Class action call for Scotland

Changes to the Scottish system are being proposed

People pursuing similar legal claims should be allowed to band together when seeking redress through Scotland's courts, according to a new report.

The Scottish Consumer Council (SCC) said US-style class actions would make it easier for "the Davids of this world to take on the Goliaths".

The council believes that the law is weighted in favour of traders.

Chairman Graeme Millar said that a change to bring Scotland into line with England and Wales was "long overdue".

Civil procedure rules south of the border now provide a mechanism for dealing with litigation involving a large number of claimants.

'Unfair protection'

Mr Millar said: "Our legal system gives consumers rights to seek legal redress for harm they have suffered but denies them the means to do so in cases where the only effective remedy is through a class action.

"It is unacceptable that consumers or others should be given rights that they cannot effectively enjoy.

"The present situation puts a price on justice that ordinary citizens are unlikely to be able to pay. It offers unfair protection to big business and it needs to change.

It is unacceptable that consumers or others should be given rights that they cannot effectively enjoy Graeme Millar Scottish Consumer Council

"We have set out the case for change and will be lobbying to bring that about."

The SCC first proposed that Scotland adopt the class action system in 1982.

Since then a report from the Scottish Law Commission on multi-party actions has also backed the move.

The legal profession in Scotland has developed systems to pursue joint action on behalf of claimants who were involved in disasters such as Lockerbie or Piper Alpha.

Solicitors' groups have been formed to co-ordinate the work in formulating claims but the SCC believes a formal class action system needs to be introduced to make it easier for consumers to seek redress.

Small claims

The council's report said: "Class action enables litigation to be conducted more efficiently and makes a remedy a practical possibility, particularly where large numbers of people have each lost small amounts which it would not be economic to litigate about individually."

It also highlights a case in the early 1990s when the electrical company Hoover failed to honour a marketing promotion to provide free flights.

The report said many thousands of consumers were disappointed but few resorted to the small claims court because the amounts involved were not large and it may not have been worthwhile to do so.

The council believes that if a class action had been available at the time, consumers would have had another means of seeking redress.