Judgment was handed down on Wednesday by Mrs Justice Cockerill, sitting with Senior Costs Judge Rowley, in Various Claimants v Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Others & Ors [2025] EWHC 2307 (KB), following the second costs management hearing in the Pan-NOx group litigation taking place over two days in July. According to the claimants, the litigation involves over 1.8 million claimants. It is believed to be the largest ever collective action brought in England and Wales.
As with the first Pan-NOx costs management judgment (available here), the Court made swingeing reductions to the Claimants’ costs budgets, from a total of £50 million (excluding phases which the Court determined not to budget) to £22 million. The Court treated the budgets allowed for tranches 1 and 2 of the litigation as “an obvious starting point” when setting the budgets for tranche 3. The judgment is available here.
Jamie Carpenter KC and Imran Benson appeared for Mercedes, instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
Stephen Bailey appeared for Renault, instructed by Signature Litigation.
