Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen alleges in opt-out collective proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal that Meta abused its dominance by taking Facebook users’ off-Facebook data without payment. On July 29, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed Meta’s appeal and held that user damages are not excluded in competition claims. The Tribunal listed a further case management conference for November 5, 2026, and trial is set for October 2, 2028.
Latest development Nov 5, 2026
On November 5, 2026, the Competition Appeal Tribunal was listed to hold a further case management conference to consider next steps toward trial. Trial is set for October 2, 2028, with a pre-trial review in the week of July 17, 2028.
Why it matters
The claim will decide whether a dominant platform abuses its position by taking users’ data without payment. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the class of about 45 million UK Facebook users can seek user damages, a hypothetical release fee, rather than proven loss.
Background
In February 2022, Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen applied to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to bring opt-out collective proceedings under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998. The defendants are Meta Platforms, Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, and Facebook UK Limited (together, Meta). She alleges that Meta abused its dominance in the market for social networking services between 2016 and 2019, a period later extended in amended pleadings. She claims Meta extracted off-Facebook data from users as a non-negotiable condition of access, without paying for it, and imposed exploitative terms of service. Meta denies dominance and says users receive a free service.
In February 2023, the Tribunal refused to certify the claim. It found that the economic model underpinning the damages case did not meet the required standard, but gave Gormsen the chance to refile with a better blueprint to trial. The Tribunal certified a revised application in February 2024. The class comprises about 45 million UK Facebook users, and damages are pleaded at around £3B. The Tribunal refused Meta permission to appeal certification in April 2024, and the Court of Appeal refused permission in November 2024.
Through 2025, the case moved into a lengthy disclosure and case management phase. The disputes included Meta’s U.S. litigation documents and pleading amendments. In December 2025, the Tribunal rejected Meta’s proposal to disclose a large volume of documents from parallel U.S. proceedings. In parallel, the parties contested whether “user damages” are available in a competition law claim. That remedy awards a hypothetical release fee rather than proven loss.
In March and April 2026, the Tribunal held further case management conferences and set directions for factual and expert evidence. On June 3, 2026, it issued related disclosure and directions orders. It confirmed a trial date of October 2, 2028, with a 10-week time estimate and a pre-trial review in the week of July 17, 2028. On July 29, 2026, in [2026] EWCA Civ 993, the Court of Appeal dismissed Meta’s appeal on user damages and confirmed that the remedy is not excluded from competition claims. The CAT listed a further case management conference for November 5, 2026, to consider next steps toward trial.
Timeline 13 events
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OrderCAT lists case management conference
The Competition Appeal Tribunal listed a further case management conference for November 5, 2026, to consider next steps toward trial.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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AppealCourt of Appeal dismisses Meta’s appeal on user damages
The Court of Appeal handed down [2026] EWCA Civ 993, rejecting Meta’s attempt to exclude user damages from competition law claims. The class representative can continue to pursue that measure of damages.
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OrderCAT sets directions for factual and expert evidence
The Tribunal held a further case management conference and issued related disclosure and directions orders on June 3, 2026. It confirmed a trial date of October 2, 2028, with a 10-week estimate and a pre-trial review in the week of July 17, 2028.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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OrderCAT holds case management conference
The Competition Appeal Tribunal held a half-day case management conference in the collective proceedings.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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OrderCAT rules on disclosure dispute over U.S. litigation documents
In [2025] CAT 85, the Tribunal rejected Meta’s proposal to disclose a large volume of documents from parallel U.S. proceedings. It found the proposal prejudicial to the class representative.
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HearingCAT holds case management conference on disclosure
The conference took place on July 15 and 16, 2025, and was chaired by Hodge Malek KC.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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AppealCourt of Appeal refuses Meta permission to appeal certification
In [2024] EWCA Civ 1322, the Court of Appeal dismissed Meta’s renewed bid for permission to appeal the certification of the collective proceedings.
