| The institution of class action was introduced into the Italian legal system in 2007 as a result of an amendment to the Consumer Code (Codice del consumo). At that time, consumers were allowed to pursue strictly defined claims against entrepreneurs (azione di classe). In 2021, these regulations were replaced by an amendment introduced by Law No. 31/2019 – the new class action procedure was regulated in the Italian Code of Civil Procedure (Codice di procedura civile).
Between 2008 and 2018, only 48 class actions were filed, of which 23 were deemed inadmissible and only 4 were upheld. The unpopularity of class actions was due to the restrictive conditions for admissibility of cases in class action proceedings. The judgment of the Court of Naples of February 2013, ref. no. 2195/2013, issued in a case against a tour operator whose services did not meet the agreed conditions, was significant. In its ruling, the Court of Naples upheld the claims of some of the aggrieved consumers, while dismissing the claims of others on the grounds that they did not satisfy the “identity” requirement. At the same time, the court indicated that the change made in 2012 to the admissibility of class actions, from the requirement of “identity” to the condition of “homogeneity” of the rights asserted, should improve the effectiveness of the class action mechanism in the future. The partial (only) acceptance of consumer claims was also reflected in the judgment of the Court in Turin of March 2014, ref. no. 32770/2011.
Class action proceedings gained more publicity in Italy following the June 2016 ruling by the Venice Court of Appeals to accept for class action brought by consumers against the Volkswagen Group. In the action, consumers demanded payment of damages for Volkswagen Group’s committing unfair market practices by manipulating carbon dioxide emission rates in manufactured cars.
The Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy published on its website information about the filing of six representative actions by the Consumer Movement Association (L’Associazione Movimento Consumatori) in 2023. Five of these actions have been brought against car rental companies and concern the determination of the invalidity of prohibited clauses in contracts with consumers. However, one action was brought against a bank – its subject matter is also the declaration of invalidity of prohibited clauses in contracts with consumers. |
