NEW ZEALAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Kate Cornegé and Jessica Phillips, Tompkins Wake
Conclusion Overall, the New Zealand class action regime remains in a phase of relatively rapid evolution. Judicial will- ingness to innovate procedurally, combined with a maturing funding market, means that class actions are now a realistic strategic tool for plaintiffs and a material litigation risk for corporates. Even without a dedicated statute, the system has developed to the point where New Zealand can now be considered a sophisticated and increasingly active jurisdiction for collective redress.
• Follow-on class actions – while New Zealand has seen some examples of follow-on (or “piggyback”) class actions (including the banking class action, discussed above), this type of claim has not (yet) become commonplace, as they have in several overseas jurisdictions. The authors expect this to increase, and organisations facing potential regulatory action or considering their self-reporting obligations should be mindful of the potential for a direct claim by customers, investors or others. For example, the Commerce Commission has indicated that its focus for the 2025/2026 year includes cartels, online sales conduct and motor vehicle sales and finance, all of which may give rise to follow-on class action litigation.
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