RPC comments on landmark Lloyd v Google Supreme Court judgment

This morning the UK Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Lloyd v Google. 

Commenting on the judgment, international law firm RPC Partner and Head of IP and Tech David Cran said:

• "The Supreme Court's judgment will be warmly welcomed by data controllers - including the UK tech sector as well as the insurance market - who following the Court of Appeal's judgment, were exposed to very significant potential liability arising from data claims, even if no specific damage was shown to have been suffered by any individual."

• "The Supreme Court's judgment has firmly rejected the basis of this class action and many others that were waiting in the wings: it is likely to have a very significant impact on UK industry across many different sectors that handle customer data, as well as the UK legal market, including claimant firms, litigation funders and ATE insurers."

RPC Data Disputes Partner Rupert Cowper-Coles added:

• "Although the Supreme Court has left the door open for representative actions to proceed in relation to claims for breaches of data protection legislation, the rejection of the concept of "loss of control" damages and the requirement that individuals must prove they have suffered damage means that a representative action is unlikely to be a financially viable option for legal advisers and funders in most cases."