Consumer Law - Caytons

John is the Founder and Senior Partner of Caytons, having previously been Senior Partner at another litigation practice. He has been qualified as a solicitor for 31 years. He has specialised in dispute resolution his entire career.

John has acted in numerous high value disputes and has extensive experience in the High Court and Arbitration. He managed the implementation and initial use of one of the first internet-based document management systems for a legal practice in the United Kingdon.

He has successfully advised clients on and assisted in the defence of complaints to the financial, insurance and legal ombudsman including a recent matter where the client not only succeeded but recovered all the costs of responding to and defending various unsubstantiated allegations.

John also has acted in several cases referred to the UK Court of Appeal and a case referred to the French Court of Appeal and the French Supreme Court where the client was completely vindicated.

Whilst John is Senior Partner, he continues to be actively involved on a day-to-day basis in managing many of the firms large complicated dispute resolution and compliance matters.

Peter a consultant solicitor with Caytons has over 20 years’ experience in consumer law. He also specialises in insurance law (particularly professional indemnity insurance matters) which has a substantial cross over into group litigation on consumer law issues.

He is able to:

Provide advice and defence of cases for businesses facing the threat of regulatory action in relation to consumer law and in particular:

Action taken or threatened by the Consumer and Markets Authority (“CMA”) under part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002.

Defending claims for infringements of consumer law in alleged unfair commercial practices and unfair contract terms claims.

He will in due course act in claims arising against businesses arising out of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill which was passed as a bill on 23 May 2024 including enforcement activity undertaken by the CMA and thereafter litigation arising through the Courts.

Peter has experience of:

High Court and Appellate litigation (as detailed in his notable cases below) including the Supreme Court.

Defence of businesses involved in Group Litigation.

He has the ability to manage large disclosure exercises using appropriate litigation support software and including the ability to respond to regulatory enforcement orders.

Notable Consumer and Group Action Cases

Morris and ors v Williams & Co [2024] EWCA Civ 376: Group action by some 134 investors in Northern Powerhouse Developments, a failed hotel room investment scheme, for professional negligence against its solicitors alleging failure to warn that the scheme was an unlawful Collective Investment Scheme under FSMA. An appeal in that litigation is now the leading authority on whether a group action can be commenced by a single claim form under CPR7.3 following the Court of Appeal’s decision dated 18 April 2024 [link]. This case has an impact on the management of any group action and a number of first instance decisions on the meaning of “convenience” in rule 7.3 CPR are likely to follow in its wake. Peter has acted for a number of solicitors who are facing claims by disappointed investors in buyer funded developments located in cities around the UK (including hotel room schemes, Purpose Built Student Accommodation and Residential Schemes)

R (Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd) v Financial Ombudsman Service, Charlton and the Financial Conduct Authority [2019 Bus LR 437] Acted on behalf of SIPP administrator in judicial review claim against FOS decision in relation to the Ombudsman’s right to impose duties on the basis of the FCA’s general Principles for Business and associated group litigation claim brought in the High Court by disappointed investors alleging mis selling of financial products against Berkeley Burke.

R (Kingston upon Hull City Council) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Newcastle City Council and Greggs plc (High Court, Admin, 2016): acted for Greggs plc, an interested party, in a judicial review of the endorsement by BIS’ Better Regulation Delivery Office (‘BRDO’) of advice given under the Primary Authority Scheme to Greggs plc, concerning provision of washroom room facilities in its outlets.

Makdessi v Cavendish Square Holdings BV; Beavis v ParkingEye Ltd [2016] AC 1172; [2015] 3 WLR 1373 acted for the conjoined parking company in appeal to the Supreme Court (after acting in the Court of Appeal) concerning an £85 parking charge; the case is now the leading decision on penalty clauses, re-examining the scope of the common law doctrine and the approach to challenges to unfair terms in consumer contracts. Commentators on the decision have noted that “these cases provide some welcome clarification to the law in this area”, and that “it seems that where parties have negotiated a contract, on a level playing field and with the assistance of professional advisors, it will now be much harder for the party paying liquidated damages to challenge the validity of those provisions on the basis that they are a penalty.”

