SULC v Lifestyle Legal class action

The Clinic remains committed to ensuring access to justice for the thousands of consumers affected by the conduct of Lifestyle Legal, a company associated with a number of websites which apply so-called “dark pattern” marketing methods. Consumers are misled into concluding agreements for what appear to be loans or loan-finding services, whereafter significant amounts are deducted from their bank accounts for unwanted services. Further, customers who successfully reverse the debits against their accounts, are subsequently harassed or threatened with legal action or blacklisting. Such exploitative conduct has had a severe impact on vulnerable consumers. The Clinic’s class action application was certified by the Western Cape High Court on 21 July 2021. The certification is groundbreaking for a number of reasons, as it represents only the tenth South African class action to be certified successfully, as well as the first certification involving a South African University Law Clinic, and the first successfully argued consumer law class action to be certified by a court.

On 3 November 2021, the Western Cape High Court refused the respondents’ request for leave to appeal against this certification. Judge Gamble held that “the respondents have failed to show that they have reasonable prospects, on appeal, of persuading another court to set aside the certification of the applicants’ class action”. The respondents were also unsuccessful in approaching the Supreme Court of Appeal to request it to grant leave to appeal against the certification. They have most recently approached the Constitutional Court to request leave from it. The Clinic also opposed this application and is currently awaiting judgment from the apex court.