A GLO allows individuals who have claims (whether issued or not) giving rise to common or related issues of fact or law, to join forces.
This has many advantages such as splitting the costs between the group litigants, increasing the availability of similar evidence and the sharing of knowledge and litigation risk. It is important to note that parties do not have an absolute right to proceed under a GLO and the Court must grant permission to the Applicants to litigate in this manner. Under CPR 19.11, the Court may make a GLO where there are, or are likely to be, a number of claims giving rise to the GLO issues.
An application for a GLO may be made at any time before or after any relevant claims have been issued and may be made either by a claimant or a defendant[6]. If a successful application is made to the court in accordance with CPR Part 23, the Court can manage all claims covered by the order in a coordinated way. Under CPR 19.11, a GLO will establish a group register in which the relevant claims will be entered, specify the GLO issues that will identify the claims to be managed as a group, and specify which court will manage those claims[7]. All judgments, orders and directions of the court will be binding on all claims within the GLO unless ordered otherwise[8].