Competition Appeal Tribunal dismisses sewage class action lawsuit

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has dismissed a class action lawsuit led by Professor Carolyn Roberts, that alleged that six water companies significantly under-reported pollution incidents. The companies would not have been allowed to raise customer bills to the extent they did if they had reported the pollution incidents accurately, the lawsuits alleged.

Anglian, Northumbrian, Severn Trent, Thames, United Utilities and Yorkshire were accused of abusing their dominant position. But the ruling, published on Friday, said that the cases were disallowed under the Water Industry Act. The judges said that collective claims alleging abuse of dominance were not allowed under UK law.