Investigation into a client by the CMA

CMA Investigation into a construction company which was alleged by the CMA to be part of a cartel involved in price rigging in the office fit out market. Investigation was discontinued against Peter’s client.

Associations

Peter has worked closely with Gough Square Chambers over a number of years (Gough Square Chambers: #1 in consumer law & consumer finance) in particular Jonathan Kirk KC who is a leading practitioner in consumer law, financial mis selling and group litigation.

He is also a contributing editor in Consumer and Trading Standards: Law And Practice (the ‘Pink Book’) (https://goughsq.co.uk/book/the-pink-book/) published by Lexis Nexis.

Elise a solicitor at Caytons has experience in consumer law and also specialises in insurance law (particularly professional indemnity insurance matters) which has a substantial cross over into consumer law issues.

She is able to:

Provide advice and defence of cases for businesses facing the threat of regulatory action in relation to consumer law and in particular:
Action taken or threatened by the Consumer and Markets Authority (“CMA”) under part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002
Defending claims for breaches of consumer law in alleged unfair commercial practices and unfair contract terms claims.
Defending claims for breaches of fiduciary duties and fraud.
She will in due course act in claims arising against businesses arising out of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill which was passed as a bill on 23 May 2024 including enforcement activity undertaken by the CMA and thereafter litigation arising through the Courts.

Elise has experience of:

High Court and Appellate litigation (as detailed in her notable cases below).
Defence of businesses involved in Group Litigation.
Defence of businesses involved in regulatory actions.
She has the ability to manage large disclosure exercises using appropriate litigation support software and including the ability to respond to regulatory enforcement orders.

Notable Consumer and Group Action Cases

Morris and ors v Williams & Co: Group action by some 134 investors in Northern Powerhouse developments, a failed hotel room investment scheme, for professional negligence against its solicitors alleging failure to warn that the scheme was an unlawful Collective Investment Scheme under FSMA. An appeal in that litigation is now the leading authority on whether a group action can be commenced by a single claim form under CPR7.3 following the Court of Appeal’s decision dated 18 April 2024 [link]. This case has an impact on the management of any group action and a number of first instance decisions on the meaning of “convenience” in rile 7.3 CPR are likely to follow in its wake. Elise assisted heavily in the in-depth process of reviewing and identifying key documents within the Claimants’ files.

Elise has acted for a number of solicitors who are facing claims by disappointed investors in buyer funded developments located in cities around the UK (including hotel room schemes, Purpose Built Student Accommodation and Residential Schemes). Numerous group litigation matters have progressed in court litigation and Elise has managed the disclosure phases of each of her claims in detail. The disclosure exercises include experience with both standard disclosure and use of multiple different models in extended disclosure.

Elise has acted on behalf of an accountant firm, following allegations of breach of fiduciary duties and negligence following a COP8 Fraud Investigation Complaint. She investigated the claim in detail and assessed the liability within the underlying claim of fraud. She continues to assist the accountant throughout the process of the threatened ACCA complaint.

Infinity Reliance Limited (Trading as My 1^st Years) v Heath Crawford Limited [2023] EHWC 3022 (Comm): Elise acted on behalf of a Heath Crawford Limited, a broker firm, following allegations of breach of contract and FCA duties by a large online retailer for losses following a fire at their warehouse. The claim progressed throughout the High Court where intensive extended disclosure exercises were completed.

Ronan is a commercial Lawyer admitted to practice in the Republic of Ireland and England & Wales currently acting as the Managing Partner of Caytons Law in Dublin. Trained and qualified in Ireland, he has spent over 20 years working in litigation with the last 12 years working in the Caribbean, the UK and Ireland gaining extensive commercial experience working on a broad range of matters including commercial and civil litigation, consumer law, group litigation, personal injury and regulatory matters.

