SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Georgios Eleftheriadis, Hellström Law Firm
dictates that a fact or piece of evidence is not pre- sented unless this was done orally (although again ref- erences to previous written submissions are allowed). Given the nature and scope of class actions, these types of proceedings tend to be lengthy. Parties can expect class action cases to last for several years, with additional appellate proceedings being likely. 3.8 Mechanisms for Changes to Length/ Timetable/Disposal of Proceedings The Code of Judicial Procedure allows Swedish courts flexibility with regard to determining the length of proceedings (eg, setting out dates for hearings and for party submissions). Once decided, courts gener- ally do not shorten these timetables ‒ although parties may apply for time extensions. As a rule, Swedish courts are quite generous with granting time exten- sions if the requesting party can provide a reasonable cause for the request. 3.9 Funding and Costs Under Section 30 of the Group Proceedings Act, if an individual claimant has been selected to replace the original claimant and act as class representative, they are entitled to reimbursement for their reasonable legal costs from public funds. This rule may only be invoked by such class representative that has been designated by the court under Section 21 (ie, where the original claimant is deemed inappropriate subse- quent to initiating proceedings and the court therefore at its own discretion designates a class representa- tive) and may not be invoked by the original claimant. Section 31 of the Group Proceedings Act further states that a class representative designated by the court under Section 21 of the Group Proceedings Act is not obligated to pay for the opposing party’s costs (even in the event that the class action is unsuccess- ful), essentially unless they have conducted their case in a negligent manner. Instead, such liability falls on the original claimant. Individual group members are only liable for legal costs in the following circumstances. • The respondent is ordered to pay the claimant’s legal costs or to reimburse the State for such
public funds that were used under Section 30 of the Group Proceedings Act and the respondent is unable to pay. The same applies for additional costs that have arisen as a consequence of a con- tingency fee arrangement and which the respond- ent is not ordered to pay. Each member of the class is only liable for their respective share of the legal costs. • Group members who are not part of the proceed- ings are only liable for legal costs caused by their own negligence. Aside from certain rules that follow from the Swedish Bar Association, which therefore are only applicable to members of the Swedish Bar Association and which limit the use of contingency fees, Swedish law gener- ally has no rules against litigation funding. The Group Proceedings Act includes certain rules regarding such funding agreements, however. • Under Section 38, if the claimant entered into a funding agreement with their legal counsel whereby the compensation to the legal counsel is deter- mined based on the success of the claim (contin- gency fee arrangement), this agreement may only be invoked against the other class members if it is accepted by the court. • A contingency fee agreement may only be accept- ed by the court if it is conscionable with regard to the nature of the case. The agreement must be in written form and must state the way in which it dif- fers from a normal fee system (ie, a reasonable fee under the Code of Judicial Procedure). The agree- ment may not be accepted if the agreement is fully dependent on the value of the matter in dispute. The Act on class actions for the protection of consum- er interests includes further rules on funding, applica- ble only in consumer interest cases. Under Section 23 of the Act on class actions for the protection of consumer interests, in the event that the class action is funded by a third party, then the approved entity is empowered to stipulate – as a condition for the inclu- sion of a class member in the procedure ‒ what por- tion of the amount that the class member is awarded through the proceedings shall accrue to the financier.
295 CHAMBERS.COM
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