In the March 2025 column, Sabrina Goodchild considers the judgment in Angel and others v Black Horse and others [2025] EWHC 490 (KB), in which the High Court considered the permissibility of allowing multiple claimants to use a single claim form in the context of motor finance commission claims.
The last few years have marked a shift towards mass consumer claims generated litigation. This shift appears to have coincided with the increased familiarity of claims management companies (CMCs) with consumer protection legislation. In particular, the realisation of the extent of the protection and flexibility afforded by the likes of the unfair relationship provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) and claims under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1277).
With this has come the inevitable satellite litigation on how best to case manage such claims. Possible options include:
- Group litigation orders (CPR 19.21).
- Representative actions (CPR 19.8).
- Collective actions before the Competition Appeals Tribunal (section 47B of the Competition Act 1998).
- Bringing multiple claims on a single claim form (CPR 7.3).
- Requiring the separate issue of individual claims to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Each option, of course, has its drawbacks and advantages, with the qualifying conditions for each differing.
The most recent decision on group litigation procedure is in Angel and others v Black Horse and others [2025] EWHC 490 (KB). This case considered the permissibility of allowing multiple claimants to use a single claim form in the context of motor finance commission claims, the key benefit for claimants (and, in reality, their CMCs), being savings in court fees. In theory, the Civil Procedure Rules permit any number of claimants or defendants, and any number of claims, to be covered in one claim form where such claims can be “conveniently disposed of in the same proceedings” (CPR 7.3).
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