Norway
Civil cases may be heard as a class action in Norway. A class action may be brought by or directed against a class if the claims have identical or substantially similar factual and legal bases.
A class action may be brought by a person who has a claim that falls within the scope of the class action. In addition, an action may be brought by an organisation, foundation or a public body responsible for advancing specific interests.
For the court to approve a claim to be heard as a class action, four requirements must be satisfied: (i) several legal persons have claims or obligations arising out of the same or substantially similar factual and legal bases; (ii) the claims can all be heard by a court with the same composition and in essence pursuant to the same procedural rules; (iii) the claims are most appropriately dealt with by way of a class action; and (iv) it is possible to designate a class representative.
If a court approves a claim as a class action, it determines the scope and whether it operates on an opt-in or opt-out basis. Under opt-in, parties have to register by a set deadline, while opt-out allows individuals to withdraw before a final court decision.
In class actions, the court appoints a class representative, which can be any eligible person, responsible for protecting the class’s rights and recovering potential costs. The court sets a maximum cost liability when approving the class action and may require an advance payment. Legal representation is usually required, but exemptions may be granted by the court.
Recently, the Supreme Court determined that opt-out proceedings pursuant to the Dispute Act do not allow for third party funding arrangements which have a condition that the company receives a return of three times their investment in case of success, to be claimed from the class’s awarded damages. It is up to the legislator to consider whether modifications to the Dispute Act should be made to enable the combination of opt-out lawsuits with external litigation funding through a reduction in awarded compensation.