Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer successfully guides client through class action which failed to meet certification criteria

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has successfully represented Roland Europe Group Limited and Roland Corporation (Roland) in the dismissal of an application for a Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) and an award for their costs on the indemnity basis, the fourth time the firm has helped clients avoid the certification of a CPO application.

Elisabetta Sciallis, acting as Proposed Class Representative (PCR), brought an application for a CPO against Roland, a leading manufacturer and distributor of electronic musical instruments, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

The application set out follow-on and standalone claims alleging damage to class members caused by resale price maintenance. The PCR also brought separate CPO applications against other musical instrument manufacturers (Fender, Korg, Yamaha and Casio) on a similar basis.

The PCR did not have a litigation funding agreement in place when the CPO applications were brought and did not subsequently secure one. The Tribunal agreed with HSF Kramer’s arguments for Roland, as well as those of the other manufacturers, that in the absence of adequate funding arrangements the CPO applications should not be permitted to proceed. The PCR subsequently sought permission to withdraw the CPO applications and they were dismissed.

The CAT assessed the vast majority of Roland’s costs of the proceedings on the indemnity basis. In particular, the CAT agreed with Roland’s position that the PCR had acted unreasonably in failing to confirm that its negotiations with a potential funder (which were referred to in the CPO applications) had ceased in 2023. If the PCR had confirmed this promptly, the PCR’s funding issues could have been brought to the CAT’s attention much sooner than 2026, thereby reducing costs.

This is the fourth occasion since 2023 where HSF Kramer has successfully assisted clients in avoiding the certification of a CPO application, acting for Meta (in Gormsen) (certification initially refused but subsequently granted following amendment), Severn Trent (in Roberts) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (in Evans) in the other three cases.

The HSF Kramer team comprised partners Kim Dietzel, Gregg Rowan and Joe Williams, senior associate Ben Phillips and associate Phoebe Clifford. 

Kim Dietzel comments: “We are proud to have supported Roland in these proceedings. The success here, following successes in other cases where certification has been avoided, underlines both our unparalleled experience of the CPO regime and our track record in securing crucial results for clients.”

Further information on the CPO regime can be found in our certification tracker of UK competition class actions. This tracks the CPO applications filed at the CAT, including the certification status of those applications and certain key details about the nature of the claims.