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Vivendi Case

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Submitted By asma1004
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Vivendi Universal

January 24th 2011

1) What is a class action? Does this kind of procedure exist in French Law? Why?

Class action = a legal procedure which allows a group of persons (at least 100 persons) who suffered a damage resulting from a same act to act within a common procedure.
In the US Lax, there are 5 steps for a class action lawsuit: 1) The summons and complaints 2) The class action certification 3) The notification to the public 4) The litigation phase 5) Settlement possible at any step!
There are five criteria for a CA lawsuit to be certified * Numerosity * Commonality – common facts, common legal issue: there exist legal issues as well as facts that are common to the class members and therefore bind them together * Typicality: the claims of the CA-lead plaintiffs are representative of those of the class members * Adequacy: the lead plaintiffs should defend… * Superiority of the CA process * Separate actions would create a risk of inconsistent decisions * The class action procedure is superior to all other methods in order to resolve the issue in a fair and efficient manner

Why not in France?
Opt in system: you are not automatically in the class, you have to opt in
A very controversial issue: * Some argue it could be favorable to defend the interest of citizens / consumers * Others worry about is impact on economic activities
US Opt out mechanism: an issu within the French procedural tradition “nul ne plaide par procureur”

2) Briefly summarize the Vivendi case: who are being sued? On which grounds? Who are suing?

Grounds: false financial information leading to a significant decreasre in the vicendi’s stock value price
Plaintiffs: shareholders * Between 30/10/2000 and 14/08/2002 * American, british, dutch, French…
Defendents
* Vivendi SA *

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