What is a Multi-Party or Group Action?
In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number and range of multi-party litigation in Ireland. Topical examples include claims relating to army deafness, contaminated blood products, and tobacco-related illnesses.
Instructing a solicitor to take action as an individual against a large business can be daunting, and it is not without serious financial risk. However, if a number of potential litigants band together, sharing evidence and financial risk to form a group represented by just one firm of solicitors, and take legal action as a group, then the outcome can be more satisfactory than taking individual action and is likely to be settled at an early stage with an offer of payment of damages.
This type of legal action has a number of different names including ‘class action, ‘multi-party action’, ‘representative action’, or ‘group litigation’
The ‘Test Case’
In Ireland, the preferred approach to multi-party actions is the ‘test case’. Where several separate claims arising out of the same circumstances are pending against a defendant or defendants, the first case to be litigated becomes the benchmark by which the remaining cases are resolved, this is referred to as the ‘test case’.
The ‘test case’ is representative and allows a judge to hear the case of a single claimant which is effectively a generic case representing all of the other potential claimants in the same class. The effect of this is to save the courts considerable time as a Judge does not have to hear scores of individual cases.
To be valid as a class action or a multiparty action the claimants must take legal action together based on the same or a similar event causing similar injuries against the same potential defendant.
Our Proven
Track Record
At Coleman Legal our team have a great deal of experience with rights based cases, including some of Ireland’s more recent topical multi-party actions, such as: We are currently representing clients in relation to
Our Proven
Track Record
At Coleman Legal our team have a great deal of experience with rights based cases, including some of Ireland’s more recent topical multi-party actions, such as: We are currently representing clients in relation to
Our areas of work include
Multi-Party actions arise as a result of a wide variety of circumstances including, but not limited to:
- Transport accidents involving trains, airplanes, buses, ferries, and cruise liners
- Incidents of food poisoning and legionnaires disease
- Institutional child abuse
- Institutional elder abuse
- Defective consumer products
- Defective bio-medical devices
- Work-related injuries due to toxic chemical exposure
- Defective pharmaceutical products
- Financial Mis-selling
- Environmental accidents including oil spills, water pollution, and atmospheric pollution
- Inadequate personal services including health care and incompetent surgeons
- Travel and package holiday misrepresentation and personal injury
- Occupational injuries affecting a sector of employees
- Fraud in the financial services sector including pensions, mortgages, insurance, and investments
Our Multi-Party Action Team
Our highly experienced team of Multi-Party Action Solicitors in Dublin and Nationwide has assisted many clients in recovering maximum damages and we believe in putting the needs of our clients first. We are committed to obtaining the best possible outcome for you and take pleasure in our sensitive approach.
Our friendly and experienced team is waiting to take your call. Line available from 9 a.m to 5:30 p.m
84 Talbot Street, Dublin 1
Free Phone - (1800) 844 104
info@colemanlegal.ie
Coleman Legal South, Co. Kerry
(+353) 86 0599872
keith@colemanlegal.ie
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