RECOGNITION AND RES JUDICATA OF US CLASS ACTION JUDGMENTS IN EUROPEAN LEGAL SYSTEMS
Andrea Pinna
Abstract
Class actions, which
allow individual plaintiffs to represent a group of others in a similar
situation in a claim against a same defendant, are still a specificity of US
law. Recently, transnational class actions, either against a foreign defendant
or including foreign class members, have become popular. The author addresses
the possibility of bringing such claims involving parties that are residents of
a European country. The United States, traditionally known for the
extraterritorial application of their laws and for easily retaining
jurisdiction of their courts, are trying to coordinate the legal systems
involved by being concerned with the possibility of recognition in a foreign
country of class action judgments. Therefore, the original issue needs to be
addressed of the recognition and the res judicata effect of these judgments in
European countries that do not know similar collective judicial procedures.
