Commercial Court: Sharp fall-off from strong 2023
The number of new claims issued in the Commercial Court last year fell to the lowest figure in over a decade, new research has revealed.
It also highlighted the “dampening” impact of the Supreme Court’s 2023 PACCAR decision, leading to a decline in new group actions.
Litigation intelligence company Solomonic’s review of 2024 showed that, at 470, the number of new claims issued in the Commercial Court last year was a 37% reduction on the year before – albeit that 2023 was one of the busiest years, driven in part by an influx of aircraft leasing and business interruption Covid-19 claims.
Between 2014 and 2023, the number of new claims ranged from a high of 776 in 2014 to the previous low of 556 in 2022.
Solomonic said the volume of claims declined through 2024 to 105 in the last quarter, the lowest quarterly figure recorded in the past decade.
“This drop-off raises questions about underlying factors influencing the market for the UK’s premier first instance commercial court,” it said.
At 137, new group actions declined by 23% compared to the average for the last three years. “The dampening effect of the PACCAR decision (July 2023) and a slowdown in resolution [to the problem it caused] means capital and appetite for new risk has been more limited,” Solomonic said.
“That said, it does appear to be stabilising. However, challenges in securing litigation are likely to continue until we see some cases reach a conclusion. Reports of the lower-than-expected Merricks Mastercard settlement will have put the cat amongst the pigeons.”
At the same time, October’s Court of Appeal decision on motor finance commission payments “has the potential to open a whole new raft of claims later this year”, subject to the upcoming Supreme Court appeal.
The analysis showed a slowdown in resolving group actions – more than 500 cases are currently active, an all-time high, nearly twice as many when compared to 2020.
“We also know, thanks to media reports, that there are more significant cases on the horizon, particularly in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.”
Winding-up petitions, “regarded as a bellwether for economic health”, appeared to stabilise for much of 2024 after an earlier upward trend, only for a surge in in the last quarter of 2024, with 206 filed in the week of 16 December alone.
“It is bad news for the economy as the anticipated plateau has yet to materialise with volumes the highest they have been since the start of 2021,” Solomonic said.
The company has also recently launched a dataset of 20,000 serious injury cases, which showed that Hugh James is the claimant firm behind more claims than any other, at more than 2,800 claims, primarily focused on accident at work cases against the Ministry of Defence. It was behind 92% of cases issued against the ministry in that period.
The MoD agreed to settle liability in thousands of military hearing loss claims following a landmark agreement in July 2024. The data suggests 209 claims are still ongoing.
Irwin Mitchell followed with more than 1,000 claims, over 500 of which are related to road traffic accidents and 183 workplace accidents. Slater & Gordon, Thompsons and Leigh Day “remain active as prominent injury claimant firms”.
Keoghs was the most active defendant practice, handling over 1,100 claims filed since 2020, followed closely by DWF. “Cross-court heavyweight firms Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, and Kennedys also demonstrate strong performance in the personal injury space,” Solomonic said.
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