Stewarts Group Actions team focuses on high-value, complex disputes in securities, competition, tax, financial product mis-selling (fraud and professional negligence), consumer issues and data privacy. We bring together deep subject matter expertise combined with unrivalled group litigation experience.

Our conflict-free position means we are one of the only UK firms with the necessary subject matter expertise, experience in group actions, and true strength in depth able to act against investment banks, financial institutions and major corporations in group litigation.

Our pioneering position in the market

Stewarts has been a leader in the field of claimant group litigation over the last decade, having conceived and litigated six cases listed in The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases and Top 10 appeals, including:

• 2016 – Asda, Argos and Morrisons & Ors v Mastercard & Ors ([2018] EWCA Civ 1536)
• 2017 – The ‘RBS Rights Issue Litigation’
• 2018 – The ‘Ingenious Litigation’ (Nigel Rowe & Others v Ingenious Media Holdings plc & Others)
• 2020 – Omers Administration Corporation & Ors v Tesco Plc
• 2020 (Top 10 Appeal) – Asda, Argos and Morrisons & Ors v Mastercard & Ors
• 2021 – David McClean & Ors v Andrew Thornhill KC
• 2022 – The ‘Ingenious Litigation’ (listed a second time) (Nigel Rowe & Others v Ingenious Media Holdings plc & Others)
• 2023 (Top 10 Appeal) – David McClean & Ors v Andrew Thornhill KC

We are a leader in the field of s90 and s90A Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) securities claims. We led the first s90 FSMA securities claim in the United Kingdom, commencing and leading to its conclusion the RBS Rights Issue Litigation, in which we represented 313 institutions and acted as lead solicitor in the group litigation order. The team subsequently brought the s90A FMSA Omers Administration Corporation & Ors v Tesco Plc claim for 58 institutions and the Allianz & Ors v Tesco claim for 64 institutions.

We are also the only law firm to successfully act for a group of claimants at trial (and on subsequent appeals) in a competition damages context: the high-profile and long-running interchange fee litigation issued by 12 major UK retailers (including Morrisons, Asda, Argos) against Mastercard.

We conceived and led the highly complex ‘Ingenious Litigation’ representing more than 350 high net worth individuals in multi-dimensional fraud, misrepresentation and professional negligence claims against numerous financial institutions, including HSBC, UBS, Coutts, Ingenious and its well-known founder, Patrick McKenna. The case ran for nearly a decade, concluding with a confidential settlement immediately before the six-month trial began.

Our cases

Cases in which we are currently instructed include:

• Acting before the Court of Appeal in McClean v Thornhill, which is set to become a leading authority on the scope of duty of barristers.
• Acting for multiple financial institutions in s90 FMSA claims against Glencore relating to the revelations arising from its bribery and corruption scandal on an unprecedented scale.
• Acting for a large group of claimants in the ‘Eclipse Litigation’, a group action against HSBC due to go to trial in January 2024.

Costs and funding

Stewarts has unrivalled experience in creating innovative funding and indemnity options, which enable claimants to pursue group actions while managing the risks involved in such large-scale litigation. This includes the recently launched Stewarts Litigate after-the-event insurance (ATE) facility. As a result, our clients are able to litigate from a position of strength and confidence.