Class Actions

As class actions (known here as "representative proceedings") continue to grow in prominence in New Zealand and globally, Russell McVeagh's team is ideally placed to support clients in addressing the strategic and procedural challenges that these proceedings present.  With our unique combination of New Zealand and international experience, we are able both to assist clients in navigating this area of law as it stands and provide insights as to how it may develop in future.

Our partners are recognised class action experts and highly experienced in all aspects of this ever-changing area, including the representative action procedure, litigation funding arrangements and security for costs.  They are also regularly called on to advise industry bodies and other clients on the strategic and legal implications of potential class actions.

We have acted on many of the most significant class actions in New Zealand over recent years, including:

• Credit Suisse in the Feltex litigation, New Zealand’s first securities class action, in which 3,000 investors are seeking $200 million in damages arising out of a 2004 IPO.
• Kiwibank in the class action brought by claimants challenging a range of credit card and deposit account banking fees.
• Acting for a defendant in a class action brought in one of New Zealand's largest residential construction disputes.
• Leading the New Zealand class action investigation into claims against certain manufacturers of combustible cladding products.

Chris Curran has worked on high profile class action litigation, including representing Credit Suisse in the protracted Feltex proceedings. Those proceedings have involved arguments about key aspects of New Zealand's class action legal framework through all levels of the New Zealand court system.  As a trusted advisor in this area, he is often requested to author publications on the topic, including the New Zealand chapter of The International Comparative Legal Guide to Class and Group Actions, which he has co-authored since 2015.

Kirsten Massey joined Russell McVeagh in February 2020 after 15 years at Herbert Smith Freehills in London. During her time in the UK, Kirsten developed extensive experience in this field, including advising Chevron on a £1 billion class action and representing Royal Bank of Scotland in its £4 billion shareholder class action, following the bank's near collapse and government bailout. She also co-authored the leading UK text Class Actions in England and Wales (Sweet and Maxwell).

Polly Pope draws on her wide-ranging commercial disputes experience to manoeuvre her clients through complex representative proceedings. She is currently leading the New Zealand class action product liability claim, alongside IMF Bentham Limited in Australia, against certain manufacturers of combustible cladding products, which potentially affects hundreds of buildings across New Zealand. As a thought leader in this field, she recently co-authored the New Zealand chapter of Class and Group Actions 2020 - New Zealand (Global Legal Group).