Consumer Lens - Session 1 | The Rise of European Class Actions

Understanding the evolving landscape

European class actions are accelerating at a pace not previously seen across the region, driven by regulatory change, increased consumer activism, and the continued growth of litigation funding.

For in-house legal teams in the consumer sector, this trend is increasing exposure to claims across key risk areas, including product safety, ESG, data breaches, employment, advertising, and supply chain practices.

In this session, our cross-border disputes specialists explored the latest developments shaping collective redress in Europe, the practical implications for consumer-facing businesses, and how legal teams can proactively prepare, drawing on lessons from the US market.

The discussion also considered emerging risk patterns, strategic defense considerations, and the steps organizations can take now to strengthen resilience in the face of rising group litigation.

Key takeaways

Key insights from the session included:

• collective action risk is rising globally, with increasing levels of activity across European markets
• France’s 2025 reform marks a step change, introducing a single, streamlined regime that broadens standing and damages and makes it easier to pursue collective claims
• the Netherlands is emerging as a key hub for class actions, driven by its opt out regime and its attractiveness for complex GDPR and ESG claims
• US class action trends highlight concentrated areas of risk, particularly across data privacy, cybersecurity, ESG, product safety and antitrust, providing a clear reference point for European businesses
• traditional risk controls are no longer sufficient, with businesses needing to take a more proactive and strategic approach to managing exposure

About the Consumer Lens series

This session marked the first in our Consumer Lens webinar series, which explores the key legal, regulatory and risk issues impacting consumer sector businesses globally.

Further sessions in the series will continue to provide practical insight into emerging risks and developments, with details of upcoming webinars to be shared shortly.

If you would like to receive a copy of the webinar recording, please contact consumer@eversheds-sutherland.com.