The EU Collective Redress Directive: Collective Consumer Lawsuits Coming to the EU

Patrick Reilly moderated and Teresa Griffin joined a panel presenting “The EU Collective Redress Directive: Collective Consumer Lawsuits Coming to the EU” at the 2022 MedTech Conference.

The European Parliament formally endorsed new legislation for collective actions — Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2020 on Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers and Repealing Directive 2009/22/EC. This Directive required EU member states to enact laws to permit collective consumer lawsuits. The Directive was designed to harmonize enforcement of consumer protection laws, safeguard consumer interests and protect against abusive lawsuits. Qualified entities, including consumer organizations and public bodies, will be enabled to bring representative lawsuits on behalf of consumers against traders for violations of a limited list of 66 EU laws, including general consumer laws, data privacy, energy, financial services, telecommunications, travel and tourism, and environment and health.

The panel presentation analyzed what the EU Collective Redress Directive means for companies doing business in the EU. Patrick, Teresa and colleagues have written a series of updates focusing on the Directive’s implications for entities directly or indirectly doing business in EU nations, to explain what you need to know about the coming changes in the EU. Please scroll down for these Suggested Readings.