Adam Hochroth

The lead plaintiff in a class action over Sydney’s light rail construction, who is seeking a $3 million judgment, has brought a novel bid for the NSW government to pay a funder’s 40 per cent commission as damages, rather than as a deduction from the amount owed to group members.

The firm behind a class action over Victoria’s COVID-19 hotel quarantine debacle has won a group costs order providing for a 30 per cent contingency fee, after promising it won’t ask for more down the road.

A leading class action firm may seek compensation for those who were illegally detained after the High Court ruled that Australia’s system of holding individuals indefinitely in immigration detention is unlawful.

A law firm behind a class action against the state of Victoria over the COVID-19 hotel quarantine fiasco is seeking what would be the second highest contingency fee rate for running the case, saying the percentage was justified given the complexity of the novel claims.

The judge overseeing a slow moving class action against four AMP subsidiaries and two trustees over alleged excessive superannuation fees has expressed his frustration with delays in the case, fixing the case for trial over the wealth manager’s protest.

A judge has approved a bid to consolidate two shareholder class actions against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, finding that having two firms on the record is better than a carriage contest.

In its bid for a 30 per cent group costs order, the applicant in a class action against Insurance Australia Group says the percentage shouldn’t be compared to lower proposed rates — as low as 14 per cent — in a battle to run a class action against Star.

The state of Victoria is making a bid to suppress its defence in a class action brought over the 2020 hotel quarantine fiasco, as it faces a “substantially altered” indictment in a related criminal proceeding.

A judge has found the state of NSW liable to compensate the lead plaintiffs in a class action brought on behalf of small businesses over the “substantial and unreasonable” interference caused by the construction of Sydney’s $3 billion light rail network, but he flagged “significant problems” in applying his findings to thousands of potential group members.

A judge has cautioned two law firms running competing shareholder class actions over last October’s cyber attack on Medibank that they must keep their focus on the best interests of clients and group members, saying lawyers can lose sight of that duty when arguing for their case.