Court rejects €400 mil. mass claim against Vattenfall; Blow for the "claims sector"

The Amsterdam court rejected a mass claim filed by small entrepreneurs against Vattenfall on Wednesday. The claim sector was watching this ruling with bated breath and will be disappointed by the rejection.

The case revolves around energy company Nuon, which has been taken over by Vattenfall, possibly charging small businesses too much for their energy for years. Some 5,000 snack bar owners, car wash entrepreneurs, gym owners, and other small business owners filed a mass claim through the Nuon-Claim foundation, specially established for the case in 2020.

According to the claimants, Nuon (now Vattenfall) unjustly charged them for the costs of transporting energy since the company split from grid operator Continuon years ago. They wanted the court to ban that practice and for Vattenfall to compensate their energy bills. The foundation had demanded around 400 million euros.

But the court ruled against them. “The court ruled that Vattenfall was allowed to charge those costs and that Vattenfall did not act unlawfully,” according to a statement released by the District Court of Amsterdam on Wednesday.

In 2020, the Law on the Settlement of Mass Adamage in Collective Action (WAMCA) took effect. The law should make it easier for groups of consumers or small businesses to take action against large companies that have disadvantaged them in some way. But in the over four years since the law took effect, no compensation has been paid out yet.

Opponents of the WAMCA warned that the law could result in an “American claim culture” with reckless claims for damages financed by foreign investors leading to endless legal proceedings. So far, there has been no massive influx in mass claims, with only around 20 to 30 procedures initiated each year, according to NOS.

But investors, from the Netherlands and abroad, did make their appearance. In a third of the cases, it is not the consumers who pay the legal costs, but an investment fund. In exchange for their financing, they receive a percentage of the damages if they win. This case against Vattenfall is financed by the American BehcWalk Advisors.

That is why the claims sector was watching today’s ruling with bated breath.

“Before we go any further, we want to see that this model works,” Rein Philips of litigation financier Readbrest told NOS before the ruling. The investor has three mass claims pending and will soon file another one, with Frisse Wind against Tata Steel. But whether further claims will follow depends on today’s ruling. “We are definitely looking into this case,” Philips said “If there is a positive outcome here, we may open the door again for financing new cases.”