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07 December 2022
Issue: 8006 / Categories: Legal News , Collective action , Competition
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Mastercard loses latest appeal against opt-out class action

Mastercard has lost its latest appeal against the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) decision to certify an ‘opt-out’ class action.

The Court of Appeal’s unanimous dismissal means about three million people who died between September 2016 when the claim was filed and August 2021 when the CAT certified the claim will be succeeded by representatives of their estate. Individuals who have died since August 2021 will also be succeeded, but this was not an issue in the appeal.

The pioneering billion-pound class action is being brought by personal finance campaigner Walter Merricks over multilateral interchange fees charged by Mastercard.

Boris Bronfentrinker, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, representing Merricks, said the judgment in Mastercard v Merricks [2022] EWCA Civ 1568 ‘finally brings to an end the battle to get the collective proceedings certified, a battle that started over six years ago. The scope of the class represented by Mr Merricks is now settled’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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