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Woodsford Funds £Multibillion Claim Filed Against Sony Group

The UK specialist competition court has today certified the legal claim brought by consumer rights expert Alex Neill, on behalf of 8.9 million Playstation customers The lawsuit was filed in August 2022 alleging Sony has abused its dominant position in the market by charging excessive prices to its customers for games and in-app purchases.

It is the first claim of its kind to be fully certified by the courts following the landmark funding ruling by the Supreme Court in PACCAR that held that litigation funding agreements which provide a return to the funder based on a percentage of the damages awarded to the class are damages based agreements which are not permitted in opt-out collective actions

Today, 21 November 2023, in a judgment handed down by the Competition Appeal Tribunal:

(CAT), Alex Neill has been granted approval to go to trial with a £5bn claim against Sony Playstation. This marks a significant first victory for the claimants as Sony lost their battle to block the claim on both the merits of the case and the funding arrangements.

The claim, first filed in the CAT in August 2022, is an opt- out group legal action and it argues that the games console giant breached competition law by unlawfully overcharging

PlayStation customers. The claim sees Sony accused of abusing its market dominant position to impose unfair terms and conditions on PlayStation game developers and publishers, which results in excessive and unfair prices for consumers every time they buy digital games or ingame content from the PlayStation Store. It is alleged that this has resulted in 8.9m UK consumers being overcharged for their digital gaming purchases by potentially as much as £5 billion over the last six years.

Alex Neill, the Class Representative for the claim, said: 

“This is the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed as a result of Sony breaking the law. Playstation gamers’ loyalty has been taken advantage of by Sony who have been charging them excessive prices for years.

“It is significant that the competition court has recognised Sony must explain its actions by ordering them to trial. With this action we are seeking to put a stop to this unlawful conduct and ensure customers are compensated.”

This judgment means the claim has been certified by the CAT and can now proceed to a full trial. This is the first consumer claim of its kind to achieve certification for its funding arrangements in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling in the PACCAR case. The ruling has made waves in the litigation funding industry as it means that Litigation Funding Agreements with a percentage-based fee cannot be used to fund opt-out collective proceedings that come before the CAT.

Natasha Pearman, the partner leading the litigation and head of competition litigation at Milberg London LLP, said:

“We are delighted to have achieved certification for our claim against Sony. Companies who break the law must be held to account and we are determined to ensure this happens and consumers get access to justice. We hope that the certification of our claim provides some clarity as to acceptable litigation funding agreements in the post-PACCAR environment for optout claims.

Litigation funding is integral to the collective action regime. When a company as large as Sony breaks the rules consumers often have no idea it is even happening, let alone have the resources to take them on – litigation funding helps to level the playing field. That is why group legal claims like ours are so important, they provide a route to accessing justice that simply doesn’t exist otherwise.”

Charlie Morris, Chief Investment Officer for Woodsford, commented:

Woodsford is proud to be funding Alex Neill and delighted that this is the first collective action where the funding arrangements have been approved following the seminal Supreme Court decision in PACCAR. Sony sought to advance numerous unmeritorious and opportunistic arguments, all of which unsurprisingly failed.  Defendants to these actions would be better advised to resolve meritorious actions in a speedy and cost-efficient way rather than spending millions on spurious and ultimately unsuccessful satellite disputes aimed solely at stymying access to justice.”

Anyone who has purchased digital games or in-game content in the UK on their console, via the PlayStation Store between 19 August 2016 to 19 August 2022, is automatically included and potentially entitled to compensation. These customers do not need to take any further action at this stage. Those impacted are encouraged to sign-up at www.playstationyouoweus.co.uk to be kept up to date on the case.

About Milberg London LLP

Milberg London is at the forefront of group actions law and practice. It is instructed in some of the most significant multiparty cases ever to be heard before the courts in this jurisdiction.

Milberg London and its partners are ranked in London’s top legal directories; Chambers and Partners and The Legal500.

 Home | Milberg London

About Woodsford 

Since 2010 Woodsford has been helping to hold big business to account for their egregious behaviour. Whether it is helping consumers achieve collective redress when businesses abuse their market dominance, ensuring that inventors 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 that companies are held to the highest environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards and helping deliver access to justice. WoodsfordESG, access to justice and litigation finance.

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Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.