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Multibillion Pound Claim Filed Against Sony Group

August 22, 2022

Multibillion Pound Claim Filed Against Sony Group

A claim against Sony Group was filed on 19 August 2022 in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The claim is being brought on behalf of UK-based PlayStation users who have purchased digital games and/or add-on content from the PlayStation Store since 19 August 2016. The claim is being funded by Woodsford, the UK’s leading ESG, access to justice and litigation finance business. It’s alleged that Sony is breaching UK and EU competition law by abusing its dominant position resulting in consumers paying inflated prices for digital PlayStation games and add-on content. This standalone collective action is brought on behalf of an estimated 9 million potential class members. An application has been made to the CAT for a Collective Proceedings Order which if ordered will result in a single class representative representing all potential class members on an opt-out basis. The proposed class representative is consumer champion Alex Neill, Chief Executive of Resolver.co.uk. Alex’s team, funded by Woodsford, includes the law firm Milberg London LLP, economics experts at Berkeley Research Group LLC and barristers from Monckton Chambers. Woodsford’s Chief Executive Officer, Steven Friel, commented: “Woodsford’s ESG team is dedicated to holding big business to account when corporate wrongdoing causes loss to consumers and other stakeholders. We are proud to support Alex Neill’s case, helping deliver access to justice for millions of gamers. Our significant financial and professional resource is already backing UK class actions against train companies accused of overcharging, and shippers whose cartel behaviour is alleged to have inflated the price of cars. With the launch of this claim against Sony, and with more landmark cases being worked up, Woodsford is now clearly established as the most successful ESG and litigation finance business in this area of UK collective redress.” Further information on the claim and updates on its progress can be found at www.playstationyouoweus.com. About Woodsford Founded in 2010 and with a presence in London, New York, Brisbane, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, Woodsford is a leading ESG, access to justice and litigation finance business. Whether it is helping consumers achieve collective redress, ensuring that investors and universities are properly compensated when Big Tech infringes intellectual property rights, or helping shareholders in collaborative, escalated engagement up to and including litigation with listed companies, Woodsford is committed to ensuring the highest ESG standards while providing access to justice. Working globally with many of the world’s leading law firms, our legal experience, investment, business and technical expertise, in tandem with our significant financial muscle, makes us a powerful partner and a formidable adversary. Woodsford is a founder member of both the International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) and the Association of Litigation Funders of England & Wales (ALF), and a member of the International Corporate Governance Network. Woodsford continues to grow, and we welcome approaches from experienced litigation lawyers and other professionals who are interested in joining our team. For more information visit www.woodsford.com

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Omni Bridgeway Unveils Pro Bono Recycling Fund for Migrant Domestic Workers and Backs iyO in High-Profile IP Suit Against OpenAI, Altman, and Jony Ive

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway has moved on two distinct fronts in recent weeks, pairing a first-of-its-kind pro bono disbursement facility for migrant domestic workers in Asia with a high-profile commercial commitment to fund iyO Inc.'s intellectual property and trade secret suit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Sir Jony Ive. Taken together, the announcements showcase the breadth of the ASX-listed funder's pipeline — from access-to-justice initiatives at one end to flagship technology disputes at the other.

According to a joint Omni Bridgeway announcement, the funder has partnered with Hong Kong–based NGO Justice Without Borders to launch a "recycling" disbursement fund that covers court fees, expert reports, translation services, and court-ordered security for costs deposits in cross-border employment claims brought by migrant domestic workers across Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and other jurisdictions where JWB operates. The structure is designed so that recoveries are routed back into the facility, allowing each dollar of capital to support multiple claims over time. JWB executive director Celine Chan framed the initiative around the principle that "justice should not stop at a border or depend on ability to afford court fees," while Omni Bridgeway's Mitchell Dearness said the facility "fills a critical gap by covering costs that pro bono representation alone cannot address." The fund's headline commitment was not disclosed.

