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16 - The Emergence and Reform of the New Zealand Class Action

from Part IV - Asia and the South Pacific

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2021

Brian T. Fitzpatrick
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Law
Randall S. Thomas
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Law
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Summary

The civil procedure framework that governs the management of class action litigation in New Zealand is ripe for reform. Although parties can commence class-wide litigation in New Zealand in a number of ways, the most commonly utilised, and non-issue specific way, is by the ‘representative rule’ derived from the United Kingdom and contained in High Court Rule 4.24 (HCR 4.24). Unfortunately, HCR 4.24 contains no further procedural guidance on the management of class-wide litigation than merely providing that a representative plaintiff can sue on behalf of persons with the same interest in the subject matter of a proceeding, either by consent of all plaintiffs represented, or by leave of the court. This failure to provide procedural guidance has put the New Zealand judiciary in a problematic position. On the one hand, there are clear advantages in allowing class-wide litigation.

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The Cambridge Handbook of Class Actions
An International Survey
, pp. 305 - 333
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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