Professional Experience

Ronan has experience:

Advising on large and complex commercial litigation matters including clinical negligence, personal injury, product liability, industrial disease and professional negligence claims
Advising both financial institutions and consumers in respect of the the mis-selling of financial products
Advising consumers on pension and SIPP rules to include the application of COBS and MiFID
Advising large logistics multinationals in respect of its claims including personal injury and third-party damage claims
Reporting to clients on liability, case strategy, redress mechanisms, quantum, costs and reserves
Advising on complex multi-jurisdictional class action litigation and international alternative dispute resolution
Developing litigation strategy and managing class action projects
Researching and issuing claims in relation to consumer and regulatory disputes
Calculating risk and advising on the risks associated with class action litigation including case merit, potential litigation cost and likelihood of success and presenting to department heads and external funders
Designing, updating and managing databases to deal with large group consumer litigation claims

Ronan has acted in the following Courts in his capacity as a Barrister, Attorney and/or Solicitor:

In Ireland, he frequently acts in commercial and consumer claims in the Commercial Court, the High Court and the Circuit Court
In England, he has extensive experience acting in the High Court and dealing with consumer claims with the Financial Ombudsman
In the Turks & Caicos Island (British Overseas Territory), he worked in all of the Superior Courts to include being led by various QCs (as they were at the time). He also acted as the Attorney General at times.

Lecturing & Speaking

Lecturer in Medical Law & Ethics: Between March 2003 and December 2012, he was involved in lecturing and tutoring Medical Law & Ethics (including degree and trainee solicitor level) in the following organizations in Dublin: Dublin Business School, The Law Society of Ireland and Royal College of Surgeons.

Since January 2024, Ronan has been providing lectures to the Law Society on the Diploma in Insurance Law course.

Warren is a Senior Associate at Caytons. He trained in private practice specialising in private client litigation, which included various aspects of consumer law. At Caytons he specialises in professional negligence litigation involving service providers such as solicitors, architects and accountants as well as other professionals. He has over ten years’ experience litigating claims at several levels, including the Court of Appeal, and has experience of resolving claims within the pre-action protocols and in mediation.

Before converting to law, Warren obtained a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree.

Warren is able to:

Advise on a wide range of contracts, including contracts for goods and services.
Draft and advise on terms and conditions for a range of different service providers.
Advise businesses and act on regulatory issues including the threat of regulator sanctions.
Advise on unfair terms in contracts, including by reference to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

Warren has experience in:

Dealing with claims involving the quality of the work of various tradespeople such as builders and electricians.
Acting for claimants on various personal injury claims, including those caused by faulty products.
Advising on various insurance policies, including coverage of those policies.
Acting on all aspects of litigation proceeding in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Acting for claimants and defendants in large group litigations.

Notable Cases

Acted on an insurance coverage claim concerning claims against a Solicitors’ insurance policy by over 200 claimants who had invested in buyer-funded developments all over the UK. Required a close analysis of the Solicitors’ conveyancing service standards, including by reference to various regulator’s authorities.
Acted for a group of over 20 claimants on misrepresentation claims against a well-known gym franchise. The claim concerned the mis-selling of the franchise to various franchisees, and required an in-depth knowledge of the franchise contract, the sale process and the gym service as a whole.
Acted for a claimant on a large personal injury claim after a faulty pane of glass fell on him. Required a knowledge of health and safety standards and the enforceability of various contract terms.
Acted for an architect, and its professional indemnity insurer, in regulatory proceedings against the architect by RIBA. Required detailed knowledge of RIBA proceedings and of the standards of the provision of architect services to consumers.

Consumer Law – A Consumer Law Team for Businesses

For further information contact one of our key team below:

Peter Mellett

John Cayton

Philip Atkinson

London Office

Bristol Office

Ireland Office