Consumer Actions.
Filing of a collective action in front of court.
Collective actions are subject to an opt-in mechanism by the individual consumer.
Under the German Model Declaratory action in the German Code of Civil Proceedings
The Model Declaratory judgment establishes the existence of a legal relationship in the form of a declaration. Once obtained the consumer then asserts a specific claim against the relevant company in a separate lawsuit. Only then can the usual forms of relief be obtained.
Punitive damages are not recoverable
These bodies can bring cross-border actions as long as they are listed in the list provided for in Article 4 (3) Directive 2009/22/EC.
Unclear whether litigation funding is permitted as there are contradictory court rulings on this issue. The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that third party-financed class actions to skim off profits are abusive of the law.
The law is unclear on this issue. It has not yet been finally decided whether advertising is permitted.
Approval of the court is required, and any consumer may withdraw from the settlement within a period of 1 month from the date of the delivery of the proposed settlement.
The judgment is published in the Complaints Registry by order of the court.
The consumer has to bring a separate action against the trader in order to benefit from the German model declaratory action. Only once a judgment is rendered, can enforcement against the trader begin.
The Collective Redress Directive must be implemented in all EU member states by 25 December 2022. To find out more about the current progress of implementation of the Directive in this jurisdiction click here.