Branda Katan and Cas Michiels contributed to Handbook on Mass Damage

The Handbook on Mass Damage (Handboek Massaschade) provides the first comprehensive overview of Dutch mass damage law, written by renowned and experienced academics and practitioners. Its emphasis is on the Act on the Settlement of Mass Damage Claims in Collective Action (WAMCA). In mass damage litigation, lawyers typically represent either claimants or defendants exclusively. That is why ‘pairs’ of authors from each side have been invited to write certain chapters together.

The three editors of the handbook, including our partner Branda Katan, have asked authors to explain, for each theme or doctrine, the status of the law, the various choices made in the legislative process, the interpretations by the courts, and the legal questions that as yet remain unanswered. The contributions to this book attempt to shed light on the ambiguities in the WAMCA and, where possible, to formulate answers. 

Chapter 4, titled ‘Third-party funding of collective damage claims’, was written by our senior associate Cas Michiels together with Cezanne Philips-Santman, the general counsel of Dutch litigation funder Redbreast. Since the entry into force of the WAMCA, dozens of collective actions for damages have been brought with third-party funding support. In the absence of guidance by the Supreme Court, lower courts have assessed in various ways whether the funding at hand meets the legal requirements. The authors discuss, among other things, the degree of transparency that plaintiffs must exercise regarding their funding arrangements, the requirements of sufficient control over the action and sufficient resources, and the remuneration for the funder.

The handbook is in Dutch and can be purchased via the website of publisher Wolters Kluwer: https://shop.wolterskluwer.nl/Handboek-Massaschade-sNPHBMASSA/#pdp-editors-authors