Mass Tort brief
Emissions Appeals Blocked as City Supply-Chain Trials Open
London courts test corporate liability boundaries across Pan-NOx emissions, Mariana dam retainers, and bullion supply chains.
Mass Tort
The High Court blocked an appeal in the 1.6 million-motorist Dieselgate case — leaving claimants dependent on the Court of Appeal to keep claims alive.
BackgroundThe Pan-NOx emissions Group Litigation Order represents one of the largest group actions in English legal history, uniting 1.6 million vehicle owners suing automakers including Mercedes-Benz, Ford, and Stellantis. In July, the High Court found unlawful defeat devices in only three out of 20 sample vehicle models.
- Lady Justice Cockerill dismissed claimant bids to introduce fresh evidence or amend pleadings, ordering claimants to pay automaker costs on an indemnity basis.
- Lead litigation firm Leigh Day confirmed it will file an application directly with the Court of Appeal to contest the sample vehicle ruling.
- Automotive manufacturers welcomed the ruling, which reduces balance-sheet litigation provisions for claims across the UK market and weakens group leverage.
Mass Tort
A dispute over who controls the £36B Mariana dam litigation broke out in the High Court — threatening trial preparations against BHP.
BackgroundThe 2015 Fundão tailings dam collapse in Mariana, Brazil, killed 19 people and washed toxic mining waste down the Doce River. Over 400,000 victims brought group litigation in London against Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP, winning a liability ruling that set up a Stage Two damages trial.
- A 12-member claimant committee petitioned the court to transfer legal management to rival US-backed firm Bailey Glasser International, citing governance concerns.
- PGMBM warned that switching representation months before trial threatens to derail proceedings and expose claimants to £2B in adverse legal costs.
- Pogust Goodhead removed its founders' names from its firm masthead, reflecting deepening internal fractures over the management of the multibillion-pound dispute.
Mass Tort
The Law Commission is overhauling product liability rules — bringing autonomous software, AI, and online marketplaces under strict statutory injury liability.
BackgroundThe UK's product liability framework was drafted during the 1980s around tangible physical consumer goods, requiring injured claimants to prove a manufacturing defect caused their injury. Modern digital technologies and algorithm-driven services have created evidentiary barriers that leave injured users without redress.
- The proposals extend strict statutory liability beyond physical goods to encompass autonomous AI agents, cloud updates, and software code across consumer applications.
- Claimants facing exceptional technical complexity will benefit from a rebuttable presumption of defect, shifting the burden of proof directly to tech manufacturers.
- Online marketplaces and fulfilment centres will face statutory liability for defective goods supplied by unidentifiable overseas third parties, closing an importer liability loophole.
Mass Tort
The High Court established a trial roadmap for 7,000 UK talc claimants — ensuring Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue face London trial exposure regardless of US deals.
BackgroundOver 7,000 UK claimants allege that long-term use of Johnson's Baby Powder contaminated with trace asbestos caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Johnson & Johnson spun off its consumer healthcare arm as Kenvue, seeking to ringfence mass-tort liabilities while proposing settlements in US courts.
- Mrs Justice Hill directed that a Stage 1 preliminary issues trial will resolve whether talc sold in Britain was contaminated before assessing corporate liability.
- Claimant firm KP Law emphasised that American settlement proposals do not extinguish UK claims, leaving Kenvue exposed to London damages awards.
- The High Court deadline creates a narrow window for UK cancer patients to join the collective action ahead of preparatory hearings in 2027.
Mass Tort
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