In a class action long delayed by a battle over foreign shareholders, BHP Group has finally filed a defence, denying it misled shareholders over a failed Brazilian dam and saying knowledge about the risk of collapse cannot be imputed to the Melbourne-headquartered energy giant.
A class action against Bayer over its Essure contraceptive has lost a bid to knock out the pharmaceutical giant’s defence that argues any defects in the device could not have been discovered given the state of scientific knowledge at the time the implants were sold in Australia.
Lawyerly’s Litigation Law Firms of 2022 racked up precedent-setting victories in a year that continued to see major developments in class action law.
A class action against Bayer over its Essure device has won court approval to add new allegations, including that the contraceptive caused sexual dysfunction, with a judge finding the new claims could not have taken the German drug maker by surprise.
Developer JD Group has scored a partial win in its challenge to a damages award to a Melbourne couple over a “deliberately misleading” rendering of a $9.6 million apartment, with a judge saying the case showed the “inherent risk” in buying apartments off-the-plan.
A judge has signed off on a group costs order in a shareholder class action against food company Noumi and auditor Deloitte guaranteeing group members a return of at least 78 per cent, but noted the law firms’ cut may need to be reviewed to avoid a “disproportionate return”.
Two class action firms have refused to provide an undertaking that would fix the rate of their contingency fee in a consolidated shareholder class action against food company Noumi and auditor Deloitte over $590 million in accounting irregularities.
BHP Group has lost its High Court battle to keep foreign investors from an Australian shareholder class action over the devastating collapse of a Brazilian dam.
A judge has raised concerns with Maurice Blackburn and Slater & Gordon for their slow progress in a consolidated shareholder class action against Treasury Wine Estates, one year after scolding the firms for their delay in filing evidence.
Deloitte has won its bid to keep confidential documents away from the funder backing a consolidated shareholder class against food company Noumi which alleges the auditor was complicit in misleading the market.