On the commercial side, according to a PR Newswire announcement from iyO, Omni Bridgeway is now backing iyO's federal litigation against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Jony Ive, io Products Inc., and former io co-founder Tang Yew Tan in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 25-cv-04861-TLT). iyO, a Google X spinout developing screenless, voice-controlled ear-worn devices, alleges trademark infringement of its federally registered "IYO" mark and trade secret misappropriation under both the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act over OpenAI's use of the "io" brand and the conduct of the io team after its acquisition. U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson granted a preliminary injunction in April 2026 finding iyO "likely to succeed on the merits of its trademark claim," after the Ninth Circuit affirmed an earlier temporary restraining order in December 2025. Trade-secret claims were added in March 2026.

For Omni Bridgeway, the two announcements land at a moment when public-market funders are working to demonstrate both portfolio breadth and capital efficiency to investors and clients. The recycling fund extends the firm's brand into access-to-justice territory long associated with NGOs and pro bono law firms, while the iyO matter places it directly into the most closely watched generative-AI dispute on the docket — a posture that allows Omni Bridgeway to argue, simultaneously, that litigation finance can democratize cross-border employment claims and underwrite the bet-the-product cases that define the next era of technology competition.

Commercial

Litigation Capital Management Extends Northleaf Covenant Waiver to June 30, Flags Material Case Write-Downs

By John Freund |

AIM-listed litigation funder Litigation Capital Management has secured a one-month extension of its debt covenant waiver from senior lender Northleaf to June 30, 2026, while disclosing negative developments in two case investments and warning that material write-downs will be reflected in upcoming financial statements.

According to a Litigation Capital Management regulatory announcement, the waiver continues on existing terms, with interest on the Northleaf facility remaining elevated by 2.00 percentage points per annum and no additional waiver fee charged. The two affected investments account for approximately A$9 million in invested capital between them; LCM did not identify the specific funded matters but said the negative outcomes will require material write-downs in its forthcoming results.

The funder added that the strategic review initiated in September 2025 remains ongoing and that the waiver extension reflects Northleaf's "ongoing support while LCM works towards a long-term resolution of its capital position." LCM's London-listed shares fell roughly 13% on the news.

The update is the latest in a sequence of capital-stack adjustments and adverse case developments that have weighed on LCM since late 2025, and reinforces the operating reality that publicly traded funders face: portfolio-level returns can be overwhelmed at the equity line by a small number of high-conviction matters that resolve adversely. With the waiver now tied to a June 30 deadline, the next four weeks are likely to determine both the contours of the strategic review and the terms of any new lender arrangement.

Commercial

Trade Press Revisits How Litigation Funding Became Entangled in U.S. Meat Industry Antitrust Battles

By John Freund |

The U.S. meat industry trade press has stepped back to examine how third-party litigation funding became central to the multi-year wave of antitrust cases against Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, and other major packers, with Burford Capital's funding of Sysco's protein price-fixing claims serving as the defining storyline.

As reported by Meatingplace, Sysco and Burford entered a Capital Provision Agreement under which the funder invested approximately $140 million from 2019 onward to back Sysco's direct-purchaser antitrust cases in beef, pork, chicken, and turkey. The relationship later fractured when Sysco moved to settle several matters at values Burford regarded as far below their merit-driven worth, leading to arbitration, the assignment of Sysco's remaining claims to Burford-affiliated vehicle Carina Ventures, and a high-profile Seventh Circuit ruling earlier this year that allowed Burford to challenge a $50 million Sysco settlement in the broiler chicken docket.

The feature traces how the dispute reshaped procurement-side antitrust strategy across the protein sector, with Sysco at one point accusing Burford in court filings of turning the federal docket into a "casino" in which the funder could veto rational settlement decisions made by the underlying claimant.

For litigation funders, the retrospective is notable less for new disclosures than for the audience it reaches — a trade publication whose readership is the corporate procurement and operations community now thinking about whether to bring, settle, or finance their own antitrust recoveries against the same packer defendants in the years ahead.