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96 The US-Israel Legal Review 2019
ISRAEL: LITIGATION
decline the request.
• The plaintiff must demonstrate that their claim
falls under one of the grounds for service of
process enumerated in the Civil Law Procedure
Regulations. The Regulations include a
comprehensive list of grounds for extraterritorial
service, such as that the claim concerns a
property located in Israel, or the claim concerns
a contract subject to the laws of Israel. All the
grounds require some connection between the
claim and the State of Israel which justifies the
court assuming jurisdiction over the claim.
The Revision broadened the scope of the
grounds for service of process concerning torts.
The regulations in their current formulation
stipulate that the court may grant leave of service
if the complaint is based on an act or omission that
occurred within Israel.
The Revision authorizes the court to grant leave
of service also for damage incurred by the plaintiff
in Israel from a product, service or conduct of the
defendant, provided that the defendant could have
anticipated that the damage would be caused in
Israel, and that the defendant, or a person affiliated
with it, is engaged in international commerce
or the provision of international services of a
significant scope.
This clause in the Revision came into force in
December 2018 and applies prospectively to claims
initiated after the clause took force.
Even if the court does grant leave of
extraterritorial service, the defendant may move
to quash the leave granted, arguing that any of the
above conditions were not met.
CLASS ACTIONS
Class action lawsuits have become a frequent
occurrence in Israel in the past years, including
class actions filed against foreign international
corporations. The legal framework for filing and
adjudicating class actions in Israel is outlined in the
Class Action Law, 5766-2006 and the Class Action
Regulations, 5770-2010.
The Class Action Law limits the causes of action
that can be certified as a class action. In practice,
class actions may be certified for a series of civil
causes of action grounded in contracts law (such
as in the event of breach of contract) or in torts
law (such as in the event of a breach of a statutory
duty). A prominent cause of action, with respect to
contracts law and tort law, is grounded in the duty
of a party to act in good faith, as will be discussed in
a subsequent chapter.
• One approved cause of action relates to claims
in connection with the Consumer Protection
Law, such as misleading customers regarding
material aspects of a transaction, e.g. the nature
of the asset or service; the date of its delivery or
provision; the usual or customary price of the
asset or service; transaction cancellation terms
and more.
This cause of action includes claims against a
dealer concerning a matter between the dealer
and the consumer, whether they have engaged
in a transaction or not. A “dealer” is defined
broadly in the Consumer Protection Law, and it
includes any dealer that sells an asset or provides
a service in their regular course of business.
The Class Action Law allows for the
certification of class actions against any seller,
supplier, manufacturer, importer or marketer
of any product or service concerning a matter
between the dealer and the consumer, whether
the product or service was for consideration or
not, including matters that preceded the actual
engagement, and even if the engagement never
materialized.
• In recent years, there has been a significant
increase in private enforcement of the Antitrust
Law through the filing of class actions. There has
been an increase in the number of class actions
conducted before courts in Israel that raised
claims by power of the Antitrust Law, such as
allegations of excessive pricing and allegations
Class actions filed against foreign
international corporations have
become a frequent occurrence in
Israel in the past years.