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OrderCAT refuses Meta permission to appeal certification
The Tribunal refused Meta’s application, filed on March 7, 2024, for permission to appeal the certification decision.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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JudgmentCAT certifies collective proceedings against Meta
In [2024] CAT 11, the Tribunal certified the claim as opt-out collective proceedings, finding an arguable and triable case against Meta.
Court of Appeal refuses certification challenge in Gormsen v Meta
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HearingCAT hears amended certification application
The Tribunal heard the revised collective proceedings order application on January 8 and 9, 2024.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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JudgmentCAT refuses initial certification but allows refiling
The Tribunal found the proposed class representative’s damages methodology inadequate. It offered a stay to allow a revised application with a better blueprint to trial.
CAT refuses to certify Facebook collective action in Gormsen v Meta
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HearingCAT holds first certification hearing
The Tribunal heard the original collective proceedings order application over three days, from January 30 to February 1, 2023.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
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FilingGormsen applies to CAT for collective proceedings order
Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen applied to bring opt-out collective proceedings against Meta under section 47B of the Competition Act 1998. She alleged abuse of dominance through uncompensated collection of off-Facebook data.
1433/7/7/22 Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen v Meta Platforms, Inc. and Others
Experimental AI forecast
How it is madeWill the UK Supreme Court grant Meta permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s user damages ruling by June 30, 2027?
- User damages ruling stands63%
- Supreme Court takes Meta’s appeal24%
- Still pending on June 30, 202710%
- Meta and Gormsen settle3%
- Resolves by
- Jun 30, 2027in 8 months
- Record confidence
- Medium
The Court of Appeal’s July 29, 2026, ruling that user damages are available in competition claims is most likely to stand through June 30, 2027 (63%). The UK Supreme Court grants only a minority of civil permission applications, and the record does not show Meta has applied.
How it resolves. Resolves “User damages ruling stands” if, by June 30, 2027, public records show Meta did not seek permission from the UK Supreme Court, withdrew its application, or the Supreme Court refused permission to appeal [2026] EWCA Civ 993. Resolves “Supreme Court takes Meta’s appeal” if the Supreme Court grants permission, in whole or in part, by that date. Resolves “Meta and Gormsen settle” if the parties publicly announce a settlement of the collective proceedings before any permission decision. Resolves “Still pending” if a permission application is filed but undecided on June 30, 2027.
Reasoning
Starting point. Applications to the UK Supreme Court for permission to appeal in civil cases, and UK CAT collective actions at the pre-trial stage: The UK Supreme Court grants roughly a quarter to a third of civil permission applications. Most are decided within about three to nine months. Settlements of CAT opt-out claims before trial are uncommon at this early stage.
The base rate for UK Supreme Court permission in civil cases is roughly 25% to 33%. Meta has strong incentives to seek permission, because user damages could shape quantum across about 45 million class members and in other UK data claims. The question is a novel point of law of general public importance, which lifts the odds of a grant above a routine appeal. Against that, the record does not show that Meta has filed an application, and Meta has lost every appellate challenge so far, including its certification appeal in November 2024. Timing favors a decision before June 30, 2027, though Supreme Court permission panels can take many months, so a pending outcome remains plausible. Settlement is unlikely while disclosure continues and the next CAT case management conference is set for November 5, 2026. No new development has entered the record since the previous forecast one day ago, so the numbers are unchanged.
Low Supreme Court permission grant rate in civil appeals · Novel legal question on user damages in competition claims · No record yet of a Meta permission application · Meta’s repeated appellate losses on certification and damages · Supreme Court permission timing could run past June 2027
Generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 on Sep 25, 2026 from this case’s record on this site, and published without editorial review. The probabilities are the model’s judgment, not measured frequencies, and they are scored publicly as cases resolve. Not legal or investment advice. How the forecasts are made
Disclosure: Anthropic, which makes the model that wrote this forecast, competes with or has commercial ties to a party to this case.