Limitation may be a complex issue when litigating group actions, not only because the claimant firms need to handle different limitation dates for many different claimants, but also because the same claimant may have multiple claims subject to differing limitation dates. There are various ways of dealing with this issue:
- Establish subclasses: depending on how many different categories of claimants and/or limitation periods apply, it is possible for the court, at its own initiative or at the request of one or more of the parties, to establish subclasses or groups, each with separate representation, ensuring that limitation issues can be addressed separately from the rest of the class.
- Standstill agreements: these are agreements between the claimants and defendants that suspend the running of time for limitation purposes for one or more of the claims being litigated. They are commonly entered into during settlement discussions.
- Class certification: in most cases a GLO will include a cut-off date, by which claimants will need to register, although in some cases the expiry of the limitation period may act as an effective cut-off.