paper for the Institute for Legal Reform titled "On the Road to Litigation Abuse: The Continuing Exportation of U.S. Class Action and Antitrust Law."