Wirral Council as administering Authority of Merseyside Pension Fund (Appellant) v Indivior PLC and another (Respondents)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0052

Parties

Appellant(s)

Wirral Council (As Administering Authority of Merseyside Pension Fund)

Respondent(s)

Indivior PLC

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

Issue

Whether the Appellant can bring representative proceedings under CPR 19.8 on behalf of institutional and retail investors in the Respondents who claim under sections 90 and 90A and Schedule 10A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) in respect of alleged fraudulent statements and dishonest omissions in published information to pursue a representative action seeking declarations as to common issues relating to the Respondents.

Facts

This is a case about how much discretion a Judge has to issue a representative order under CPR 19.8. On 9 April 2019, a US Grand Jury issued an indictment against the Respondents for making false representation to the public health provider, in an attempt to defeat generic competition for an anti-narcotic drug known as Suboxone. On 11 July 2019, Reckitt agreed to pay US $1.5bn and admitted no liability. On 24 July 2020, Indivior agreed to pay US $600mn. The Appellant seeks to bring claims on its own behalf, and on behalf of various other individuals who were affected by an alleged misstatement, omission and dishonest delay in the publication of information which formed the basis for the allegations made in the above indictments. On 5 December 2023, the High Court struck out the Representative Proceedings. This was upheld on appeal on 23 January 2025. The Appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

27 March 2025

Case origin

PTA

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