Foreign Punitive Damages Decisions and Class Actions in Italy

This essay deals with the enforceability of U.S. opt-out class actions in Europe, with special attention to Italy, France and Spain. The study sets out by analysing U.S. precedents on the availability of extra-compensatory damages in multi-party litigation, and then deepens into the main principles and rules of European substantive and procedural law favoring recognition of U.S. opt-out class actions containing civil sanctions. Furthermore, this chapter aims to unveil the great opportunities stemming from a renewed, constructive dialog between criminal and civil punitive sanctions, especially in the field of mass litigation.