Business Daily Why are more people suing businesses?
Mar 10, 2026
Steve Berman, a leading US class action lawyer known for high-profile consumer settlements. Seema Kennedy, former UK minister and reform advocate focused on litigation rules. They discuss the global rise of collective claims, the spread of opt-out systems to Europe, tech and data-privacy suits, worries about fees and who benefits, and proposals for alternative dispute routes.
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Class Actions Scale Far Beyond Individual Lawsuits
- Class actions bundle many similar claims so one ruling applies to large groups rather than individual trials.
- CMS figures showed over 700 million UK consumers and businesses were involved in class actions filed in one year, driven largely by big tech cases.
Brown v Board As An Early Powerful Class Action
- Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark class action that desegregated US public schools.
- Brian Fitzpatrick and Cheryl Brown Henderson recount Oliver Brown suing on behalf of other black parents in Topeka, leading to a constitutional ruling in 1954.
1966 Rule Change Turned Class Actions Commercial
- A 1966 rule change allowed class actions to seek monetary damages, vastly expanding commercial litigation.
- That tweak plus opt-out mechanisms opened the floodgates to profit-driven large-scale suits, especially in the US.